Davison High School Football '22

Since the last high school football adventure, there have been a few new developments and processes.

As to the developments, there is a new camera in the stable. For the football games, at night, the D500 and D850 did real well.  I some time forget that that this is a hobby.  The D500 was not built for 'under the lights' photography.  That point is probably mentioned in the documentation.  But it has a virtually unlimited buffer.  I have never filled the buffer, even at 10 FPS shooting RAW.  Technically the documentation says it will hold 200 shots.  I never tested that.  But the D500 with the crop sensor does much better in daylight.  The D850 with the full frame sensor did very well at night, but it is built for portraits and landscapes.  The 48 mp files fill up the buffer quickly.  Yep, I lost a few shots.

Enter the D6.  Built for sports, or action shooting.  The 20 mp layout on a full frame sensor means the pixels are almost as big as a beach ball.  Lets in a lot of light - and reduces the noise.  What's not to like?  

First, it is a bit pricey.  I can deal with that.  I looked at a used unit from KEH.  I used KEH for a lens and was very happy with the transaction.  That being said, a lens is not as complicated as a camera unit.  And for a few $$$$s more, I could get a re-furbished unit from Nikon.  And I get all the accessories, including the most outrageously priced Nikon sells, the battery charger.  Easy decision.

The other minor decision is, why stay with DSLR and not move to a mirrorless system?  Everyone has their opinion, here's mine that applies to me only.  I have too much sunk into the system I have.  If I was 10 years younger, I might change.  My opinion is that adding an adapter between the lens and the camera (FTZ) won't help anything.  And if I was going to move on to a mirrorless system, it would not be with Nikon.  (Or Canon!) So a D6 it is.

I used the D6 for the rugby shots here.  It did not disappoint in the daylight, nor did I expect it to.  But it is here for night shots.

One other development in the past few weeks comes from the software world, and that is the introduction of Topaz's Photo AI.  In summary, it uses AI for denoise and sharpen.  In practice, I have found it useful for shots that need very little cleanup.  So in the cases of the rugby and football shots, this application works well and has sped up the post processing.  Not sure how it will go with the aircraft.  So far, for past shots - not as well.  The time will come later for real testing.

But for now, some football shots with the D6 and quick post processing.

Not sure how many more games there are this season, playoffs begin soon.  Hopefully this team has a few more games to go.

Friday Night Lights

And now for something completely different.....

Every now and then I get to start a new category.  Today is one of those days.  Not sure if it will stick, but the 2022 Airshow season for me is pretty much over.  Need to do something - and this is what we call in the corporate world a 'stretch'.

A few weeks ago, I was out to a lacrosse tournament.  Haven't seen a game in years.  It was a lot of fun.  Lot's of good action.  And in the middle of the day - warm.  I never figure these things out for myself - I get invited.  Or in this case - dared.  And good for photography friends who pull me out of a rut.

And the same 'friend' dared me again to stretch, this time with Friday night lights.  As with most of my photography friends, he's a Canon guy.  I think he really wants to see if I could handle a Nikon outside of perfect airshow conditions.

And good for him, I wanted to see what the Nikon would do as well.  And can I handle the Friday Night Lights.

As with most times I try something new, if you shoot enough shots, something is bound to work right.  And Friday night I shot 350+ shots.  And a few turned out OK.  A few.

I use the D850/70-200 f/2.8 for the evening.  It did OK.  The shots that didn't require much cropping were pretty much good right out of the camera.  I shot manual with Auto ISO, and the highest was 11,400.  And for the most point, the shots were usable.  That being said, I hit the shot buffer a few times at 7 fps.  That was a first.  Yes, shots were missed.  I dialed it back to 5 fps which somewhat cured the issue.  Lessons learned.

DHS Stands

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20 /Nikkor 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8

70 mm, 1/1,000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 800 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

To me this is one of the more interesting shots of the night.  Pure football.  Should have been higher than 1/500 sec.  lesson learned.

DHS Running Back

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20 /Nikkor 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8

200 mm, 1/500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 900 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

For the most part, I focused on the QB.  Most of the action is there, right?  Rookie stuff.  Coming from the defensive side.  I like the shots where you can also see the ball in flight.

DHS Pass

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20 /Nikkor 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8

200 mm, 1/500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

The opposition runner.  He is pretty good.

