It was one of those clear blue, dewy mornings at Osh as Jake & I walked the line. This morning, we decided to work the B-25s with “Betty’s Dream” present. I spend my time with just “Devil Dog” and “Betty’s Dream” especially doing arse shots. Once the sun came up, the shooting was already wrapping up. I walked around to the front and saw the sun squeezing past the B-25 tail. I closed the 18-35AFS all the way down, took a couple of shots, and kept on going. What you see above is what I saw, what the camera accurately captured at first but definitely not the final photo I saw when I went click. The D4 faithfully captured what was there. I had dialed in -1exp comp, I had raised the WB to 6k and with that input the D4 did it’s job. Now it was time to do mine!

Here’s the deal, I have to know light and bring it to the subject. Whether that light is falling perfectly or as in this case, not so perfect, the light is on me. Remember the word photograph loosely mean, “write with light.” How’d I “light” “Devil Dog” in post? Well, that’s the class I’m teaching today at Photoshop World. The key is, shoot for the subject, finish for the light. You know how I shot it and the finishing, well you’d need to be in class for all of that. But it was done in ACR using their power Masking. The key to both shooting for the subject and finishing for the light of course is, the light. The photographer must understand light. Not just exposure but how it works. How it works in the camera, how it works in post and most importantly, how it works to the viewer. I think though you can see what some call a dramatic difference in the top and bottom photos. For me though, the bottom photo is all I saw in the viewfinder and on the computer monitor the whole time. That’s because I know the light, it’s on us!

The excitement sets me into a frenzy of mental show of the images I’m going to have. Then the panic, fear, dread, delight, rush sets in. How am I going to not only fulfill my commitment to the client, but bring back the photographs I have in my head? Everything and anything is possible but in the world of reality, how do I deliver content that lives up to my own standards? Prepping for a client shoot takes a whole lot more than just the budget, the bottom line. It was pounded into my head by editors, “You’re only as good as your last photo!” I have one if not two client aviation shoots in the next week. Both coming to me because of recommendations of other aviation clients. To say they might have over sold me could be an understatement. While I’m very grateful for that, this piles a whole lot of pressure on the click of a camera. Now’s the time to plan.

The first thing I do is take a deep plunge into research. That starts with literature search on the aircraft. Knowing the history starts the creative wheels turning. One of the big things for me is backgrounds for the aircraft. Getting to know the history helps me figure out where I want to fly and what time since I get a feel for the background I want for the aircraft. This is critical to my photographic success. This then helps figure out flight path, photo platform and camera gear. But this is only part of the photographic process. If the aircraft is a 1930’s plane, it doesn’t “move” in the sky like a WWII fighter. If the plane is on floats, having it just flying and not on water doesn’t tell its story. These are all considerations that come to mind that doing basic literature research really helps with. But it doesn’t end there.

Next is the visual research. I look at all the photographs of the aircraft others have taken over the years. Why? I want ideas for what to do and not to do! This can be everything from angle of attack to light to background. There is no reason when you’re on the clock, literally, to reinvent the visual wheel. This includes looking at my own image library to see what I can improve on and, what I don’t have in my library at all that I can add. This has to include the “crazy” ideas that come to mind during this whole process and/or a client’s request.

From this research, I create a shot list that I send to the client prior to our meeting. Just because I think this would be a cool photograph doesn’t mean that logistically it can be done. First and the biggest consideration is safety! Next, is it something the aircraft can do. And finally, is it something the pilot can do! With that discussion comes the setting of the brief time for the flight. That then puts into action my list for A2A and making sure all the personal and camera gear is prepped and ready. And after all of this, there is no guarantee. I’ve arrived at many a hangar to have the flight scrubbed because of weather or mechanical issue. That is simply part of the process. On the flip side, the brief is done and you’re in the skies seeing all of your planning, prep and ideas coming to life in the viewfinder. That’s the lows and highs of the photographic business. But when those funds change hands and you see the smile on the clients face as they gaze at those big ass prints, it just gets me psyched to do it all over again!

Not what would normally pop into your head as “romantic”, there are many though who think very romantically on their old rides! Those are really powerful memories pilots have of their aircraft even if they flew them into battle. It’s only human nature to think fondly of something you possibly risked your life or save your life. So while I might have that same memory, feeling, I sure have talked with enough vets to know they do. If I want my image of a “warbird” then to go out and touch heartstrings, yeah, they need to be romantic. And for those who never flew them, reaching out to them on a positive rather than a negative vibe I think is a strong visual way to tell the story. It’s kinda a win-win!

There is an old adage in wildlife photography that I tend to hold to. Don’t photograph birds in flight against gray skies. When it comes to aircraft, I make some exceptions based on the density of the gray and the “gray” of the aircraft. Modern military are overall gray but some aircraft like the F-22 is anything but one shade of gray. At Osh a number of years ago there was a flight of two F-4 Phantom II that I had not seen since I was a kid and had never photographed. Being a plane I have always really liked, I wanted to the photograph. Though there were really “no shooting” gray skies, I knew that I just needed one photo to be happy.

I got on the flight line and watched the flight form up through the D5 / 200-400f4. I figured the only descent photo opp would be when they were a breast of me. I tracked them coming down in the viewfinder and started to shoot when there were nearly abreast. I shot about twelve images as they passed. I watched as they took the pattern to make another pass. The first pass was kinda high, the gray in the background was a wall of yuck. I knew I had no photo. The second pass they came down and in front of them was a F-100, a jet that lays down a bit of smoke. I hoped for better this pass. I did the same thing and this time, the gray wall had a few densities. When I got back to the computer, I found two shots I like. You just never know, just show up!

You can see the photo below that would have come out of the camera. It’s pretty cool and it’s a clean and dynamic shot of the event. It exceeds what all the participants remember from the flight. And, it brought a good payday. Can we go further though? There are times, gotta be select when stepping back in time, and going B&W can be really advantageous. The clouds and the polished nature of the foreground ship make going B&W very dramatic. Even better, when those involved in the flight saw it, it really took them by surprise and they fell in love with it. It is a very simple thing to do and when done judiciously with the right image, you will make your work memorable and your skills and passion stand out!