Aug 9, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.4-5.6 PD-Zoom, 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Stories, AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II, AF-S TC 2.0 E III Tele-converter, Aviation, B-25 Mitchell, F/A-18 Super Hornet, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon D300, Nikon D3x, Piper J-3 Cub, Piper PA-18 Super Cub, Spartan 7W Executive, The Moments During the Clicks, Waco YKC
The Moments During the Clicks | a 7 Image Story Many great aviation images come from fast action. Obviously air to air or ground to air images require panning skills no matter what type of aircraft. Propeller planes require really good panning skills to keep the plane in focus while blurring the prop. Even prop planes taxiing require some panning. Jets tend to be a bit easier since there’s no prop. Many images are required to insure a decent photo. Clicks! Clicks! Clicks! There’s really no calm in the moments during the clicks. Things are moving fast. Generally, I don’t even look at many images in camera. I wait until the end of the day when processing them in post. Each of these images has its own back story on my journey. This post will be updated each day after the post of each image.
The Moments During the Clicks | F/A 18 Super Hornet Capturing just the right image of a fast mover like the Super Hornet requires good panning skills and dozens of images from burst mode shooting. It’s all about keeping the plane in the frame whiling panning and clicking as the plane zooms past. Clicks! Clicks! Clicks! It’s an exciting day with few calm moments. Calm comes during post processing when reviewing your great images. The Chicago Air & Water Show is a really nice venue for capturing aircraft images along the beach, particularly if you like jets. You can’t always pick the background, but even with these bald skies, the vapor trail provides some contrast. Notice the “F/A” in the F/A-18 designation since it’s both a fighter and an attack aircraft. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine, carrier-capable, multi-role fighter and attack aircraft. It has an internal 20 mm M61 rotary cannon and can also carry air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons. Turn & burn!
Super Cub on Floats The Piper Super Cub, Alaska’s favorite bush plane, makes for great fun. This Piper Super Cub is taking off by lifting one float up first then the other. Although the waves are small, it’s excellent training. Capturing this image on Floatplane Weekend took some planning, good technique, and more than a little luck. The problem, of course, is getting a clear image while blurring the prop. The plane is moving forward, the waves are moving it up and down. The boat I’m riding is moving forward as well as up and down. Yet, the shutter speed must be low enough to make the prop blur. Needless to say, it’s all about keeping the plane in the frame whiling panning and clicking with the hammer down. Clicks! Clicks! Clicks! Calm comes back at the dock.
Cub & Super Cub Two iconic airplanes flying in nice snow make for memorable images. The Cub and Super Cub are having fun on Skiplane Weekend. Getting just the right spacing with just the right blowing snow while the camera and I were freezing meant several hundred burst mode images. Clicks! Clicks! Clicks! Of course, the difficulty to capturing good airplane images in the winter with snow, is to keep the shutter speed low enough to blur the prop and pan well enough to keep the wings and fuselage in sharp focus while dealing with bright, hard mid-day light. A 1/125s shutter speed is about as high as I like for a click like this one. Luckily this day had bright overcast in between snow showers.
B-25 Miss Mitchell This image was captured right after a heavy rain shower at the 70th Doolittle Raiders Reunion. While walking near the hanger door immediately after the rain shower, I noticed Miss Mitchell’s crew looking over the plane to make sure everything was OK. A simple click captured the moment. During WWII, the B-25J “Miss Mitchell” completed more than 130 combat missions over North Africa and Italy without any crew fatalities. After a 12 year restoration by the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, “Miss Mitchell” continues to fly. Of course, the B-25 became famous when Lieutenant Colonel “Jimmy” Doolittle took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet in April of 1942 to bomb Tokyo. Those 16 B-25s became the first U.S. aircraft to bomb the Japanese mainland.
Spartan Executive My second year at the Blakesburg AAA Fly-in ended with a few long exposure images. This image was captured just before the last rays of sunset light faded on the first day of the fly-in. Notice the line of sunset light reflection cutting through the fuselage. No, it’s not a wrinkle in the aluminum; it’s light reflection on the polished aluminum plane. For a still shot in fading light, this image required numerous clicks for getting the nice combination of light, exposure, and angle. Click! Click! Click! They were captured without a tripod, but with steady hands and the patience to capture numerous images. Then, a slow walk along the flight line followed admiring more beautiful old flying machines.
