Category Archives: photo

A Walk in the Park

One of the nice things about having visitors is that it gives you a reason to take a look around your own town. We had friends in town for New Year and, while coming to Chicago at the end of December might well be something you consider to be a bit unwise, we ended up experiencing some surprisingly mild and sunny weather. This meant taking a walk around outside was not such a dumb idea!

Millennium Park was an obvious place to go. The last time they had visited, the Bean had been partially covered so they had not got the full experience. A sunny day is a good time to do that. We were not alone as you might imagine. Plenty of other people were out in the park and the Bean (I know its real name is Cloud Gate but I am not going to be the only person to call it that) was having its usual effect on people as they marveled at the reflections of the city and themselves.

I have photographed it many times but there is no way I am going to miss out on the chance to do so again.

Skiing to Success!

Leave a Reply

As I wrote before, I was hoping to make a trip to the ski plane fly-in at Oshkosh this year. The weather had not looked good long in advance but then some snow fell and it looked promising. Oshkosh still had patches of the runway without snow so it wasn’t clear until the day before. Then a storm came through on the Friday. In Chicago we got quite a good fall. In Oshkosh, it was only 2-3″ but that was enough to cover the gaps. The next question was with the storm clearing out, was the weather good enough to fly?

The answer was yes. I was riding up with some of the people from Poplar Grove. I drove out to Union IL to meet up with some of the guys. As I left Chicago, the weather was not great with some snow still falling. I was not optimistic. However, as I reached Union, I came out into clear skies (and falling temperatures) and suddenly things looked a lot better.

I met Lee, Buck and Jim at Union as they were getting the aircraft ready to go. I was riding up with Drew who was coming across from Poplar Grove to pick me up. It was 8F as we got our stuff together. The Champ and the Cub were prepped and started up just as Drew arrived. They headed out as I loaded up and we followed on. Drew has a Piper Clipper so we had a speed advantage to catch up.

The first leg was to Palmyra in Wisconsin. Here the whole group had agreed to meet up for breakfast. The good folks at Palmyra had held off from plowing half the runway and one of the taxiways so we had no problem operating on skis. We all met up and trekked across to the restaurant who did a great job of feeding a raucous bunch! It was a very friendly group just confirming me previous good experience at Poplar Grove.

From Palmyra we all headed north to Oshkosh. We departed near the back again and caught up with some of the group. We managed to get some nice formations going en route and I could grab a few shots. Shooting through the windows was a little tricky but the results were not too bad. It was far too cold to consider sliding the windows open! At Palmyra we had reviewed the arrival procedures for Oshkosh. Since Pioneer field is not part of the main airport, we have to arrive low on a special route.

This sounds straightforward when reviewing the brief. However, the arrival height is about 500′ above ground level. At that height, it is not so easy to make out exactly where everything is. However, with two pairs of eyes checking it all out, we managed to pick out all of the appropriate waypoints and find the field. Even doing it right is quite interesting since you have to head straight at the cab of the main tower and then turn final. You feel like you are doing something wrong even though you aren’t. Drew made light work of it all.

Once on the field there was time to take a look at all of the other aircraft that had made it – and see the arrivals of those we had left behind. Chatting with the other crews was a lot of fun and also talking to some of the other visitors made it all the more interesting. There was a briefing about the departure as well. Since the wind was calm, departures were in the opposite direction. This made for great viewing from our location in the parking area with planes taxiing right past us and then turning to depart back past again!

We watched a fair few go. Our group was nearly last to head out and, again, we waited to be towards the back of the group. We got airborne and caught up with one of the Cubs which we found had a ski out of alignment. There are safety wires that limit the travel but a bungee holds the ski in optimal position. This had dislodged. They decided it was easiest to land and fix it so found an open field and dropped it in. They were back up in no time. A few more pictures of the group and then we left them to it.

They were planning making a few touch and goes at various spots but we were on our way home. Only in the last section of the trip did a low cloud base come in. This wasn’t a problem from our perspective other than that the lack of sun meant the cabin suddenly felt a bit colder! It obviously wasn’t a deterrent to some hot air balloonists we passed on the way back. They must have been chilly when the burner wasn’t going!