Detroit Central Catholic Runner

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20 /Nikkor 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8

135 mm, 1/500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 800 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Will post a few more shots later.

But for end of the experience thoughts.  I chose the D850 for the full sensor and low light exceptional ISO traits.  But it is advertised as a portrait camera - and fast action is limited.  That is truth in advertising.  Next time, the D500 gets a try.  If I do that, I'll have to put the 70-400 on the front end.  There won't be as much room to crop.  It will be more than enough lens.  The noise could be more prevalent.  The best shots for focus were 1/800 to 1/1000 second.  I could use the 1/500 shots - but I wouldn't want to count on them.  And after all, this is a learning experience.

The Herons of Kensington Metropark

I live under a rock.  Not sure where I picked that up.  Most of the people I grew up with are natural inquisitive explorers.  I balance that out.

There is a metropark that I have passed numerous times in the last 25 years of my life in Michigan.  Last weekend, I finally paid the $10 to spend a few hours exploring.

My photo club has started going there in the past year.  I've never been able to join them on these excursions - but I have heard the tales.  This past weekend was the perfect time to go.

I was hoping to see some bigger birds of prey, but that was not to be.  I did get to see a number of small birds chase a hawk through the trees, followed by a number of photographers.  That lasted for about 15 minutes - and for me at least yielded no useable shots.

The metropark does boast a Heron Rookery on Wildwing Lake.  I've seen photos of rookeries in the southern states, but none close by.  It is a Rock thing.

Heron Family Portrait

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 180 (Auto)

EV 0, Manual, Size FX

GBH in the Trees

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6

750 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 280 (Auto)

EV 0, Aperture Priority, Size DX

GBH Returning Home to the Kids

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6

660 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

EV 0, Aperture Priority, Size DX

The first shot was taken while I was walking around for my initial survey.  The shot was hand held.  But while I was there, I know I would return with heavier equipment.  In a rare display of forward thinking, I had the D500 combo-ed with the 200-500 lens ready in reserve.  I also now have stored permanently stored in the truck, a monopod with appropriate gimbal.  All came to good use.  In the middle shot, I decreased the shutter speed to 1/800 from my usual 1/1250 speeds.  That doesn't happen often.

Birds from the first Tobico Marsh walk

Yesterday's walk through Tobico Marsh didn't yield any big birds.  No Eagles, young or old.  No Osprey.  But there weren't many people out either, which makes me think I'm early for the big bird season.

That's OK.  I'm getting better at sneaking up on, or having the patience for, smaller flying objects.

At Shiawassee I got to the point where I can spot and Eagle far off.  For a while, I know where they would transit.  For smaller birds, walking through the paths between the roads I could never sneak up on them.  Thus, very few small bird shots.

At Tobico, I had a bit better luck.  Or the smaller birds tolerate the tourists much better.  In each case for the following, I stayed in place for about two to three minutes before the little flying objects returned.

This first shot is far from perfect.  It is about three inches from being the best small bird shot I have.  Anyway, this is more than a miss on the tail end, hah, of the bird in flight.  Truth is, I was focused on the stationary bird and didn't see this until I got home.  I can almost see the stationary bird smile.

Swallow on the Rail

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6 ISO 800 (Auto)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This next one was in the same area where the walkway was at the end of the flooded marsh.  About 15 yards off the walkway was a small clump of grass.  And in the grass, a hiding Canadian Goose.  I tried a number of shots, but could never get the eye clear of the grass stalks.  This was as close to framing the eye that I could get.  You would think if I could move the the right just two inches....

Canadian Goose in Hiding

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 640 (Auto)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This is a Red-bellied Woodpecker.  I've verified it with the Merlin application on my phone.  Merlin never lies.  Anyway, I snuck up on it while it was feeding on the ground.  it was one of those situations where I was looking in the trees and almost stepped....  Well not sure who scared who.  Anyway the bird took to flight.  Only to be caught when I got to the top of the observation deck.

Red-bellied Woodpecker at Home

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 800 (Auto)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Tobico Marsh

I found out about the Tobico Marsh area a few weeks ago from one of my friends in the Camera Club.  The area is about an hour north, so easy drive.  My normal nature area, Shiawassee, is still somewhat closed until June 1.  I've noted, not complained, that the changes made to the area in order to hold more water have moved the a lot of wildlife away from the drive.  Not to say I'm looking for a new place to visit, but I'm looking for a new place to visit.