B-25 Champaign Gal The B-25 Champaign Gal, along with another B-25, was taxiing for takeoff at Grimes Field in Urbana, OH before the 70th Doolittle Raider Reunion. Twenty B-25 aircraft attended the reunion the next day on 17 Apr 2013. Luckily, I was able to get a media pass so I could get out to the end of the runway for possibly a better shot. Champaign Gal is based at Grimes Field as part of the Champaign Air Museum. Similar images could have easily been taken at numerous airfields around the world in 1942.
Waco This beautiful Waco made several takeoffs and landings on Antique Field the day I was able to attend the Blakesburg AAA Fly-in. Notice the grass runway and nice the backgrounds on images captured at Antique Field. It’s like going back to the golden age of aviation! The soft sepia finish adds to the old image look. Like all propeller plane shots, the shutter speed must be low enough to make the prop blur. Needless to say, it’s all about keeping the plane in the frame whiling panning and clicking with the hammer down. Clicks! Clicks! Clicks! Calm comes back at the end of the day.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category The Moments During the Clicks.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Jun 10, 2020 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, Aviation, Daily Image 2020, Nikon 1 V3, Piper J-3 Cub, Piper PA-18 Super Cub
Aviation | Cub & Super Cub Two iconic airplanes flying in nice snow make for memorable images. Of course, the difficulty to capturing good airplane images in the winter with snow, is to keep the shutter speed low enough to blur the prop and pan well enough to keep the wings and fuselage in sharp focus while dealing with bright, hard mid-day light. A 1/125s shutter speed is about as high as I like for a click like this one. For the whole story with all images, see Aviation | a 7 Image Story.
Jun 7, 2020 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Stories, AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II, AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, AF-S TC 2.0 E III Tele-converter, Aviation, Aviation, B-25 Mitchell, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, F-4 Phantom II, F/A-18 Super Hornet, Martin JRM Mars, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon D300, Nikon D3x, Perth Amboy Bird CK, Piper J-3 Cub, Piper PA-18 Super Cub
Aviation | a 7 Image Story Picking seven aviation images from the thousands in my database was difficult. These images were primarily chosen because they represent some of my best compositions. Like these images, many of my favorite aviation images come from airshows and fly-ins. My favorite events include Oshkosh, Chicago Air & Water, the AAA fly-in, and the Lake City fly-in. See more wildlife images in my Aviation Portfolio.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner This image, captured several years ago at Oshkosh before the 787 had entered service, shows the Dreamliner on its takeoff roll. The Dreamliner can carry around 300+/- passengers 6,000 to 7,500 nm. To help passengers on those long hauls, the cabin pressure and the humidity are higher than most airliners. Passengers feel like they are at an altitude of 6,000 feet instead of the industry standard of around 8,000 feet, which may help passenger fatigue.
B-25 Champaign Gal In this image, Champaign Gal is taking off at Grimes Field in Urbana, OH before the 70th Reunion of the Doolittle Raiders at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH in April 2012. Twenty B-25 aircraft attended the reunion with the five remaining crew members from the raid. Similar images could have easily been taken at numerous airfields around the world in 1942. Champaign Gal is based at Grimes Field as part of the Champaign Air Museum.
F/A 18 Super Hornet This image was captured at the Chicago Air & Water Show. If you have never gone to it; it’s a really nice venue for capturing aircraft images along the beach, particularly if you like jets. You can’t always pick the background, but even with these bald skies, the vapor trail provides some contrast. Notice the “F/A” in the F/A-18 designation since it’s both a fighter and an attack aircraft. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine, carrier-capable, multi-role fighter and attack aircraft. It has an internal 20 mm M61 rotary cannon and can also carry air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons. Turn & burn!
Cub & Super Cub Two iconic airplanes flying in nice snow make for memorable images. Of course, the difficulty to capturing good airplane images in the winter with snow, is to keep the shutter speed low enough to blur the prop and pan well enough to keep the wings and fuselage in sharp focus while dealing with bright, hard mid-day light. A 1/125s shutter speed is about as high as I like for a click like this one.
F-4 Phantom This F-4 Phantom II image was captured during the Oshkosh fly-in several years ago. The F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range, supersonic fighter-bomber. The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2.
