Sep 23, 2011 | Field Reports
I perhaps shouldn’t have used the word “tease” in my Nik video since many seem to have latched on to that (except your Laura). Aviation photography doesn’t wait for great light, planes fly when pilots feel like flying so if you want that photo, there are times when you have suckie light. Rare Bear was taking off for a test flight and I wanted the shot so I made it. I made it knowing that when I went click, it wouldn’t be finished. The shadow under the wings would be dark and the cloud detail missing. I also knew that in less then 30sec with Nik’s CEP 4, I would have all that information back and a finished photo. All of this planning was done at the camera with some being finished in the computer. So don’t get stuck on the word “tease” in my video. What’s there are real tools I use everyday to bring out the drama you see here.
Sep 23, 2011 | Field Reports
Yeah baby, Nik Webinar time again! Can’t wait, had a great time at the last one. It “sells” out fast so register…now! Go, now, stop reading, click here and go!! What am I talking about? Black n White baby!
Sep 23, 2011 | Field Reports
Pages are in the process of being updated. In the meantime you can watch our videos on our YouTube Channel as well as all Videos are available on iTunes as Podcasts!
Sep 21, 2011 | Field Reports
The last few days have been, well, different. I wasn’t really planning on blogging the rest of the week, there is simply more important things to deal with right now. You as a community, you “fans” though have been simply amazing! Your out pouring of concern to my family and me has let us know just how blessed we are!
Jake & I both had shot lists, aircraft and folks we wanted to photograph and with the sheer size and magnitude of Reno Air Races, we break things down by days. Now if we see something come up that we know is a once in a lifetime opportunity, we would deviate but otherwise, we kinda stick to our plan so we cover all we want to cover. Sunday night when we got back home, Jake & I realized we were light about 5000 images. Images we planned on taking Saturday and Sunday. Planes and folks we wanted to tell their story visually are missing as there was no Saturday/Sunday. It’s something we’re still coping with.
In the process of communicating with all from the races as we gather ourselves up and move forward, some web comments were brought to my attention. Now I am very use to this in the environmental world, been dealing with it for 30yrs. It is 100% human nature, it’s what we do and it is a survival mechanism that permits us to deal with bad times and horrible information. Sometimes it’s just plain old ignorance and other it’s just the bad information pressed upon us. That’s probably why whenever I blog about doing your homework for wildlife photography, I can hear the jeers arise. For example if I mention climate change in a blog (like I did just now), my email box will fill with emails telling me I’m an idiot. They tell me that what I’ve seen firsthand is not the case, I didn’t see it correctly. I love those emails. Well I’ve got a new one now that has its own folder as well.
I wrote in my Gone West blog that “It is just part of aviation.” Accidents and deaths that is and as a wise person just told me, “You’ll find more submarines at the bottom of the ocean then planes stuck in the sky.” I’d fly right now, right this moment with any of my friends in their aircraft if they’d come and pick me up (this does not include commercial flights). But with that desire, I know accidents, no matter how careful you are, happen. We spend a couple of hours at our Air2Air Workshop talking just safety because it is apart of the passion. The list of planes, pilots, photographers and passengers that I personally know that have tragically lost their lives in a plane crash in the last 45 days is too long to think it’s not part of aviation. From Jimmy Leeward to Frans Dely to Jack “Flash” Mangan to 7 others I know in the last 45 days. If you head to NTSB or PlaneCrashInfo you’ll see this is the tip of the ice berg.
Sharon & I have been fighting the battle, because it is a battle, to make the public aware of the plight of our wild heritage for a long time. It has taken its toll on us over the years as the message falls on fewer and fewer ears with less and less being done on their behalf. We still battle but we now have a wall to protect us from the bad news we feel is coming (critter extinction is hard to handle). That’s why we weren’t surprised by those who think I’m all wrong about what my dear friend calls, “The under belly of flight.” Planes do come down and tragically, good folk pass.
We’re living in a time when change is needed. It’s needed on every level at ever sector for everybody. Talking with so many vets from WWII, I crave that spirit of that era to infuse itself again in us as a society. There are many avenues available to us to make the needed changes and I don’t mean to trivialize the solution, but I think knowledge could take us a long ways to solving our problems. No matter your age, beliefs or goals, pushing yourself to be better educated and informed and knowledgeable, leads to conversations that will unite and improve us all. We don’t all have to agree but with knowledgeable and educated conversation we can make a positive change. Be it politics, the environment, aviation, sports, no matter what, take some time to read, ponder and learn so common sense and not ignorance rules the day. Keep that open heart for your fellow man but don’t forget knowledge is a powerful force!
Sep 14, 2011 | Field Reports
Naomi, whata gift! And to think you made it with a chainsaw (simply amazing) just for me, I’m speechless….Thanks! It’s just another reason why we love it here.
Sep 12, 2011 | Field Reports
I was asked A LOT at Photoshop World what drives do I use for my digital library. I think it was because Buffalo had a booth for the first time at PSW. I have used Buffalo HD & NAS since day one. This is the current “herd” in the “Rabbit hutch” in the office and represents 64TB of storage (and if you look closely you can see a 1TB external that is the backup for my computer). They run on a Raid 5 which means if a HD goes bad in a unit (and they do), I simply pull out the HD and slap in a new one (and I have a complete BU set as well). I have never, never lost one file with this system! In fact, I hand down my “old” Buffalo NAS to Jake who is running 6 2TB & 4TB Buffalo NAS units. Buffalo had in their booth a 24TB box and I’ll be writing in the future more on this. And before I get a ton of emails, no, I have no offsite storage. Yes, I know the world says I should. No, I still don’t have it. But I do love my Buffalos, they just work.