By description, Tobico fits the need.  Michigan is full of places where the origins are in early lumber acquisition.  The Tobico area is no exception.  The area's history starts with logging interests and selling to private individuals when the land was cleared - and in 1957 the individuals selling this area to the State of Michigan and being re-named the Tobico Marsh State Wildlife Refuge.  The area has been added to with other land purchases over time and is now about 1650 acres.

I see lots of potential for wildlife.  I think the season for a lot of activity is not here yet, as the area was not very busy.  Day was a bit on the cold side.  Sky was Michigan spring FLAT.  But I was there to scout the area and test out the D500 and 80-400 lens combo.  And if I could get a little work in with the D850 and 200-500 combo with a monopod, it would be a good day.

It was a good day.

It was a good day for squirrel and chipmunk photos.  And some small birds.

But along the way to small critters, there were two scenes that caught my attention.

Now I'm not an expert on many things, and what I assume to be Beaver domain markings.  But I think this is one sign.  There were many trees in the marsh that looked like the Beavers started the tree felling - and man finished it.  And there were a lot of trees where man was not needed.

This was the first interesting tree stump that I came across.  I like taking photos of wood where the texture can really be brought out - without heroic post processing efforts.

Beaver Fuel

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

210 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 500 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This tree never stood a chance.  You might, rightfully, ask - why are you shooting a still subject at 1/1250?  The answer is I'm working with the lens at what I want to shoot aircraft.  So criticisms of this flaw will fall on deaf ears.

In the marsh area, one of the walkways into the marsh is marked - Closed.  This might be why.

Closed Walkway

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

120 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 400 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

There are better views of the walkways condition, but are all blocked with trees.  Too bad, this walkway is a mess.  And very interesting.  There is an observation tower right next to this where I tried to get a better view from above.  No luck on this subject, but winner shots to come from the top of the tower.

Daycation - Battle Creek Airshow

After the last 15 to 18 months, everyone has their own criteria as to when 'normalcy' is established.  For some, it never went away.  For others it will never return.  For me, there was at least two days that I have circled.  The first day on the return to normalcy for me was mid-May, which was two weeks after my second shot.  The next day is today.  My first airshow since the Reno Air races in September of 2019.  I'm sure there will be more stages in the return, but today was a big step.

For the airshow side of my brain, I needed to get my ears cleaned out.  The USAF F22 Demo team did that for me today.  I needed my eyes cleared out.  There were colors everywhere.  I needed to see young aviation fans, the next generation.  And I did.

For the photographer side of my brain, happy to be in a target rich environment.  Everything is interesting.  I overpacked for the day.  But who cares?  Great to have the camera bag backpack on my back as I paid for my ticket and got the wristband.  

As this was my first time to Battle Creek, I had no idea what to expect.  This was a carnival with an air show as the main event.  Lots of the carnival rides, carnival food and carnival smells all around.  It was great!  There were a few vendors, but none with airshow flavor.  Their lo$$.

As I overpacked for the day, I also over-thought everything.  My kit was the D500 with the 70-300 and the D850 with the 27-70.  The D850 never made it out of the bag.  There were no real close up opportunities.  The airshow box was a little on the far side out.  I needed all the reach I could get.  As to overthinking, I started with a 3 stop filter to get the props right.  I started at 1/120 second - and had no luck at all.  I moved to 1/200 sec, still no luck.  By the time I removed the filter and set the shutter to 1/500 - I started getting decent shots on a regular basis.  That being aid, one of the best shot I have for the day was with the filter and the effect it gave was very interesting.  Another post.

There is a good chance I'll go back tomorrow.  I'd like to see the F22 again, but there is also a twilight and night airshow.  I think that would be interesting.  For kit, I'll go much lighter.  I'll take the D850 and 70-200.  Might need to crop some, and Gigapixel - but you have to see what it will do.

One of the opening acts was a jet powered sail plane.  It is interesting when a jet engine is put on frames now originally designed for such power.  This sail plane has a PBS TJ-100 jet engine to power it along.  The jet engine itself, comes in at 43 pounds.  Ha, when I worked on jet engines, I had tools that weighed that much.

Anyway, this is a good photo of the sail plane coming in low, with some other spectators in the foreground.  I like the effect.  My first, of hopefully many, air show post in a long time.

