Category Archives: photo

Swallows but no Amazons

When trying to be smart and come up with an amusing play on words for a title, I realized I could be on dangerous territory with this one. Instead, I decided to play it safe but dull! Back to the topic…

I was sitting on the shore of Lake Michigan recently watching the swallows do their thing. I find them a fascinating bird to watch since they have a level of agility that is hard to comprehend. I guess when you eat by catching insects in mid air, you have to be pretty sharp. Catching a swallow on the wing is a trickier proposition altogether. They are hard to pan with and they are small so a long lens helps keep them visible but makes the panning so much harder!

Getting them standing on a non-moving surface makes for a far easier time. Of course, that isn’t so exciting. There is always the option to keep trying to get a bit closer without scaring them off.

Then again, you can always try and get the flying shot. These will never be published but they were better than I expected!

Flashing at the birds

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While hanging around up in Door County in Wisconsin, I have been taking a bunch of pictures of the local wildlife. Mainly a lot of birds in the vicinity of our hotel and that is always a fun challenge. To add to the challenge, one of the afternoons that we were back at the hotel, the weather closed in and it began to rain. There was a patch of grass outside our balcony that seemed to be a popular spot for some robins so I started taking some shots.

As you are probably aware, robins are quite bold creatures so, with a little patience, you can end up with them coming reasonably close in. However, with the light having faded fast as the weather deteriorated and the natural shade of the area, it was not looking good to get a good shot. I started out by bumping up the ISO but that was only helping so much and, without a tripod, I was still going to get mixed results.

At this point I decided to try something that everyone who shoots wildlife a lot probably does to some extent but that I had not tried before and that was using some flash to boost the excitement. I had no idea how much to use so experimented with a little extra FEC, then zero and ultimately one stop under on FEC. The latter seemed to have the best results judging by the quick view on the back of the camera – always such a reliable indicator!

I was using the flashgun straight with no boost like a Better Beamer (if that is the right name) so it was a bit of a raw experiment but the results seemed to be be pretty pleasing so this is something I will have to think about further in due course.

Chicago by Blimp (Apologies to Thomas Dolby)

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Hardly an earth-shattering post this time. Often, photographing aviation themes can be a case of frustration as you try and aim to be somewhere when something is happening. This situation is a little different. I was happily sitting in my living room when I looked out of the window and saw a blimp briefly pass between two buildings in the distance. Blimps do occasionally show up in the city, usually providing aerial coverage of some sporting event or other.

I decided to grab the camera and see if it came any closer. I got my gear and waited for the blimp to come up the shoreline towards us. Sure enough, it appeared between some more buildings heading in just the right direction. Then, it turned around and headed back the way it had just come. Crap! Where was it going next? I started watching the gap I had first seen it in. Nothing for a while. I got distracted by a shot of an Aston Martin parked in the front of the Trump and looked up to see it just passing out of sight in the gap I was supposed to be watching.

Now, can I be patient and wait for it to come back again? Sure I can. I waited – and waited – and waited. Nothing. I was beginning to think it had gone when I spotted its reflection in the IBM building. It was right behind us! This guy is sneaky!

Now I had to wait again. Would he continue on that course and come out the other side of us or reverse again? This time he continued in a predictable fashion and popped out amongst the buildings north and east of us. I grabbed a few shots as he headed south again and then returned to what I was doing. Hardly great shots and probably not worth the effort (unless DirecTV decide to give me something for publicizing their own publicity machine) but I guess I am a bit of a victim of anything flying. Also, I was surprised to see just how quick that blimp could be when he wanted to get moving!

Hovercraft Reminiscences

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Having taken the chance to shoot one of the LCACs while in San Diego the other week, I decided to have a trip down memory lane for some other hovercraft moments. I have some relatively recent shots of the hovercraft that operate between Ryde and Southsea. I also have some old scans of the massive SRN4 Super 4 hovercraft that used to run across the English Channel taken when I was about to make the crossing on vacation. No great explanations to follow. Just some shots if you want a look.

