Jul 10, 2013 | Aviation
As the sun slipped below the horizon, the Waco & Cub were tucked back in their hangar and the mosquitoes took over the skies. I feel in love with the North Dakota landscape! While it seems flat, there is a lot of topography to it and its placement on the continent, lots of weather forms around it. I was to soon learn that as the sun slowly slips down (sunrises and sunsets are real slow that far up), start looking for the photograph because you’re in for a show. Warren has probably the only Meyer MAC-145 that’s flying so I checked it out (they have a Oscar stuffed animal in the back window, I’ll let you figure that one out). This funky lookin aircraft is actually pretty darn cool. While its shape isn’t your classic looking aircraft, it had a ton of potential for a great subject for the sunset. So I waited.
Armed with just the D4 / 18-35AFS (an amazing lens!) and a giant fly swatter, I watched the color form across the west. Based on the balance of color and light, I choose the angle for the photo. Being true to the Meyer wasn’t the goal, I was working it more as a sculpture out on the prairie than an aircraft. I liked the challange, taking industrial art to create more art.
You might be wondering if these are HDR as that seem the norm anymore when you see such images. Nope, these are one image clicks finished using just ACR 8.0. The key to making this work is three fold, shooting with the D4 with its six stop range, knowing how to expose to make the most of the Shadow / Highlight Slider in ACR. The color is from Mother Nature, I have twenty witnesses to its beauty that night, all I needed to do was concern myself with shadow and highlight detail. It’s pretty easy stuff when you ask yourself “What’s the subject” and then “What’s the Story?” and shoot accordingly.
I shot for about a half an hour, having a great time (except for the biting bugs as I was wearing shorts) working this crazy lookin plane. As the sun faded away, totally different opportunities appeared I needed to react to. Is there one image that I liked more than the rest? Sure, I like the ass shot, I just have a thing for ass shots. I really like this funky aircraft and being a “one of a kind” in a way, love having the opportunity to photograph it in a unique way. When you have an unique subject and special light, photography just happens.
Jul 9, 2013 | Aviation
“Wanna go flyin?”
When Warren Pietsch asks standing next to his Waco at his airport, you grab your camera and go!
“Wanna see the world from a different perspective?”
Winner of the 2005 “Bill Barber Showmanship Award” asks this, of course you say yes!
“Want to see my favorite canyon?”
It’s gorgeous with all sorts of wildlife
“Why don’t we do a quick join up?”
Sure, a little air to air with a 16Fish sounds like bigtime fun!
“Let’s have a little more fun”
As if the whole experience hasn’t been totally amazing already!
“How was that?”
More fun than one can ever imagine or express!
Photography has afforded me more amazing opportunities like this than one could ever expect in a lifetime. While being in North Dakota for the 4th was planned, being with friends was planned, all the great flying was not. All I had on the flight was a D4 / 16Fish, and that’s all I needed besides the good friends. In the wide open, private space that being in this country makes possible, this kind of flying can be enjoyed and with great pilots and friends, shared. It seemed only fitting on the 4th to have such a meeting with freedom!
Jul 8, 2013 | Aviation
Sharon and I love the 4th, the vast majority of them being spent in Mammoth that does small town celebrations in the best of traditions. This 4th we had the opportunity to be at a hangar party in Minot, ND where a bunch of our friends from around the country were also heading. Well, it was a no-brainer where we were going to be for the 4th. And as you might imagine, a new hangar means they have planes to put inside and that of course was a bit of an attraction as well. The morning of the 3rd found us at the Minot airport on the ramp in front of Customs washing a C-53. It would be flying and on display the next day so just out of paint, it needed to be all spruced up. After doing more simple chores for the 4th, we headed out to Warren’s house for the afternoon.