Jet Glider

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR

270 mm, 1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

3 Stop Filter

Perfect day, upper 70s and a bit of a breeze.  Tomorrow looks to be just as nice.  Will be hard to stay away.

Daycation - Mackinaw City

One of my favorite things to do when I can get some time off from the paying job is driving to Mackinaw City.  235 miles in my cocoon.  One way.  Listen to a good book.

Today's weather was perfect.  Low 70s, slight cool lake breeze.  Truth be told, got a bit of a burn going on as well.  Probably should have donned a hat.  It was good to see the city somewhat recovering.  There are a number of store fronts that didn't make it through the year.  But the people were there today.  Good for a mid-week day.  Lots of ferries taking people back and forth to the island.  Good to see.

One of the attractions to see is the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw.  USCGC Mackinaw (WAGB-83) patrolled the Great Lakes from 1943 to 2006.  Patrolling including ice breaking.  Hull is 4 inches thick steel.  The ship is now a living museum.  I had taken the tour a few years ago.  And I went in today.  Lots of progress in the museum over the years.  Again, good to see.

So I had the D850 matched with the 24-70 lens for my walk around.  Because I was around water I was using a polarizer as well.  And that would come in handy, more later.   

The 290 foot long USCGC Mackinaw:

USCGC Mackinaw

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR

70 mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 64

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

During the tour, one gets to go through the engine room.  Ah, the smell.  Took me back to the maintenance days before the paying job.  A vacation within a daycation.

Also during the tour, you get to pass by the ships bell.  As an ignorant landlubber, I don't think much of a ship's bell.  But thanks to the Discovery Channel and the like, many are rescued/replaced when a sunk vessel can't be raised.  So at least I can recognize one when I see it.  And I saw the Mackinaw's bell.  It wasn't easy to photograph.  Can't get very close to it.  And the silver was definitely reflecting the sun.  Thankfully, the polarizer seemed to take care of the sun's reflection.  I had to crop this pretty tight due to some unwanted objects close by.

USCGC Mackinaw Ship's Bell

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR

70 mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 64

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

I was a great day to just get out and about.  And I'm happy a lot of people joined me.

#1225 - Mechanical Stuff

 One of the 2020 photographic casualties for me was not being able to chase the #1225.  Or ride the #1225.  In 2019 we rode the excursion from Mt Pleasant to Cadillac.  And the Polar Express Run.  I know, how exciting can a 35 mph train ride be?  Fun is in the eye of the beholder.  And for the times not riding, I didn't get to chase.  Train nerd.  But it is sort of fun.

One of my favorite #1225 shots can be found here.  What I like about the shot is if fills the screen.  Really fills the screen.  I can feel the vibrations, hear the familiar noise and smell the steam.  On the list of permanent screen savers, top three for sure.  Big, heavy metal.

Since the flow of new photographs has dried up, except for squirrels and small birds, I've retreated to 2019 for the most part to grab past memories.

And now for something a little different.  On my last #1225 chase, the day was crisp and clear.  Great light.  Too many people, but I need to learn patience.  The sun was directly behind me, if I remember correctly, so with great lighting comes shadows.  To remove the shadows, I had to take the photos at an angle.  No real big deal, but I think a straight shooting plane would have been better and a bit more sharper.  But looking ford to this as a screen saver.

#1225 Mechanical

NIKON D7200 Ver.1.04/Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR II

35 mm, 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500 (AUTO)

EV -1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

With the great sunny lighting came the very uneven light off the metal.  Played all sorts of havoc with the metering.  Knocked it down to EV -1 and that seems to calm everything down a bit.  I bumped up the reds a bit in post, call it artistic license.

I like the diversity of the angles and the unevenness of the wires.  I sacrificed some of the black of the metal to get some light in the center of image.  In the original shot, that is a black hole.  I bet the EV -1 had something to do with it.  It's acceptable now, but I think with some (a lot of) either color manipulation or dual images and masking it could be much better.  And since the February forecast is still COLD and the weather gopher said six more weeks of winter I may be able to find some time to 'learn' something new.  I mean if it was a sky replacement, done tonight, right?