Perth Amboy Bird CK This Perth Amboy Bird CK image was captured a few years ago at the Annual Antique Airplane Association Fly-in in Blakesburg, IA. Only 50 Perth Amboy Bird CK aircraft were built in the 1930s and only four are registered in the USA today. It’s powered by the five cylinder Kinner B-5 radial engine.
Martin JRM Mars This Martin JRM Mars is dropping 7,200 gallons of water on runway 18/36 at AirVenture 2016. The Martin JRM Mars flying boats are the world’s largest flying boats ever flown operationally. Although seven were built, only two remain flying, the Hawaii Mars JRM-3 pictured here and the Philippine Mars. They have been refitted as firefighting water bombers carrying 7,200 gallons of water.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Aviation.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Apr 12, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Stories, AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Aviation, Cessna 195, Cessna 195 Businessliner, Cessna 208 Caravan, Floatplane, Floatplanes & Amphibians, Grumman G-21 Goose, Howard DGA-15 Floatplane, Martin JRM Mars, Nikon 1 V1, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon D200, Piper J-3 Cub, Piper PA-18 Super Cub
Floatplanes & Amphibians | a 7 Image Story Two main types of seaplanes are floatplnes and flying boats. Floatplanes are aircraft fitted with floats instead of wheels. Flying boats are aircraft where the fuselage is partially submerged in water providing most of the buoyancy and space for crew and payload. Floatplanes and flying boats can be amphibians. Amphibians have landing gear built into their floats or fuselage so they can land on water or runways. Sure the terminology can get a little confusing. Still, all seaplanes have unique attributes making them fun to fly.
Martin JRM Mars The Martin JRM Mars flying boats are the world’s largest flying boats ever flown operationally. Although seven were built, only two remain flying, the Hawaii Mars JRM-3 pictured here and the Philippine Mars. They have been refitted as firefighting water bombers carrying 7,200 gallons of water. They can be refilled on the water. The pilot and crew land on the water normally, but keep the the aircraft “on the step” while scooping up another 7200 gallons in just 25 seconds. Then, they takeoff for another firefighting mission.
Cessna 208 Caravan The Caravan is a rugged airplane ready to accomplish multiple missions whether on wheels or floats. This amphibian Caravan was landing on a grass runway using its retractable gear. It came to the fly-in from its home on the water of a nearby lake. Its powerful turboprop engine delivers the high performance and low operating costs.
Piper PA-18 Super Cub Super Cubs make great floatplanes at a reasonable cost. This one fitted, with retractable gear in the floats, makes a smooth landing at a grassroots fly-in.
Howard DGA-15 The Howard DGA-15 is a single-engine aircraft produced by the Howard Aircraft Corporation from 1939 to 1944. The DGA-15 is a high-winged monoplane with a wooden wing and a steel-tube-truss fuselage wide enough to sit five people comfortably.
Cessna 195 Businessliner Ever get a hankering to fly an airplane with a bit of nostalgia? A plane equipped with a radial engine, cowling bumps, small tires with big spats, etc. The Cessna 195 Businessliner embodies the look of yesterday with better creature comforts than modern planes. Developed in 1947, it was Cessna’s first all-aluminum aircraft with rounded cantilever wings, a radial engine, and a cabin seating five. It quickly became a great utility plane on wheels or floats.
Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. It’s powered by an air-cooled engine and a fixed pitch propeller. Its fuselage is a welded steel frame covered in fabric with seating for two in tandem. It has a simple, lightweight design giving it good low speed handling properties and short field performance. The Cub’s standard chrome yellow paint known as “Cub Yellow” identifies it as one of the best known aircraft of all time. It’s simplicity, affordability, popularity, and performance make it a prized bush plane whether on wheels or floats.
Grumman G-21 Goose The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious aircraft designed as an eight-seat commuter plane. The Goose was Grumman’s first monoplane, first twin-engine aircraft, and first aircraft for commercial service. During WWII the Goose was used as a military transport. The G-21 Goose is an all-metal, high-winged monoplane powered by two 450 HP nine-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp radial engines. The deep fuselage hull has a hand-cranked retractable landing gear and ample interior space to be a small airliner.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Floatplanes & Amphibians.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Apr 11, 2020 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, Daily Image 2020, Nikon 1 V3, Oshkosh Seaplane Base, Piper J-3 Cub
Oshkosh Seaplane Base | Piper J-3 Cub Departs Hard to leave such a tranquil place. This Cub is just going up for a ride. For the whole story with all images, see Oshkosh Seaplane Base | a 7 Image Story.