ISAP Field Trip – Part 3

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Back in the bus and it seemed to be running okay now – that is if you didn’t count the clunking that was coming from the suspension almost directly under my seat! Of course, there was still a question as to whether our driver knew where he was going. However, after a few wrong turns, we did arrive at our last destination of the day.

This was Gillespie Field and, more specifically, Bill Allen’s collection. Bill has developed a series of properties on the field that are combination homes and hangars. They are designed to have a really vintage look though and create a mini village at one end of the field.

Bill was an excellent host. Aside from making his place open to us and providing very welcome refreshments and food, he had some great aircraft on display including Stearmans and a Bucker Jungmeister. This was the day preceding the field’s airshow so a variety of interesting aircraft were arriving while we were there.

As I walked in, a familiar dace wandered up. Paul Dunn if Global Aviation Resource was there. Work had brought him to LA and he had taken the chance to come down and spend time with the subject of one of his articles, Captain Eddie, owner of an immaculate Fairey Firefly. Paul suggested I head around the corner to see it before too many people spotted it. Indeed it was a beautifully restored example and I grabbed a few shots.

We all then retreated to the grass near the Jungmeister. As the evening drew in, the light was just getting better and better. There was no urgency to shoot so we relaxed on the grass, occasionally hopping up if something new appeared. A beautiful evening in great surroundings with friends was pretty idyllic.

As the light finally faded we had a couple more treats. A pair if the Stearmans fired up for some dusk passes across the field. Meanwhile, another aircraft was staged for a lighting demonstration by Joe McNally. He put together the shot and built up a selection of flashes to light it, showing us the whole process as he went. Very interesting, even if I did feel a touch guilty running off occasionally when the Stearmans made another pass.

Finally it was dark and time to bid farewell to Bill and Gillespie and head back to the hotel. What a day!

ISAP Field Trip – Part 2

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We all gathered outside the Air and Space Museum to get on the buses for the second part of the trip. A few people got on the opposite bus to the one that they had come on. This apparently was a problem from a security perspective since our next stop was to be the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar. It would transpire that some would be glad they got back on their original bus before too long.

Miramar is a short drive north of San Diego. Now it a Marine Corps base, Miramar has operated under the control of a number of services through its life. It is probably most famous and the center of US Navy fighter operations in the 1980s when Top Gun was filmed there. Fightertown USA now is home to some marine F/A-18 Hornets as well as a lot of V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft. These have now almost completely replaced the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter with the marines at Miramar.

We were to be hosted by one of thes tilt rotor squadrons. However, first we had to get there! As we headed up the freeway, the bus suddenly went rather quiet. We coasted to a halt, our driver/comic hopped out, disappeared around the back and before too long we were on our way again. This was not to last though. Very soon we repeated the process and this time we were sitting on the shoulder of the freeway.

One errant bolt apparently was killing the cooling fan and the engine, in full self preservation mode, was shutting down before any damage could be done. To add insult to injury, we were actually in sight of the base. While a rescue plan consisting of a mechanic to fix the bus and the other bus making a return trip to pick us up was put into effect, we got to stand on the side of the freeway and watch the Hornets bashing the pattern.

Eventually we were on our way and got to join the rest of the party in the Officers’ Club at Miramar. There was food left for us and fortunately nobody decided to try and do any Top Gun song routines in the club. With a little compression of the time at lunch, we were able to get back on schedule. Off we went to the squadron.

We were given access to the squadron hangar (at least most of us were until the security gate got over its concern about how many people were coming in and locked a bunch outside for a while). There were a couple of aircraft in the hangar we had access to shoot and the doors were open to the ramp although we couldn’t venture outside. Plenty of Ospreys were out on the ramp and there was some flying activity. A Super Stallion also came in and some Hornets and and Orion were also flying in the distance.

