Battling a Weakness

Feb 12, 2016 | Aviation

Photographically, I have a lot of weaknesses. Some, I just totally avoid so I know I’ll never get past them. Others, I really want to move past and the only way I know of doing that is pounding away at failure. Photographing the single, static aircraft is pretty simple for me and when there is some natural drama going on in the light or weather, it’s a slam dunk. But that is the rare event, not the common, everyday ramp experience. So then bringing a story to a bald sky is the challenge and often, I turn to multiple items to bring a story to a parked plane. And that’s where the weakness smacks me in the face. Arranging multiple items in a way that looks like someone didn’t just arrangement these items who has no clue is my issue. Be it multiple aircraft or in this case, a plane, WWII Harley & Jeep, it’s instant frustration for me!

I started with the Stinson OY-1 Observation plane. Parking it where I wanted it was was simple. Then came the Harley. Now we’re pushing all of equipment into place and I’m not part of that we. I’m standing where I think I’m going to put the D750 / 24-70VR looking at the Stinson, where the sun is going to come up, the story in my head and when asked if this is where I want the Harley, I said, “Yes!” But in reality, I haven’t a clue. Then comes the Jeep which has a dead battery so yep, pushing it into place. With the three items in place, the guys go back where it’s warm and I stand and stare and say in my head, yuck! The Texas Flying Legends Museum have some amazing history on display but I’m failing and making a story come to life. I then start moving the vehicles about looking at the possibilities, I look at the light and I start moving the Harley and then the Jeep. Brent is with me so I have his youth to help arrange. What you see here is the best I could do but I’m not even satisfied. Angling the Harley, turning the Jeep, they look like a gaggle and not a story. It’s going to bug me and hopefully next month I’ll come up with a mental picture that I do like. But doin reshoots never sits well with me. But that’s how I battle a weakness.

Adding the Person

Feb 11, 2016 | Aviation

So we’re there on the ramp shooting the Spitfire MkIX rather intently and for a while, ignoring all the other planes on the ramp. This continued on until the puddles under the Spit were no longer, “fun.” That’s when I saw Betty parked there. You actually have to work pretty hard to ignore a B-25J but I managed to until … it was in the viewfinder and I spent some time with her. The Texas Flying Legends have some amazing aircraft and I always feel guilty when I take them or my access with them for granted. So off I went with the D750 / 24-70VR to get her glamor shots. Turned out OK :-)

Now the cadre were just standing around at this point after pushing the Spit around from puddle to puddle for me. At this same time, I thought I’d best go give some shutter love to the Stinson OY-1 parked on the ramp for me. I shot it and then saw the relationship and light working between the B-25 and the OY-1. I made a couple of clicks but thought something was missing from the story. It’s then I saw the guys standing off in the distance and asked them from across the ramp to move their gathering to where you see them in the photo. At first, they thought they were in my photo and that was a bad thing so I had to explain to them I wanted them in the photo. Being so far away, they didn’t understand how that could be. When I later explained that Toby’s red sweatshirt made them obvious and stand out even though small in the frame, they then understood. And that small addition of the cadre in the photo finished the story for me. So while they are small in the frame, remember the addition of folks can make a big difference.

The Right Light

Feb 10, 2016 | Aviation

Light is everything! And as much as we can, we control it in the storytelling process since it is such a powerful ally. But you’ve gotta ask yourself, “What is the right light” for your subject, your story? This is where many photographers find self doubt because figuring that out and then delivering it is a massive challenge! You start determining the right light but understanding first the subject’s story and then relating that knowledge with the story you want to tell about your subject. There is no doubt my typing this and bringing it to your attention is a whole lot easier then actually doing it. I’m posting two photo here as an example of what I’m talking about in the hopes it might assist you. Both of these photos IMHO is the right light for the subject and the storytelling. Let me explain.