Pelicans, Pelicans, Pelicans

The Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge re-opened last weekend after being closed for almost two months.  The closure was in reaction to the floods in may caused by multiple dams failing during a weekend of heavy rains.  Or was that the Johnstown flood?  Anyway, lots of rain, mis-managed dams and a lot of down stream damage in both cases.
I couldn't get out last weekend due to the paying job.  And this weekend was a toss up between a horse event and the Refuge.  The weather was the decision maker.  I elected to stay in the truck.
And I haven't been to the Refuge after a good heavy rain and storm.
The storm, I believe definitely had an effect on the bird behavior.
There is a lot of water in the Refuge.  The flooding accelerated the filling of the area.  A lot of the wildlife used to come close to the drive, now not as much.  Have to up the game a little.
Saw a new bird, will be another post.
Saw a few Sand Hill Cranes close to the drive and the pictures came out well.  Nothing in flight, but good grazing shots.
But the Pelicans were out.  Not flying, just huddled together.  I've seen them collected in a group before, but a bit more loosely.  I'm wondering if this is a post storm meeting?

Pelican Mass

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

750 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 180 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

I like this shot a lot.  Blues and greens are separated.  The water is just right, not blown out or too blue.  And none of the subjects are acting up for the camera.  Interesting.

Woodbine Farms Hunter Jumper

Fun day out of the house today.  Since March, I've probably been out of the house for more than an hour less than ten times, and at least half of those times I just took a road trip and stayed in the car.  I've been looking forward to today for a few weeks.  And it didn't disappoint.
I'm doing a slow suffer as my air shows are cancelling.  The Reno Air Races officially cancelled their event yesterday.  Thunder over Michigan is still on, but my guess is it will cancel in the next few weeks.  The Refuge is flooded, still closed since the heavy rains and dam failures last month.  I won't be doing any indoor events like hockey for a while.
But today I was able to get out of the house, somewhere to go.  
Time to give the D780 a 600+ shot day.
My horse subject expert from the camera club told me of today's event a few weeks ago.  Hunter Jumpers.  I have no idea what this means, but I'm going to learn.  Essentially its a horse and rider combo where at some point the horse will jump, land and move to the next gate.  I'm good with that.  Some form of action.  I need this.
The morning was severely overcast.  The sun came out in the afternoon.  Big difference in the shots.
As to the camera set up, I guessed I could get close to the action.  I started with the D500 and the 70-300 lens.  With the crop factor, too much lens.  The D780 and 70-300 was a good set up.  I started with a set up of 3 frames per second, went to 5 FPS and eventually went to 7 FPS.  At 7 FPS, I could catch more of the desired shots - horse and rider at the top of the jump.  Yea, there are more throw aways, but that part is easy.  I shot at 1/1000 sec.  Apertures were either at f/8  and f/5.6.  ISOs went between 100 to one shot at 5600.  I also used the EV function more than usual.  I think this helped out a bit.  With the day being overcast, I didn't have to concern myself with whites burning out so this helped out with getting more of all the light in the shot.
One other thing I was able to do with these shots that I can't do with aircraft or bird shots is avoid the aggressive cropping.  The subjects were big enough to fill the frame.  I have a few good shots that are missing some hoofs.  Got in a bit too close.  Yep, it's a journey.
So much for the technical stuff.
There were fours types of shots I was looking for.
First, the support shots.  What goes on outside the arena.  People watching.  
Next, in the arena area but not competing.  Yet.  Horses and riders getting ready to enter the course.  Warm up.
Then, my favorite shots which is the horse and rider in lift off mode.
Then, everyone else's favorite, horse and rider at the top of the jump.
It was a 600+ shot day.  I'm down to about 250 good shots.  Technically all came out good.  And we'll define 'good' as something was in focus.  (That's just plain funny.)  Sometimes the auto-focus would go it's own way.

That center post, perfect focus.  If there were a fly walking on it, we could see the color of the eyes.  Too bad the post is not the star of the show.  Not sure if this should be a point of pride, but I'm getting better at telling when the AF is not where I need it to be, and I can correct it on the next shot.  I'm still laughing at these mis-focused shots.  It's a journey.
Now to the good shots.
Most of the time when I take 100s of shots in one day, it is hard to pick one that defines my day.  Today is not one of those days.  I lucked into what I consider to be one of my better shots.  Got it right away.
But this one isn't it. 
This one made it to the best finals on the rider's facial expression.  Most of today's shots shave facial expressions that may be flattering, and some not so much.  But fact of life, we all have them.  But this one is good.  Concentration and determination.  The angle at about 45 degrees works for me.  These are my favorite shots, launching.