Drew dropped me back at Union and then headed home to Poplar Grove. It was a great trip and I had a whole lot of fun. I hope Drew’s passengers on his 767s have as much fun as I did. Thanks to everyone involved. It was great and I hope to spend a bunch more time with everyone in the future.

More Young Wildlife

Leave a Reply

We took a trip to Brookfield Zoo to see the young snow leopards. However, we also were aware that there had been some other new arrivals at the zoo since we had last visited. One of these was a baby White Cheeked Gibbon. After visiting the leopards, we headed for the large primate building to see how the new arrival was doing.

Shooting in the primate house is tricky since the light is not always great. I also hadn’t planned for this so didn’t have a flash with me. After the cold outside, the warm and humid building also made for a lot of steaming up of the gear so we spent a lot of time just looking around while everything cleared up. The baby was certainly pretty cute. Mum was taking good care of him while some of the other gibbons seemed to be a bit annoyed about the lack of attention they were getting. This could involve trying to poke the baby. However, Mum was up to the task of fending off any unwanted attention!

Will We Ski?

Leave a Reply

We are creeping up on a day that may or may not prove to be a good day out. This one is weather dependent – something that is often true but in this case more so than normal. At the end of January, EAA schedule their annual ski plane fly in. Held at Pioneer Field it is combined with a chili cook and a celebration of the birthday or Audrey Poberezney, wife of the founder of EAA.

Aside from the weather being good enough to fly, two other things are required. First, there has to be enough snow on Pioneer Field for the planes to land. Second, there has to be snow at wherever they are taking off from! (Some planes do have skis with wheels that can go through them so are more flexible in operation but they are in the minority.) If the snow isn’t playing ball, the fly in has lost its main interest.

I originally planned to go a couple of years ago. Lack of snow canceled that trip for me. I decided to have another go last year. This time things were a lot better. Oshkosh is about two and a half hours north of us if the traffic is flowing. Since the fly in can start early, you either have to get going really early or stay locally. If you can find a nice hotel not so far away that your wife likes that has a spa, you can all be happy!

I had been in touch with Jim Koepnik (until very recently, EAA’s chief photographer) to keep an eye on the developments in the days ahead of the event and Jim ended up being an excellent guide (provider of transport and a warm car to hang out in between aircraft) throughout the day. (Good luck Jim with whatever comes next!) We ended up having great weather and when wrapped up suitably felt little of the cold. I got a bunch of shots and ended up writing a piece for Global Aviation Resource on the day.

This year the plans have been less effective. Originally I intended to repeat what we did last year. However, there had been no snow for ages and there didn’t appear to be any coming soon. We decided to scrub the hotel. I had been in touch with EAA Chapter 1414 about their group trip up and possibly putting cameras on their planes. They offered a ride up. Since I originally thought I would already be there, I had not intended to accept. However, since the hotel cancellation, this became a good possibility if the event went ahead.

Now we have had snow! A big storm came through Illinois and Wisconsin last week. I’m not sure whether the conditions will be good by the time of the event or whether the weather will allow flying anyway. However, we have a plan of sorts so now we just have to wait and see what comes next. Fingers crossed. In the mean time, here are the shots from last year.

Young Snow Leopards

1 Reply

As members of the Brookfield Zoo, we get regular emails telling us about changes that have taken place at the zoo. A recent email caught our eye. Two new Snow Leopard cubs have arrived at the zoo. There was a YouTube video of them playing in their enclosure. They are not related but are of similar age and have been paired. Just like any small cat, they were full of energy and were rolling around and fighting. Exceedingly cute!

We figured we need to get there to see them. When Hudson the polar bear was a cub, we were a bit slow in getting to see him and he was a little large by the time we first caught him. Still very cute but certainly a lot bigger. It seems that Snow Leopards grow fast too! With winter (supposedly) here, animals outside are a rarer event since a lot fo the zoo’s creatures are not suited to Chicago winters. We also wanted a sunny day to make some photography opportunities.

We did get to the zoo and we were lucky to have a great weather day. Both the leopards were out in their enclosure. They are already quite large so we missed the cutest stage. However, they are still quite playful. They have some high locations that they like to rest on but they would still fight with each other. I watched one sneak up on the other and the leap in the air that resulted was very funny.