The sun was out and the vast expanse of concrete was throwing up a lot of heat haze. This frustrated any attempts to shot anything too far away but there was still plenty to look at. Unfortunately, as our time was running out, we gathered together for the group shot. Just at this point a bunch of aircraft returned. The security minders were most insistent that we stop shooting and head to the group photo which was a bit of a shame but never mind.

After the group shots it was back to the buses for the final part of the day’s fun. Another installment will be forthcoming soon…

ISAP Field Trip – Part 1

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During the ISAP symposium, we had a field trip out. The first stop on the trip was the San Diego Air and Space Museum. Located in Balboa Park, this is one of my favorite parts of the city – even before including a museum with a bunch of aircraft. I had been to the museum quite recently during a separate trip to San Diego.

We had an excellent breakfast laid on for us as soon as we got to the museum. The journey from the hotel included a running commentary from our bus driver. He obviously missed his true vocation (I’m just not sure what that should have been!)

The museum is circular and has a nice courtyard in the center which is glazed. With a selection of interesting aircraft, it is a very pleasant place to hang out. I did just that for a bit of the time catching up with some old friends and making some new ones. I also took a wandering around the museum. It is a touch tricky to photograph without a tripod since it is rather dark so I chose my subjects carefully.

Also, the basement area where much of the restoration work is done was available to us. This is normally off limits and provided an interesting place to explore. The people involved in the restoration were on hand and happy to chat.

Not a bad start to the day! More to come from the rest of the day…

Another ISAP is Over

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Well, I am back on a plane heading from the delights of San Diego back home to Chicago. I need to catch up on a few bits a pieces from the trip so I can provide some posts with a bit more interest but, in the mean time, I wanted you to know that I hadn’t given up on the blog.

More to come soon!

Stormy Skies

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While a wide swath of the Midwest was being hit by some terrible storms, the area north of Green Bay got a taster of what was going on elsewhere. Thankfully we were spared the worst of it but there were some pretty serious thunderstorms that crashed through the area. Elsewhere in Wisconsin some more damage was done but we were in an area that got a lot less of an effect.

As the storms approached, I saw some quite amazing cloud formations pass over our location. The skies were really churning – not something that can be easily demonstrated with stills – but the shapes that were forming were still interesting enough to warrant some attention.

I spent a little time outside trying to record these amazing clouds with mixed results. I also wasn’t too enthusiastic about staying outside when the storms really got going. I didn’t have a good location to set up to try and shoot them either and besides, we had a reservation for dinner! However, I did get a few shots and hopefully they will convey a small amount of what I saw. If not, at least they remind me of what was happening!

The ISAP Cometh

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Okay, you have to forgive the theatrical title but it made me smile! It is not long now until the annual symposium of the International Society of Aviation Photographers or ISAP. This year it is being held in San Diego and I have to admit, I can’t wait. I have been a member of ISAP for a number of years now and find the annual symposium to be an excellent event. My first symposium was in Pensacola and I turned up knowing absolutely nobody. I couldn’t believe the friendly welcome I received from so many people and that is a continuing theme throughout ISAP for me.

The symposium is a very well organized event. We have two full days of presentations on different aspects of the business with a field trip day in the middle that takes us to some location that would not normally be available with access to great aircraft to shoot – all with a really great bunch of people. What more could you ask for?

The levels of the attendees vary greatly. Some are enthusiasts while others are long established professionals. Everyone is open to discuss the topics on offer and there are a willingness to share knowledge that is very refreshing. I have learned a ton of good stuff at these events. It is also an opportunity to share your work. Putting together whatever I want to take with me is something that I start thinking about long in advance. Having some prints put together for display along with any other presentational forms is both fun and a little intimidating. These are the best in the world that you are showing your stuff to!

Soon I will be heading off. For those of you interested but who have never gone, give it some thought. For those of you that are members already, see you there!