Jumper 01

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01/70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

270 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2800 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

This shot made it to the favorites, well, not sure why yet.  Just struck me.  Just looks like the rider and the horse are on the same page, effortless.  Been there, done that.  I have more than a few of this combo, they are good.

Jumper 03

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01/70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

195 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 500 (AUTO)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

As I mentioned before, few shots get the 5 star treatment on the first round of shot triage.  Last shots to move me were the inverted F4U,  the F/A 18 with the sonic clouds and the horse in the stall from last year.  
I found a shot location that worked well, looking down an area with two jumps in line.  All that framing photography stuff.  If the horse and rider stayed in the middle, perfect.  If they drifted to either side, well, just perfect -.

Jumper 02

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01/70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

300 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 560 (AUTO)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

OK, maybe not down the direct center, but it works.  The horse is 4 off the floor, head slightly off center.  And as much as the horse's head is off the center line, the rider's body is off.  Of all the shots I took today with this scene, nothing like it.
If this gets best horse shot of 2020, don't tell me it was an off year.  It's good, I like it.  This is an early favorite, maybe for shot of the year.  Certainly on the short list.
It was a good day.  Got some good natural vitamin D.  I did sort of say I'd have some photos to the event available to the farm some time after next weekend.  Looks like there will be just over 250.  And that's another story - but a good one.

Storm Front

When the paying job takes up most of your time, you look forward to time off as hopefully good weather.  And when you take some time off from the paying job, you really don't look forward to 'crappy' weather.  Unless....
Today was the perfect storm.  Pun intended.  Low 90s, high humidity and a cold front courtesy of tropical storm.  Entirely predictable.
So I went on the road to get out of the subdivision and get some visibility.  I went to the parking lot for the Nature Refuge.  It is closed due to flooding, more on that later, but the lot was dry.  Just barely.  But as I arrived, a thought struck me.  (Note the word, struck.)  I was just about the tallest thing for yards around me.  I know from the previous life, that lightning can lead the front by up to 20 miles.  Photography from a distance.  Time to move.
So, I spent some time in the lot, taking a few wildlife photos but keeping an eye on the sky.  It was getting darker by the minute.
The front was not what I had hoped for.  I wanted a big wall, lots of lightning.  This was a normal Michigan front.  Not that it sneaks up on you, but it does.  This part of the storm was not a large front, that would come later.  So, If I could get get to the side of the action......
And I did.

Storm Front

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01/24-70mm f/2.8

27 mm, 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

Aperture Priority, Size FX

This is the first week out with the new lens, 24-70mm f/2.8.  I needed to get a lens for the D780 to go more wide angle.  I have a 50mm f/1.8, but the next useful lens is the 70-300 f/4.5 to f/5.6.  To be fair, I don't see landscape shots as well as I see other subjects.  But I can see the cloud formations.  This is a start.  Again, it could be more dynamic, some strategically placed lightning.  Maybe a more defined front?  For a mid-Michigan defined front, I'll take it.

