What a great weekend at the splashin at Tanglefoot this past weekend. I was incredibly fortunate to be included in the ground crew for the N3N-3 which provided 20, 15-30 minutes flights to other pilots so they could experience this WWII trainer classic. All of those flights required the launch and recovery of the N3N which is an amphibian meaning, it can’t come on dry land. This kept me standing in the lake doing what I do best, being a post for hours. Yep, I stood waist-deep in a cold Idaho lake capturing, holding on to, and then pushing off the N3N. That was great fun! The best part was during the takeoff and landing, I would be standing there with the Z 9 / Z600f4TC photographing the N3N and all the other aircraft. Standing in the water, there was no one and nothing between me and the aircraft, it was perfect.

Life is full of surprises making exploration with a camera so rewarding. I had a group of photographers with me last week and I had planned to be on top of Steptoe Butte on Thursday for sunset. It’s a gorgeous location towering over the magnificent Palouse providing a 360 panorama of its rolling hills of green. They are very special people to me so I wanted to arrange a little something different from the normal telephoto landscape photography from the butte. I was talking with my friend about another flying project we have coming up when I just asked, “You wouldn’t happen to be flying on Thursday would you?” He wasn’t but asked what I was hatching. I then told him my plot and he was all in. It was about a twenty-minute flight to the Butte for Jay so pretty easy. At the appointed time I had my folks in the right spot with the right lens for a moment they will never, ever forget. Jay did a great job flying putting The Palouse in the background providing us all with a sweet shot. After he flew off into the sunset they asked how I made that happen. I simply said, “I know a guy.”

The P-39 looked pretty darn cool there on the ramp. The light was kinda hard so I went to B&W. After a few clicks and looking at the results, it kinda reminded me of old WWII photos. That’s when I thought the photograph needed something more. That’s when I went and asked Steve if he would be so kind as to “play” a sentry for my story. Most airshows have these great folks who go to great lengths to honor the men and women who served. They love, love to have their photograph taken so I try to incorporate them whenever I can (sending images later to say thanks). The results of our couple of minutes turned out pretty darn cool. When you can keep it simple, they usually do. Just remember when you see them, use them, they love their photo taken!

We use them to take us to far off destinations for our photography. But not very often do our lenses get turned on them. The commercial aircraft that whisk us away on our adventures are actually really amazing. And for those wanting to get into aviation photography or want to up their game, they are a great opportunity. Many airports like Anchorage, Portland OR, LAX just to name a few provide locals for you to stand and photograph the pattern. It doesn’t require much, they are big planes and real close, perfect for practicing your panning. Go longer and work on incorporating interesting elements in the background like clouds. Go in low light to get dramatic shots. The list of opportunities is nearly endless. Keep it simple, keep it fun and remember, they’re planes too!

Planes tend to go “slower” as they get up on step and then once on step, they seem to leap of the water. To get that feeling of speed like you see above I shot at 1/40 to blur the water and background. This takes a little practice but the results are fun. Just be forewarned that once you go to a splashin, you get hooked!