May 28, 2018 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Story Posts, Daily Image 2018, Lake City Fly-in 2018, Lake City Fly-in 2018, Nikon 1 V3, Piper J-3 Cub
Lake City Fly-in 2018 | Piper J-3 Cub Landing For a photographer, the Lake City Fly-in represents the old grass roots fly-ins of aviation’s early years with beautiful backgrounds and grass runways. Unlike the backgrounds of most airports that contain buildings, roads, towers, etc., these runways run next to nature with trees and fields. In fact, did you ever wonder why sometimes airports are called fields? It’s because early airports where just that; large fields where the airplanes could always takeoff and land into the wind. See Lake City Fly-in 2018 | a 7 Image Story for the whole story.
May 27, 2018 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Story Posts, Daily Image 2018, Lake City Fly-in 2018, Lake City Fly-in 2018, Nikon 1 V3, Piper J-3 Cub
Lake City Fly-in 2018 | Piper J-3 Cub This Piper Cub fired up after a good breakfast at the fly-in/drive-in breakfast at the 2018 Lake City Fly-in held each year on the Sunday before Memorial Day. The Piper J-3 Cub is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. It’s powered by an air-cooled engine and a fixed pitch propeller. Its fuselage is a welded steel frame covered in fabric with seating for two in tandem. It has a simple, lightweight design giving it good low speed handling properties and short field performance. The Cub’s standard chrome yellow paint known as “Cub Yellow” identifies it as one of the best known aircraft of all time. It’s simplicity, affordability, popularity, and performance make it a prized bush plane. Large numbers of Cubs are still flying today. See Lake City Fly-in 2018 | a 7 Image Story for the whole story.
May 27, 2018 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Stories, Aviation, Boeing E75, Cessna 172 Taildragger, Events, Lake City Fly-in 2018, Lake City Fly-in 2018, Luscombe 8E, Nikon 1 V3, Piper J-3 Cub, Wag Air Sportsman 2+2
Lake City Fly-in 2018 | a 7 Image Story The Lake City grassroots fly-in attracts many local planes in beautiful condition. This Piper Cub fired up after a good breakfast at the fly-in/drive-in breakfast at the 2018 Lake City Fly-in held each year on the Sunday before Memorial Day. The Piper J-3 Cub is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. It’s powered by an air-cooled engine and a fixed pitch propeller. Its fuselage is a welded steel frame covered in fabric with seating for two in tandem. It has a simple, lightweight design giving it good low speed handling properties and short field performance. The Cub’s standard chrome yellow paint known as “Cub Yellow” identifies it as one of the best known aircraft of all time. It’s simplicity, affordability, popularity, and performance make it a prized bush plane. Large numbers of Cubs are still flying today.
A Stearman represents the true nature of a grassroots fly-in. The Model 75 was introduced to the US Army Air Forces as a trainer in 1934 and remained in production until the end of WWII. It’s relatively easy to fly and simple to maintain. After the war, the demand for Stearmans remained high; used mostly as agricultural crop dusters and aerobatic air show performers. Many are still airworthy today.
The Sportsman 2+2, a modern replica of the Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser, is a cruiser with extra baggage area and increased fuel capacity. The Sportsman 2+2 has docile handling. It can also utilize large tires for off-airport operation and can hold an IFR instrument panel. Obviously, it can also be configured as a float plane.
The 1948 Luscombe has been beautifully restored and looks at home on a grass strip. It features a 85hp Continental C85 engine and an electrical system. And, In a fly-in with grass runways and taildraggers, the Cessna 172 still seems comfortable. Since 1956, more Skyhawks have built than any other aircraft; more than 44,000 airplanes.
For a photographer, the Lake City Fly-in represents the old grass roots fly-ins of aviation’s early years with beautiful backgrounds and grass runways. Unlike the backgrounds of most airports that contain buildings, roads, towers, etc., these runways run next to nature with trees and fields. In fact, did you ever wonder why sometimes airports are called fields? It’s because early airports where just that; large fields where the airplanes could always takeoff and land into the wind.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category: Lake City Fly-in 2018.
Click any image below for a slide show!