Home Town Hero Fly Over - Flint Style

What a great day to get out of the house.  The beginning of a Michigan summer has finally arrived.  We haven't had snow for a little over two weeks.
We heard over the airwaves that there would be a WWII warbird flyover on Saturday.  I looked all over the place for a web page with information, no luck.  Then reading Twitter (Don't judge me.) yesterday, I saw it was postponed to today due to high winds.  And the postponement notice had a bit more information as to location and times.  Bingo, C and I had something to do today.
There was no information I could find on the aircraft for the day.  Might sound too picky, but here was my quandary.  If it was a WWII flyover, I needed a prop camera set up.  If not, and there were jet aircraft involved, then I needed a jet setup.  Our best information was it was a WWII era fly over, and the prop was the setup to use.  Although I did take a backup camera that could have handled jets, just in case.  Not much time to make changes in a single pass event.
The camera setup.  I need to keep working with the D780.  And one of the reasons for the monster lens is aircraft.  That was easy.  For the backup was the D500 and 17-200 lens.  There might have been some walk around opportunities.  So for the aircraft, going on the assumption they would be T-6 class/family I would be ready for them.  This is my favorite class of racers at the Reno event.  Big target, slow target, but slow props.  Knowing this, for a good shot I need to be around 1/200 second for shutter speed.  Again, fortunately for me, I have had two years at Reno to understand this type aircraft.  Please, don't screw this up.
One of the new pieces of photographic equipment I acquired over the winter was a neutral density filter, 3 stops.  Fixed, not variable.  For the monster lens with a 95 mm opening that was not cheap.  So today was the day to find out if it was going to work.  Feast or famine.  Without it, all things being equal, today I would have to use 1/2000 second at f/5.6 and ISO 100 for the settings.  With the ND filter, the speed was 1/200 second.  Pretty much what I had calculated for the purchase of the filer.  So far so good.  Photo-Stop math can be confusing at times.
The target set up.  From what we could tell the flight path was planned over central Michigan in the Flint, Lapeer and Owasso area.  The end of the flight pan was the Great Lakes National Cemetery in nearby Holly, Michigan.  The end of the plan was to conclude with a missing man formation.  C and I would head off to the national cemetery.
And as an unexpected surprise, we ran into a friend of mine I met through the camera club, at the cemetery.  We'll just say his name is Bob.  Anyway Bob is a Marine Corps veteran who has served with the USMC honor guard which covered the cemetery for veteran funerals.  He knows the place well, and was nice enough to ask us to join him.  He had picked a great place to photograph the aircraft for what we thought the flight path would be.  We had about an hour to chit chat before the aircraft arrived.  It's all good.
And finally, a few months before my father started his next adventure in life he passed along to me what I will call a charm that I've worn on each aircraft photo-op.  I would have it with me today and I felt it would help.  I've also carried it with me on some of the Eagle adventures, because he liked those shots as well.
So, with the right camera, the right lens, the right company and the right charm all I needed was the right aircraft and it would all come together.
And with today being the anniversary of the 1889 Johnstown flood, what could go wrong?

Home Town Hero Fly In

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01 /200-500mm f/5.6

500 mm, 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

Aperture Priority, Size FX

I took around 50 shots.  Out of the 50, 10 were horribly out of focus mostly due to camera shake.  I was OK with that hit rate.  Others were a bit out of focus due to heat waves.  Stuff to learn.  Other stuff to learn I found out in post was I had a vignette that I didn't expect.  It was correctable, but I'm thinking it is the ND filter as this is the first I've seen it.
But so far so good.  Props looking the way I like them.

Home Town Hero Overhead Bank

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01 /200-500mm f/5.6

500 mm, 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

Aperture Priority, Size FX

There were four aircraft in the group.  And I tried to get four in each shot.  I don't know if that was the best plan, maybe a close up of each?  In these flybys, there is usually only one pass and that is all.  Today, there were two passes and with that information, maybe I would have tried it?  In the end, this is a group effort, therefor a group photo.

Home Town Hero Overhead

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01 /200-500mm f/5.6

230 mm, 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

Aperture Priority, Size FX

It might be a small thing, but the sun reflection off the props is awesome to me.  Right place, right time, right setup.  As these aircraft are just about directly overhead, this is about the time I am close to falling over backwards.

Home Town Hero To the Barn

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01 /200-500mm f/5.6

440 mm, 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

Aperture Priority, Size FX

Optical illusion, these aircraft are done for the day and are heading away from us and back to the barn.
In the small world of aviation photography, I have my second instance of the same aircraft in two different events.  The first was a L39 jet that I saw in Traverse City and in Reno.  The second instance was today with the aircraft that has the fixed landing gear.  There is a post for this aircraft with some close up photos here.
Today's event aircraft made two passes over the cemetery which was fantastic.  The noise alone was well worth the trip.  Nothing like it.  Great visuals as well.  Did I say the noise was great as well?

The #Strong Day

Tuesday was quite a day.  Two fly overs.  For someone who has missed a few air shows this year so far, just what the doctor ordered.
First, I have to thank the folks I work with to cover me while I was chasing my lost dreams for 2020 today.  I told them what I was doing, and everyone understood.  People you work with who understand your weak points, priceless.
Enough about them, my day.
I did put in a few hours at the paying job this morning.  Thankfully, no fires.
For #AmericaStrong the Blue Angels were flying a pattern in the Detroit area.  After looking at the maps of the flight path, it looked like the northern most point was just east of Troy - where I used to work.  it's just over an hour away.  Doable.  Road Trip.
It looked like the flight path was using the Beaumont Hospital as a waypoint.  C and I just had to get there.  And find a good place to park.  While practicing social distancing.  No problem.
We arrive in the area about an hour prior to the flyover.  By luck we found a park, just north of the hospital - the Donald Flynn park.  When we got there, not issues finding a parking space.  Seriously, twenty minutes after we arrived, it was packed.  Timing is everything.
People of all shapes and sizes were everywhere.  Most were family groups.  Lots of dogs out for exercise.  Wonderful to see.
I had a decision to make on what equipment to take.  I chose to take the D500 and the monster lens combo.  Not knowing where the flight path was, I wanted the extra reach out to 750 mm.  No good to me leaving it at home.  As it turned out, our location was good enough for 500 mm.
Time to dial in the camera.  Looking for my first formation flying candidates.

