Eagle Through the Trees

I'd like to think I know what I'm doing.  Or sometimes have a little more luck than I'm entitled.  The truth is often somewhere in between.
First, the restrictions on Michiganders have been reduced.  I can go out and about, solo.  And that is a good start.  And this evening was a nice one.  Perfect time for a few breaths of fresh air with the Park Eagle family.
And this evening was a good time.  While waiting for the Eagles to do something, anything, my little area was visited by a wood pecker.  How neat.  And I saw a muskrat swimming less than 10 feet away from me.  I was blending with Nature.  
It was so nice and quiet.  One small duck flew past me so close I could hear the wings flapping.  Serious.  And later in the story, the Eagle flew close to overhead of me, I could hear its wings as well.
To the Eagle chapter.
I was in my watching spot for about 45 minutes tonight.  As to the primary action, the Eagle first showed up from somewhere I didn't expect.  Usually the Eagles approach the nest from above, or higher than the nest.  The tend to land, like an airplane, coming down.  Not this evening.  The approach was from below the nest.  This approach came from out of the lower trees.  No time for camera, but very cool to see.  I'm guessing that this was the shift egg sitter doing some close by wing stretching.  Usually where there are two Eagles in the nest area, one usually leaves and sits close by.  In this case, after the Eagle arrived, I never saw it in the nest.  Optical lines.  I've also noticed that the Eagles usually don't leave the nest in a quick manor.  They will stand on the edge of the nest, look around, test the wind and go.  And this evening, that was not the case.  One move out of the nest and it was coming in my direction.  I was lucky to get that 6 pounds of glass pointed in the right direction.
I did get a few good shots, more than I missed.  But this one is the winner for me this evening.  Not because of the subject, but because....   Going back tot he beginning, I'd like to think I know what I'm doing.
I usually shoot with single point auto focus.  Today, was a bit different.  Tonight I was using Dynamic Area AF 9 points.  All cameras have some form of this.  So, I had a good lock on the Eagle out of the nest.  The D780 and monster lens locked on FAST.  And the AF worked fine, even with this tree trying to photo bomb the picture.  Focus Tracking with Lock On.  Sure, I left the defaults in, but it worked.  The AF kept the lock through the tree.
This is awesome.

Eagle Through the Trees

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00/200-500mm f/5.6E

270 mm, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 180 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

For the things I didn't do right, I left a lot of lens in the bag.  This is aggressively cropped.  The the D780 could handle it.  Looks great on the monitor.  Eye is sharp.  Miracle shot?  Or lucky?  Or somewhere in between?

Pelican on Nav Aid 5 (2009)

While looking at old posts, one that stirred a few memories was from 2010, Birds on a Piling.  The photo is from a trip we took to the Carolina in August of 2009.  During the trip, we spent a day around Fort Fisher.  Which included a car ferry ride between the starting point and destination.  Which is short for all I know is a boat was involved.
If I recall, the ferry ride was about 45 minutes, with 30 minutes out of the car.  Lots of interesting 'subjects' along the way.
Some of these photos are fun to revisit.  The camera was a D80 and a kit lens.  Great for vacation photography.  It's interesting to look at the 'quality' of the shot compared to the sensors of today.
The D80 is a 10 MP versus the D500 21 MP.  10 MP and a kit lens.  Someone say resolution?
I always hear that no matter the equipment, a good photographer is a good photographer.  I'm going with that is true.  But in the 2008, 2009 years I was anything but good.  
In the 2020s however, the software can help.

Pelican on Nav Aid #5

NIKON D80/18.0-135.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

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

Apparently this was shot in AUTO mode.  Was I ever that young?  Ha.
#itsaboutthejourney

Real Blast from the Past - CSX Car

The original post:  CSX Car.
Date of the post?  February 15, 2011.  Date of the photograph?  August 14, 2008.
I was just a child.  
Camera?  D80.  Lens?  Some kit lens.  Major software?  Elements and Photomatix.  Philosophy?  Luck.  I had a Nikon and I was on a roll.
As this is a blog of my photographic journey, my self imposed rules forbid me to delete any post.  The paying job will keep me up late tonight - way into the hours of Sunday morning.  So to pass some time, drifted back through the early day of the blog.  The cameras, the processing and stuff I was proud to post.

FYI - This image was added by a link to somewhere deep in Google.  Not sure if I'm impressed or scared.
Fortunately, I was shooting RAW at this time.  The fact I was shooting RAW should not be inferred to that I knew what I was doing at the time.  This may not be far from the truth that I didn't like what the JPG output looked like.  So it was RAW.  There was a time when I bounced back and forth between RAW and JPG.  Lucky for me, at this time I was shooting RAW.  This allows me to revisit the file.
This photo does have meaning for me.  I thought it was just another travel photo.  In the early days, my (over) use of HDR was not a favorite of the photo club.  I get it.  One, I was doing it way overboard.  Two, it was new and different.  But one of the club elders told me this was the best photo I submitted, based on subject.  He wasn't a fan of the post processing as much although this shot didn't offend him as most of my efforts had.  That meant a lot to me.  
The photo was clearly put through Photomatix.  My photo processing history system was in its infancy in those days, like all I have is the RAW file and the finished JPG.  Space must have been at a premium.  Now, I have JPGs of just about all the steps that are not in the PSD file.  
This photo was taken while we were on the Covered Bridge Tour, which is a layout of the covered bridges in Somerset County.  Looking at all the photos, I could tell my abilities at the time were suspect at best.  Seriously, every photo has a blown sky.  Every one.  HDR saved this sky.  Seriously, every photo.
So, can today's software save yesteryear's errors?  
I didn't want to use HDR on this one, because it's not in my normal workflow these days.  These days, it is mostly PS with some assists to Topaz DeNoise and Sharpen.  If I wanted to take this project any father than the blog, I'd replace the sky.  But for this exercise, I was able to get some definition out of the file.  And I'll crop most of the sky out.