Shooting them in the enclosure can be tricky. There is a glass wall which gives great viewing but makes shooting a little tricky. The glass is thick and the light is very shaded. In the enclosure open spaces they are more easily shot. However, the high rock area they like to rest on is very close to the netting that keeps them in. When they are further in, a shallow depth of field will remove the netting from the shot but when they are close to it, there is nothing you can do. Hence, I apologize for the net in some shots but I still think they look cool!

More Time Lapse Sunset

Leave a Reply

I had a plan to meet up with my friend Joel to catch up recently. We were looking for a place to meet and went with the Holiday Inn by the Merchandize Mart. It has a bar that is a comfortable place to talk and has the added benefit of a great view over the city. I wasn’t there to shoot anything but, knowing the view was good, I took along some gear just in case.

Joel and I chatted for ages and didn’t get around to taking pictures for a while. As the sun was setting, the sky was getting very interesting and I finally had to apologize and grab the camera. I got a few shots and then set it up by the window next to me to shoot a time lapse.

This required no input from me so we could continue to talk without interruption but it should provide something interesting to check out later. However, I hadn’t planned as well as I hoped. As the light dropped, the shutter speeds were getting perilously close to the delay between each shot as I had set the ISO a little lower than I thought. Changing it is not a problem but I was using a lighter tripod which was not as well locked off as I thought. I managed to move the head a little. I corrected but knew the alignment would be off a bit.

Fortunately, while I couldn’t completely remove the effect, when I processed the time lapse using Lightroom and LRTimelapse, I was able to find the frames where the jump takes place, set them as keyframes, adjust the cropping of the second of those two frames to almost perfectly align and the resulting video is a lot better than it would have been.

Thanks Joel for a fun time. It was good to catch up and I appreciate the stuff you gave me. Here is the video that resulted!

More WHF Fun!

Leave a Reply

Some days things are just looking like they will be good. The Warbird Heritage Foundation have their newly restored P-51 Mustang, Baby Duck, ready for flight. Before they can do too much with it, they need to get some hours on the engine. Consequently, they have had Vlado Lenoch coming across to fly the aircraft when possible to build the hours.

I knew that they had intentions to fly in the week before Christmas but I didn’t know exactly when. However, the weather was crap for the majority of the week. When I saw a good forecast for Friday and I had some free time, I decided to take a chance and head on up to see if anything was happening. If not, it was still a nice day to be out and about!

As it was, not only did the guess prove to be accurate, I got a bit luckier than even I had expected. Baby Duck was out on the ramp when I arrived which was a good sign. Indeed she would be flying and Vlado was coming to fly her. What is the easiest way for Vlado to get there? In his P-51 of course. Paul also was planning on flying one of the other aircraft that day as well. Bonus!

Vlado showed up and got ready to fly the Duck. I scooted across the field to be in a position for good light and angles and it wasn’t long before Vlado was taxiing out. A few other aircraft movements kept me amused while he headed out to the departure end. Before I had left the hangar, I had foolishly suggested to Vlado that he keep it low on departure. That was a pretty redundant thing to say. Vlado certainly kept the aircraft in a good position for me as he came past and he built up speed before turning it into height.

I headed back since we didn’t know how long they would be out. They actually landed away so were gone for quite a while. Chris Doud had been in the right place to bag the back seat so he was having a great time.

When they got back, Paul had a chat with Vlado about how the flight had gone and then got ready to take the T-2 up for a run. Vlado was also heading home in Moonbeam McSwine so I made a second run across the field to get the departures again. They ended up heading out close together. Both provided sporty departures so I was considering the day a very productive one.

I headed back to the hangar to await the return of the T-2. They broke back into the pattern and landed so some taxi in shots and then a few pictures of a very happy back seat passenger made for the end of the day. Time to head back to Chicago and enjoy all the traffic could offer on the last day before Christmas!

Dust Spotting – It’s Over There!

Leave a Reply

A slight change in direction today. I am going to talk about a post processing tip that I recently read in the NAPP magazine, Photoshop User. It was a tip about how to manage dust in images. This may be something that everyone knows about in which case I apologize for being late to the game.

Dust is a familiar problem to a lot of photographers. It isn’t familiar to a lot more but it should be given the number of shots you can see that have dust spots all over them. Cameras have got better in recent years with the addition of dust cleaning functions that shake the dust off. However, not all cameras have them and they don’t always work perfectly.