Inflight Communications

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

510 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

I'm guessing there are lots of flight hours for these two in formation.  Communication is key.  Probably no stunt flying - and I wouldn't want to be close by when they release 'smoke'.
But we were there for the Blue Angels.
We had a general idea in what direction the flight was coming from.  A thrill to see them appear.
Of the baggage I brought to the scene is that all photos need to shoot as close up to the subject as possible to be interesting.  Not so.  There is an interest when the subject is seen a bit further away.  C shot this with her phone.

There is a lot to like about this.  The skies belonged to the Angels for that moment.  Awesome.
At this point, there was no noise, just visual.
When it comes time for me to lose my senses, like vision, fashion, balance and common, I look forward to the time when my caregivers can just wheel me to an air show and I can get that afterburner sound.  Aside, from the TF-39 whine, my next favorite sound.  (Google it.)  But for the day, I'll take the General Electric F404 turbo fan.  When the formation got a bit closer, I could begin to hear them.  Sound of Freedom.  

Blue Angel Bank

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

570 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

I don't know what the distance is, but that's as far away as I've ever tried to get a subject.  Not as sharp as I'd like, but hey - this is a hobby for me.  You can tell it is the Angels and I can live with that.
As I was there, thinking, hey these might just fly over us?
Guess what?  Hint:  We had the PERFECT viewing location.

Blue Angels Overhead

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

465 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This is an optical illusion.  They are flying level.  I, however, am getting ready to fall backwards.  At an airshow, stuff happens in front of you.  In this flyover, the over is overhead.  And the engine noise is going strong at this point.  Totally awesome moment.
The only negative issue of this location for watching was about to rear its head.  The flight path took the aircraft directly between the sun and me.  Directly overhead.  I try not to do that to the camera, you know take a picture of the sun.  Unfiltered.  
And on their way out.

Blue Angels Exit

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

420 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

The flyover was about 40 seconds long.  Well worth the 90 minutes to get there.
And the day wasn't over.
#MichiganStrong
With a little luck we could catch a KC-135 on a Flint Flyover.
The KC-135 is special to me.  The aircraft has been in service longer than me.  By a little bit.  But the aircraft is special to me because it was the first aircraft I worked on in the 80s was I was stationed on the island of Okinawa.  I worked on engines back in the day, the Pratt and Whitney J57 engines, with water injection.  Loud and smokey.  See them miles away.  And durable.  We'd get an engine in for overhaul and some of the T-wheel would be missing.  Yet is would keep flying.  Cold warrior.
Over the years, they've been refitted with more efficient and quieter engines.  Still, one of my planes.
C has never seen one before and today would be a good day to chase one.  
Luck was with us again, we found a great spot where the aircraft passed directly overhead.
I thought we'd be closer and the aircraft is larger and slower so I put the D780 at the other end of the monster lens.  It worked.

KC-135 Duo

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01/200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

500 mm, 1/2500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 110 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Not too exciting, and not the right noise.  But I would have not given this day up for anything.

KC-135 Overhead

NIKON D780 Ver.01.01/200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

380 mm, 1/2500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 360 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

I like this shot as you can see all the navigation aids used at night for re-fueling.  Memories.
End of a great day.  I miss the airshows.
Earlier this year I was going to join two of the younger nephews at MCAS Cherry Point for their show.  I was really looking forward to seeing their faces with either delight - or horror at the right time.  And I recently found out that the youngest nephew is a Blue Angels fan, seeing them at the Chicago airshow with my father.  I have some work to do with the kids, and I couldn't be happier.
Thanks to the Blue Angels and the 127th ANG wing at Selfridge ANGB.
#AmericaStrong #MichiganStrong