We have what appear to be two different aircraft here but in actuality, they were both designed to perform the exact same job, observation platforms. The top plane is a 1947 Luscombe T8F Observer and the bottom is a Stinson OY-1 (or L-5). The bottom aircraft was actually put in use by the military, the top one, they bought 50 but they saw little action (being more popular GA). In fact, the Stinson is an actual vet, flying over Iwo Jima … those white patches are patches from where it was shot and patched from that action (recreated in its restoration). Now in photographing these two aircraft for our Texas Flying Legends project I had to pick the time we flew to do the air to air. Understanding the use of the aircraft made it rather simple for me. The Stinson, famous from such movies as The Battle of the Bulge, folks think of flying in the middle of the day. That and with its being that real sexy military green, shooting it at 1 o’clock (once the sun made it over the hump) was a slam dunk. The Luscombe on the other hand with its polished finish, shooting it in the late light permitted it to pop from the darker background, another slam dunk. Both shot from the same TBM-3E platform with the same gear, D4s / 70-200f4VR and in the same air space, the only difference is the light. And that difference in the light changes the story being told, the feeling taken away from the photographs. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always this easy, this clear cut in selecting the light for your subject. But if you start thinking about it and looking for it, you will incorporate in your photography the right light.

The Casual Pilot

Jan 20, 2016 | Aviation

I’ve been flying with Brian since almost day one. He’s a dear friend and a great pilot. And getting him to be in front of the camera while not in a plane one of my greatest accomplishments! Now when you say “portrait,” folks take this to mean many different things, usually some type of formality in either dress, pose or both. That’s just not Brian but even with the knowledge it was casual, taking time for a portrait took over a year of convincing. I think once it sunk in he could wear his Hawaiian shirt, he was OK with it all. And have his jeep in the photo, that just made it that much better.

One of the challenges of this shoot was the background. The T-6 (plane) and jeep were placed where they were placed for two reasons. The main being the very busy background. They are visually blocking a whole bunch of junk. At the same time, the strong backlight of sunset help put other busy items in shadow. I wasn’t worried about melding the light of ambient and flash as we’re in AZ where it simply gets really hot. Brian likes that heat so it’s part of the photo. All of this went through my head before we ever left the hangar. Parking the plane just off the taxi way takes planning, quick set up and shooting. My biggest fear is a plane taxing by and the blast from the props sending the lighting gear flying across the ramps. There are simply not enough weights!

With all that in mind, the actual process of lighting and shooting is simple as it’s predetermined. The D750 / 24-70VR did the picture taking. A Profoto B1 w/Magnum w/grid was the main light over the lens axis (on a C Stand) and a B1 w/Strip Box on the stage left. You can see a Stand standing in place of Brian for set up as he kept polishing his plane. The time required for the whole shoot, from pulling out the plane of the hangar to parking back inside was 40min. The more I do, the faster we can knock ’em out. And when you have someone in front of the camera who is really not comfortable in front of the camera, that’s important!

Pilot Portrait Project

Dec 23, 2015 | Aviation

It started as a single photo for a single article. It evolved into a book project that I’m truly enjoying working on. We travel the country photographing very special pilots and this past week, we worked with a couple more, Larry Perkins being very special to us. He has flown many a photo mission for my lens, the Epson Finish Strong campaign in the Super Corsair #57 one of the most memorable. Our relationship with Larry goes back to day one of our aviation work and that really helps when setting up the shot. Until you see the finished book will the single portrait make sense. But with Larry, the P-51D Mustang was the perfect backdrop for this gifted and amazing pilot.

The majority of these portraits I do by myself so the system I have is based on that. This time, I had Sharon which does help when it comes to making exposure adjustments (she’s a stand in during testing). The set up is rather simplistic so I can do it by myself. I’m shooting with the D750 / 24-70VR with lighting provided by a pair of the amazing Profoto B1s with a 5.0′ RFi Octa Softbox and OCF Softbox (1×3′) attached. The Octa is left and provides the side lighting. The Strip is on the C Stand right over the lens barrel. You can see them in the photo, the one stand with no head might make you wonder. That’s my stand in for the subject. It’s set to the subject’s height and placed where I want them to stand permitting me to roughly set up light points and frame framing.

There is a 81a Gel in the main light, the strip box and none in the Octa. When it comes to exposure, I go old school, all manual. This is in part to maximize the power from the lights. It also permits rapid change in exposure for ambient light (shutter speed) and the flash (aperture). You might be wondering if the cone connected to Larry’s elbow an accident or not. That is very deliberate and my own little story in my head of the Mustang nudging Larry to go flying. Larry’s elbow cocked as if telling the Mustang to wait another minute. I set up with the sun still up and shot after the sun was below the horizon. The shooting took minutes, set up and break down an hour. And the whole time, we laughed and told stories which comes out in Larry’s smile. This was number 32 so they are getting easier and me, more confident. And all of them, very enjoyable!