Thirty minutes later we arrived at Warren’s, out in the middle of nowhere ND (nothing personal ND, but you have a lot of gorgeous open land in the middle of nowhere). We’re heading down the dirty road having driven past the century old cemetery to have a shadow swallow us up. I look through the sun roof to see a gorgeous 1930 Waco QCF pass overhead. I knew who was flying it. We continued down the road and on the rise prior to getting to the home, I parked. A few seconds later the wing tips of the Waco are just feet above my head as it heads to the landing strip in front of the two homes. And for the rest of the afternoon until dusk, we flew! Now when I was on the ground watching the Waco and Cub, I was of course talking. You thought I was going to say shooting…gotcha! Well, I did some of that as well but the point was to be with friend. I did have the D4 / 80-400 on a strap on my shoulder just in case. Well, there were lots of “just in case” shooting that was so much fun. It was kind like skeet shooting as I would be talking, camera at my side when all of a sudden an aircraft would come sneaking from behind, left, right and rip past just feet off the ground. It was killer panning practice and so much fun. Oh, and the pretty blond in the front of that cub is my gorgeous bride. She loves to fly and we had lots of it. And this, is just the beginning of the story. mtc
Jun 20, 2013 | Aviation
Paying dues, it’s how the biz operates. The amazing opportunities that seem to come my way I wish were just presented to me on a silver platter but such is not the case. There is a ying to the yang and after it being that way for three decades, I have no issue with the system. I know in the end that the opportunity I have in my heart will materialize. This is the relationship I have with Stead Airport, I put in my time doing photographs you wouldn’t think are your typical Moose genre and in the end, the opportunity appears that is just up my alley. That’s how the afternoon shoot with this gorgeous P-51D came about. The seed was planted years ago and on this day, it bloomed. It’s how I have come to operate. I wasn’t very patient when I was a kid with this system but life has taught me to be patient. It does come and when it does, oh, is it sweet! It’s even better when you can share it with friends like this evening when Jake and the Band of Four as we joked our way to great images.
At the same time you have this “photographic plan” in which you have the means (gear, technical expertise, digital darkroom skill perhaps, subject knowledge) to make it all come together in a click when the opportunity appears. The gear side was pretty simple: D4, 80-400VR3 (shot here) and 18-35AFS, Ground Pod and the most important, knee pads! Next was the camera position and exposure: low, 45 degrees and underexposed -1.5 stops. Then comes the DD: ACR 8.1 using Shadow Slider and DSL/Gray Scale Luminance Slider to light the fuselage / sky (remove blue cast by moving Blue Slider to desaturate it) then bring the sky back using the Split Grad and its controls (what’s the subject – a WHITE P-51D Mustang – can’t loose site of that in the process). And the subject knowledge, I always think that is the most important and in this case, befriending the plane owner with conversation, presenting of the business card and FOLLOWING up on commitments. Lastly, carry on the tradition that these aircraft belong to everyone which means you share the image. I love the fact that when folks see the finished photograph, all they see is the magic of the moment because that’s the goal. There is NO reason the backend stuff has to ever come up, that’s not the point of sharing the photograph. But it’s important to understand. It’s not magic, it’s vision.
Jun 17, 2013 | Aviation
There are times when I think I read things into a photograph that only I see. This is not a good thing because when it comes to communicating, you want to reach as many as possible. We must realize that we won’t reach everyone, that’s how it goes. But when we have a message we want to reach everyone and it only means something to us, our photograph falls right on its face. Take this one for example, what I think is a real stretch. The name on the F8F Bearcat reads Blue Angels and if you look at the shape of the cloud over the plane, you might, might see a halo. And if you have an over active imagination such as myself, you might connect the two, Blue Angel and halo. But the odds of someone just seeing that without this long explanation, slim to none. That’s one thing we gotta watch for in our photographs if we want to be successful and visually communicating.
Jun 14, 2013 | Aviation
With days starting at 04:45 and ending at 01:00, you might say we’re jumpin and it’s great! PRS is such a great time with planes, pilots and friends. Been shooting alot with D4, (including Di-GPS) Nikon 800f5.6 AFS (w/TC800-25e), on the Gitzo 5561SGT w/ Wimberley Head (w/ RRS Quick Release mount attached) because I want that illusion of speed with the super blurred background. I’m panning, shooting at shutter speeds from 1/80 to /125 and I’m pleased with the results I’m getting. The AF speed of the D4/800 is impressive providing a great platform for bring out more speed. And I like more speed!
