Jun 27, 2014 | Aviation
It started as just an article, it then evolved into a series of articles and now it’s an upcoming book. The book is all about pilots across the country who do more than just fly. These pilots are all about preserving, sharing and living the dream of flight while preserving our heritage of flight. The BTS time lapse I posted earlier (seen below) was from one of these shoots this last weekend in Wichita, KS. What you see above is the photo (prototype of the new Cessna 750+) after I kicked the pilot out of it because, well, it was cool without him (yes, I’m brutal but said it with a smile).
The book is more than a collection of portraits. There will be a whole bunch of sexy plane photos along with the text further telling the pilot’s story. It will also have a section on how the photos were made. I travel the county doing these on my own and the gear I have (listed below) makes a one man band successful. Won’t be out for another 18 months but wanted to answer the question what’s up with the time lapse. Here’s the gear that was used in making the photo and time lapse:
Jun 24, 2014 | Aviation
Keeping up with the subject, that’s one of our main tasks. It kept me jumping all this last weekend. Mentally watching the subject is part of it. Mentally thinking of how you want to tell its story visually is part of it. And in this case, keeping the film plane up with the subject is my point. What otherwise is called panning, it still seems to be a puzzle to many how it actually is a technique that works. Understand panning is a technique to “freeze” a moving subject by moving with the subject. That is, the film plane moves with the subject. When done correctly, the subject is frozen because as far as the film plane (sensor) is concerned, the subject isn’t moving. As along as the movement is moving parallel with the film plane at the exact same pace, it works perfectly.
Here are two different ways of keeping up with the subject to render a moving subject sharp. The top image is the most common. We move with the subject by twisting at the trunk so the sensor is keeping pace with the subject. Shooting with the D4s / 80-400VR3, I panned with the B-17F “Memphis Belle” as it flew past the clouds. Now the background is not blurred because it is so far away from the subject. But the props blur because they are turning perpendicular to the film plane. That movement can be effected visually by using a slow shutter speed. The bottom photo using the same gear, the prop is blurred for the same reason but the plane itself is sharp from a different technique. In the air to air photo, the forward motion of the plane from which the photo is being taken, is the same speed as the plane being photographed. In both cases, you can be shooting at a shutter speed of 1sec and still get a very sharp image IF you keep the film plane moving perfectly in sync with the subject. That IF is a biggie in all of that and you remove the IF from the equation with lots and lots of practice. This photography thing is all aspects is all about keeping up with the subject.
Jun 23, 2014 | Aviation
Spent the last couple of days in Wichita with my good buds working on some aviation projects. This little time lapse is from our Saturday morning shoot which started at 04:30. What you’re seeing is the new Cessna 750+ with its test pilot Scott Foster having their portrait made. Here’s the gear that was used in making the photo and time lapse:
Jun 6, 2014 | Aviation
Charlie was 22 when he made the jump on 6 June, 1944 into France. Part of the 101st, he had volunteered like most of his friends to be a paratrooper. The extra pay was attractive to them. I’ve not meet Charlie yet, we have a long distance friendship comprised of phone calls. When I asked about the jump that morning, Charlie simply said, “A day I’ll never forget.” Most of the paratroopers missed their drop zones that early morning and Charlie’s C-47 squad of 18 was no different. They came down in a grove of trees into a hail of bullets. When the sun rose, Charlie found he was the only one of his squad still alive. All his friends hung in their chute lines from the trees, dead.
Now in their nineties, fewer and fewer of the surviving WWII vets are with us. Those who still are share their stories with a passion often with their eyes misting and a lump in their throat. Those kids changed the world and their stories and contributions must live on! On this day, take a moment to learn a little more about this important moment in time that has forever changed our world. And with that new knowledge, share it with someone expanding their world. And if you happen to meet a WWII vet, take a moment to listen to their story. It might just be you who ends up with the mist in your eyes, lump in your throat. And remember to say, thanks.
May 15, 2014 | Aviation
We are visual communicators. We have to go way past an image being just sharp or histograms to the right if we want to reach out and touch others with our photographs. And while post is an important part of our visual communication these days, there is a certain pride we gain when we do it right in camera rather than relying on post. This craftsmanship is what propels photographers beyond the basic click to being storytellers. And much of it comes down to just practice, practice, practice!
Simple case in point. It’s highnoon, light pretty much has lost any character and is turning towards suicidal. But in front of you is a subject that is rare and unique so not shooting is not an option. Aircraft that are vets and still flying are a treasure. How do you make the uncommon out of the common? How do you reach out and grab the viewer to get in touch with your subject? How do you put emotion into the motion? The answer to me is clear cut, a real slow shutter speed. I’m already shooting in Shutter Priority to have exact shutter speeds to blur the rotation of the props to communicate motion in a still image (I HATE frozen props, what lazy technique!). Shooting handheld the D4s (loaded with that Lexar 256GB) / 200-400VR2, solid panning is a must at my normal 1/80 as the aircraft fly past. But when these C-47s started to roll down the runway, I wanted to totally blur out the background so you don’t see it and at the same time bring “speed” to the photo showing that the aircraft is taking off. Thinking of all of this when the engines first turned over, I set the shutter speed to 1/20. Ya, it could be a low percentage shot and for some, the thought of shooting that low not even possible. But any faster and the shot is a snore and that won’t get any viewer’s attention. But that’s why we practice, that’s why we don’t rely on post to save our images, that’s why we must take pride in our craftsmanship. It’s a real simple click that took more than a simple click to bring to life.
May 7, 2014 | Aviation
The best part are the friends! The Press Pit is anything but a serious place. Never been stuck in one place where more mayhem is planned than the pit at a airshow. Now how much of that planning is carried out, I will never say. But what we talk about in the pit, stays in the pit. But there is none stop, good hearted rib jabbing all day so laughter definitely takes its toll on sharp images! The Mig15 / F-86F Saber photo above was taken with the D4s / 200-400VR2 / Sun Strap which is my basic rig for ground to air photography.
And here is visual proof that some of my best friends shoot with Canon. Mark is simply a great guy who keeps us in stitches the entire time! Being a really, really, really good photographer, he is also incredibly knowledgable when it comes to aircraft and aviation history. To say we have lots of great conversations is an understatement! I’ve lost track of how many photos we have of each other at various aviation events around the country.
And just to show that us aviation photographers are up with the times, we know about the “photo bomb.” In this case it’s the very famous and 100% a gentleman Paul Bowen! And come to think about it, there’s another dear friend who shoots Canon. And I guess that brings us back to the best part about aviation photography. It’s not the gear, it’s the people behind it!