When shooting aircraft against a blue sky, dust spots can be particularly conspicuous. If the area with the spot already has a lot of detail in it, the chances are you won’t notice it – particularly if the aperture is reasonably wide. In that case, you don’t really have a problem. The difficulty with dust spots is that you can get to a point where you cease to be able to see them.

Lightroom has a nice feature to assist in dust spotting. If you zoom in to 1:1 view in the Develop module and press Page Up or Page Down, you can look at the whole image to use your spot removal tool. As it moves down to the bottom of the image, another press of the button will move you across and back to the top so you cover the whole image without having to think about it. In the past, I have used this technique combined with really ramping up the Blacks slider to make the dust show up. Even then, the results are not always perfect.

The tip from the magazine was the creation of two Tone Curves to help show up the dust. I will describe the creation of the curves at the bottom since it is a bit long-winded and many may not be interested. The two curves when applied to the image create a very freaky effect. You could actually think of it as a creative finish itself but I will leave you to decide on that one. You can save the curves as a preset and use them whenever you need them. (I assume you can do this too in Camera Raw if you are using Photoshop since ACR and Lightroom use the same processing.)

The colors will be really messed up but the effect will make the dust spots really jump out of the image. You might wonder why there are two curves but, interestingly enough, some spots will show up clearly with one curve but barely at all with the other. I tend to apply one curve and run across the image, then apply the other curve and run back the way I came. It really doesn’t take very long to do.

One thing to bear in mind with this. The technique finds dust spots you had no idea were there. You will start to think that your sensor is filthy. Yes, it is – BUT – most of this stuff is totally invisible. Don’t get paranoid. You can get messed up with this. I had some shots of a vintage prop aircraft and the slow shutter speeds had resulted in small apertures and more conspicuous dust. I ended up with so many spot removal edits that the image rendering took a lot longer than normal. I suspect I had gone overboard with those shots.

Do you have to do this with all shots? Nah. However, if you are planning on doing something significant with the shots and you are concerned to keep dust spots out of the image, this could be a good way for you to find the dust more quickly and get back to what you really want to be doing rather than hunting for dust which, I suspect, is not most people’s favorite task.

Creating the Curve:

The curves are reversed versions of each other. One of them starts at 0,0 and the other starts at 0,100. Create a point at each 10% across the x-axis with each point alternating between 0 and 100. You then have a very aggressive looking sine curve (or cosine curve for the alternate I guess).

Another Jetstar Moment

Leave a Reply

A long time back (not that long if you think in geological terms), I wrote this piece about hunting down a Jetstar. I won’t bore you with the details in case you read about it the first time. If you didn’t and want to know, click on that link and you can find out more. Anyway, I still get updates when any Jetstars are flying in the US so I know if they are coming close. Normally, if they happen to be near me, the chances are that I am either already doing something or the weather is crappy (or both).

Recently, I got a morning email about a departure of the same jet as before from Midway. I was free and the weather looked good. Moreover, I still had time to get ready and get down to Midway before it was due off. I decided to give it a go. I needed to find a new location to shoot from so tried a couple of spots when I got there by checking out some of the other departures before settling on a location. Next time I might try a different lens but the result overall wasn’t too bad.

Other Waukegan Bits and Pieces

Leave a Reply

I did get a little side benefit when out shooting the A-4 at Waukegan. I made my way to the other side of the field to be ready to shoot the A-4 when it departed. However, I did give myself a bit of spare time to make sure I didn’t miss it. The result was a couple of extra aircraft.

One was the Yak 52 that Grant owns and flies. He was running it up when I got across the field. I told him where I was going to be so he would know when he departed. Sure enough he came close and he headed out. Hopefully we will be seeing more of Grant’s Yak in the not too distant future.

The second benefit was a corporate jet heading out. Waukegan has a lot of corporate traffic. If I had waited a few more minutes there was a Hawker 800XP heading out but I had to be back at the Hooch. However, I did get this fella as he departed. He used a fair amount of the runway which suited me well.

The last one was a CJ that departed while we were taxiing out in the T-6. Not as great a shot but one to add to the catalog!