Miss Virginia Against the Sky
I can't decide whether I like the color or the B&W version
I can't decide whether I like the color or the B&W version
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Oct, 2016Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Vintage And Classic Photo Contest
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rankTop 20 rank week 2
Platinum
Eduardbetz
November 20, 2019
I like the B&W better, its more dramatic and complementing the age of the plane better. Great image !
philipdrispin
November 20, 2019
Thank you Eduard, I agree with you, I like the Black and White image better too.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken on the aircraft ramp in front of LeTourneau University's hangar at East Texas Regional Airport. near Longview TexasTime
The time of day was mid- to late afternoon with the sun more or less at my back.Lighting
When I approach an aircraft to take its "portrait" I walk around the aircraft several times noting light and shadow and shapes. In this particular instance a highly polished fuselage was also a part of the equation as it added a highly reflective surface. I was fortunate in that the sky had a variety of cloud types in it including high cirrus cloud that made for an interesting background that fit the aviation subject matter.Equipment
I shoot with a NIKON D800E and almost always have my tripod with me while not always making use of it. In this example the camera was on the tripod as I was planning on creating an HDR image and perhaps then changing the HDR result to Black and White. There were no filters used as the NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8 lens does not lend itself easily to the use of filters.Inspiration
I think if you look at the volume of aviation related imagery that I do you would understand that aviation is a passion of mine. I am an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) who is spending the end of his career teaching youngsters how to fly. I take every opportunity that I can to get good images of airplanes and the environs where they are found. My desire is to invoke the sight smell and sound of the aviation world to others. This particular image begged to be taken because the airplane itself, a Douglas DC3, is a museum piece and it was incredibly well taken care of. There had been a rain shower an hour or so before and the wet concrete added a reflective element to the image that wouldn't otherwise be there. Finally the sky was very interesting and served as a great backdrop for the image.Editing
I shoot in RAW and often bracket as many as 5 images with the exposure separated by 1 stop processing the images as HDR and then experimenting with black and white. So yes I do a lot of processing. Aviation images are often about shape and texture, this I believe make this subject matter prime for the use of monochrome images. I use the monochrome converter in Photo Shop which is fairly straight forward and produces great results.In my camera bag
This is hard to answer as it would depend on what I expect to shoot. But I generally carry around the following: Nikon D800E Camera Back, Olympus Stylus Tough, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Nikkor 85mm f/1.8, Nikkor f/2.8 16mm Fishey, Nikkor 24-300mm Zoom, Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8, SIGMA 150-600mm Zoom. A Nikon Flash system, A variety of Filters and remote Blue Tooth releases. I also carry a Manfroto Tripod with a ball head mounting system on it.Feedback
Aviation photography is a challenge in that there isn't as much interest in aircraft in the modern world as there was 30 years ago and you would think that every possible angle has been tried with the subject. For this reason I try, not always successfully, to invoke imagination to complete an image in the mind of the viewer by featuring shapes or parts of an aircraft. I enjoy it immensely when a photograph gets people talking about what it is or causes them to bring to memory their own experiences with the aircraft type. So I often think of how I might get the taste, smell and feel of aircraft operations in the various places I visit. I try to isolate the images from the background by using narrow depth's of field or deliberately blurring the back ground using Photoshop. I also try very hard to make the primary subject as sharp as possible so that every rivet is distinct. If you don't work in the aviation industry airshows provide opportunities for this kind of photography although fighting with the crowds can be a drag but you might learn to incorporate them into the image. You might also use Photoshop to carefully remove people from the image altogether featuring the aircraft alone. There are a variety of Photoshop techniques that can achieve this. Other things to remember include over exposing your airborne shots by 1-2 stops or the aircraft becomes a silhouette against a bright sky. You need a long lens, high shutter speeds and a camera like a D800E that allows for automatic focal adjustments for fast moving objects either approaching you or flying away from you. Whether you try to track an aircraft using a ball mount on a tripod or take the photographs hand held you need to practice. I often have the camera mounted on the tripod with the 600mm lens and the ball head loose so I can swing the lens easily as aircraft move in the sky. This involves my left hand around the ball head mount preventing the camera from falling over on its side and the right hand directing the camera and lens while pushing the shutter button as necessary. I think its something that has been said repeatedly but I will say it again, shoot in RAW. Adjusting exposure and making other adjustments work better on large data files. You will use an enormous amount of memory on a day at the airshow. Be prepared so you don't run out. Extra batteries are necessary too. Another technique I use that sometimes creates a great image is removing the background in an aircraft image and then placing the aircraft in a sky that is appropriately lighted for the lighting that was on the airplane when the original image was taken. For this reason I take pictures of skies either from the ground or while flying myself.
