Spring Potpourri | Wolf Walk
Spring Potpourri | Wolf Walk Spring at Wolf Park allows the photographer to capture interesting images without snow while still cool enough for the wolves to be active.
Spring Potpourri | Sunrise over the Platte
Spring Potpourri | Sunrise over the Platte Spring along the Platte River in Nebraska brings Sandhill Cranes. Photographers rise at o’dark thirty to capture first light and the sunrise before the cranes begin to rise off the river to feed in the nearby fields.
Skiplanes & Seaplanes | Beautiful Beaver on Floats
Skiplanes & Seaplanes | Beautiful Beaver on Floats The Oshkosh Seaplane Base provides quiet water for this Beaver. And after an afternoon at Oshkosh, it provides a very low key place to kick back for its pilot.
The Back Story The De Havilland Beaver may be the best bush plane ever to put on a pair of floats. It certainly captures the attention and the imagination of many pilots. This pilot can imagine flying along an Alaskan river or road in a valley between 14 thousand foot glacier mountains in a Beaver. The Beaver has become the gold standard for the bush flying with several hundred planes still in service across Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest. For more information, see Oshkosh Seaplane Base | a 7 Image Story.
Skiplanes & Seaplanes | Cessna 195 on Floats
Skiplanes & Seaplanes | Cessna 195 on Floats The quiet waters of the Oshkosh Seaplane Base allows the photographer time to make a nice natural image in a secluded environment.
The Back Story 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. For more information, see Oshkosh Seaplane Base | a 7 Image Story.
Fine Art Portfolio | Snow on the Ranch
Fine Art Portfolio | Snow on the Ranch This homemade gate opens into fields of grass and wind blown snow. It looks like it was made or repaired recently. It’s just a simple gate made with a post and some barbed wire. Without the snow, the subject would just blend into the background.
The Back Story While driving down a gravel road on the east side of the Bridger Mountains after a snowfall, this image was a simple click after stopping for a moment.
Details…
| Event | Drive by a Ranch |
| Location | Near Bridger, MT |
| Date/Time | 11/09/2010 9:56 am Local Time |
| Weather | Mostly Cloudy | 30°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Simple click after a short walk |
| Gear | Nikon D3x with 70-200mm lens |
Fine Art Portfolio | B-25 Champaign Gal
Fine Art Portfolio | B-25 Champaign Gal The B-25 Champaign Gal 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. Champaign Gal is based at Grimes Field as part of the Champaign Air Museum. Still, similar images could have easily been taken at numerous airfields around the world in 1942. The image in black & while seems more realistic for a WWII image.
The Real Story On 18 Apr 1942, sixteen brave flight crews took off from the USS Hornet aircraft carrier in B-25 bombers to strike the Japanese mainland in a daring mission early in WWII. Of the 80 men on the mission, five still remained with us to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their successful mission. This reunion remembers them and all the brave WWII air crews who fought and sometimes died to keep us a free nation. For a first hand account of B-25 activities at the 70th Doolittle Raider reunion: B-25s at the 70th Doolittle Raiders Reunion. To see the nose art of all the B-25s at the reunion: B-25 Nose Art at the 70th Doolittle Raiders Reunion.
The Back Story Luckily, for this event, I was able to get a media pass so I could get out to the end of the taxiway for possibly a better shot. After capturing hundreds of images, this image is one of my favorites.
Details…
| Event | 70th Doolittle Anniversary |
| Location | Grimes Field at Urbana OH |
| Date/Time | 4/16/2012 12:48 am Local Time |
| Weather | Partly Cloudy / Windy | 70°F | Moderate to High Southwest Winds |
| Method | Take tram to media area at end of taxiway, wait for B-25s to taxi out for takeoff, reposition, clicks. |
| Gear | Nikon D3x with a 70-200mm lens |
Fine Art Portfolio | Point Betsie Light
Fine Art Portfolio | Point Betsie Light The background dark storm clouds make great contrast against the crashing waves and wave whitecaps. The lighthouse compliments the drama in the waves and skies. You can almost feel the wind.
The Back Story The winds were really brisk for the walk along the beach north of the lighthouse. After choosing a position, setting up the tripod and keeping still turned out to be more than a little difficult. Really, it was impossible to keep the tripod from vibrating. Luckily, there was enough light to keep the shutter speed high. After repositioning three times, I finally got the right angle on the composition. Then, I waited until the wind, waves, and clouds lines up. I shot several 10-12 shot bursts to capture the wave crash at its maximum height.
Details…
| Event | Photo Stop for Lighthouse |
| Location | Point Betsie Light |
| Date/Time | 9/03/2010 10:23 am Local Time |
| Weather | Cloudy & Stormy | 63°F | High Winds |
| Method | Hike north from lighthouse parking area. Setup tripod. Wait for wind, waves, and clouds align. Clicks |
| Gear | Nikon D3x with 70-200mm lens |
Fine Art Portfolio | Paul
Fine Art Portfolio | Paul This image was captured at the rehearsal dinner the night before he was married. Normally, I like images of people in color. This black and white image appears to show a rather introspective moment.
Hank Conrad © 2024
