yipDog
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RoadKing1985
February 06, 2016
Retired Military also and love all military vehicles. But this shot was an awesome capture for sure!!:) Thanks for sharing and keep shooting amigo!:)
JTurk
February 24, 2016
As an ex_F/A-18 driver, I can only say it truly captures the moment. Keep up the great shots yipDog!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken at MCAS El Centro. I am part of a group that is allowed access to area next to the runway.Time
I took this around 3:30 in the afternoon when the light was just starting to get good.Lighting
All natural!Equipment
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM + 1.4x (FOCAL LENGTH 420.0 mm)Inspiration
I am addicted to aviation in general and the ability to take shots of current military aircraft is rather rare. I wanted to show the moment of touchdown.Editing
This was run through NIK plugins SilverFX. The full color version is OK but very flat as the sky was grey and the plane is grey. Made more sense to accentuate the detail and contrast by going B&W.In my camera bag
For these trips a group of us gets crammed onto a bus and the gear pretty much has to fit in our lap. I bring two bodies (1Dx and 5D mk3) and my 24-70 f2.8L II, 70-200 f2.8L II and 300 f2.8L II with my 1.4 and 2.0 TCIII extenders. This gives me all the focal lengths I need and it all fits in my Think Tank roller case. I have recently replaced my 5D mk3 with the new Sony A7Rii and Metabones mk4 which happen to work flawlessly with the Canon lenses. It performs just as fast as the 5D mk3 but at double the resolution. Plus it gives me 4K video.Feedback
Obviously access is the most difficult hurdle. This is a full-on military base so it takes weeks of contacting the right people, having background checks done, and arranging the schedule.As for the photography end of shots like this, timing is the key. Fast shutter speeds and fast burst rates are good for shots like this because I am trying to freeze the moment an aircraft touches down at 180mph. Panning is the other type of shot I use for aviation. Slow shutter (down to 1/30 in some instances) blurs the background and gives a sense of speed. It takes a LOT of practice to get right but the rewards are spectacular.