CSX Engine - 2008

NIKON D80/18.0-135.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

75 mm, 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 125

The rail bed is much easier on the eyes.
This was fun.  The journey - Defined.

Two at the Eagle's Nest

This is one stray branch away from being an absolutely awesome photograph.
This is from Friday afternoon.  I'm getting a lot of work on adding some light to the shadows.  The sun was giving off good light, but at a 90 degree angle.
The bird was coming in for a landing, and the wings were used to slow down the action.  Nice soft landing.  Big wings.  And big wings blocking the light on the bird's head.  And a branch in the way.
I'm getting pretty good at removing objects, but won't try with this branch.  Too much of the Eagle's eye would be slightly altered and I'd have to re-build a lot of it.  So, its a 99% er.  I'll just have to go back some evening to get the last 1%.
In this light the shadows are pretty stark.  I had to add some artificial light n a few places.  It's all part of the journey.

Two in the Nest

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

615 MM, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

There is a pretty aggressive crop here.  And it still passes the screen saver test.

Picking up from 2019 - Eagle Watching

While it is still legal to leave the house, but socially frowned on, I took off for the park for about 45 minutes after work today.  Last year I'd spend the 6:00 hour at my Eagle watch spot.  Today, I did the same.  Took the D500 and 200-500 combo.  Max reach.
At around 6:20, I saw one Eagle to the north circling around.  Sure enough the Eagle was on approach.  Approaching from the north is not the best angle for me, but I'll work with it.  From what I can tell, it was bringing in fresh straw, no critters for dinner.  Constant nest upkeep.
This isn't easy, but it is nice when the weather cooperates.  And my watching area is way off the people path.  Social distancing easily enforced,
There is a disk golf course on one side of the nest.  Last year, people would yell, play music and generally have a good time around the nest.  The Park Eagles keep coming back.  I keep playing that in contrast of the Nature preserve that limits the drive through the area due to the Eagle's nest there to a few months a year.  I get it, the Preserve does what it does, and I support it.  Anyway, the Park Eagles seem to be doing well.
I missed a number of shots this evening.  My stand is surrounded by a lot of brush.  There is a limited shooting area.  And in front of the nest, and a lot of the perch branches.  In the end, there are probably better places.  But not in this area, that I know of.  I missed a number of shots, more than usual.  The culprit?  Well, me of course.  But I had two contributing factors.  The first is the weight of the monster lens.  My shutter speed is fast enough to overcome lens shudder.  But when that happens, the view through the lens is too shaky for me.  That's just funny.  The other culprit is the AF mode I was using.  I need to get a smaller focus point.  I've been using the group setting, and it should be single.  Too many branches for a wider AF focus area.  When I got the lock right, all worked as advertised.  And the learn - I need to get a tri-pod system for this.  Preferably with a gimbal head.  Yea, it would have limited some of the shots, but the shots in front of me may have a better hit rate.  But it is early in the Eagle watching season.  The current climate will make it more difficult to get out every day, we'll just have to see how it goes from here.
I think I have five or six keepers out of 30 or so that were technically correct.  I think I had 90 shots, with 40 or so of the Eagles.  It was a good outing.
Two of the best in my opinion.
In this shot, the Eagle had left the nest padding and was promptly dismissed by the egg sitter.  The Eagle flew over to a close branch.  I had to move a bit, as a branch was between the lens and subject.  And it was enough.  This is the Eagle taking flight from the branch.  The sun is just about 90 degrees at this time.  There was some lighting of the shadows.

Eagle Jump Flight

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

750 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

All I could think of after this was, OMG, I didn't &^$ this up!
This next shots is a few seconds later when the glide has been established.  I have a sequence of these that stayed in focus.  (Clearly a mistake somewhere?) This has the best sunlight.

Eagle Sunlight Glide

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

750 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

I like the wing tips and the light in the tail feathers.  The branches are OK, especially with a solid blue sky.  
There was very little cropping in both images.  The monster lens did what it was supposed to do.

Thunderbird Center Cross

It is an odd time.  No new photos come in.  The closest to new photos I'll get might be some Eagle shots from the park.  If the weather will cooperate.  Eventually I'll have to come up with something other than 'old stuff'.
But if the 'old stuff' keeps coming along, who am I to not take it?  
Between looking out of the home office windows and seeing who is not walking around, I revisited this shot.  
This shot is from Reno last September.  Location at the show is everything.  I found that out while at the Traverse City air show earlier in 2019.  Not that the TC air show was bad, far from it.  But in Reno, our seats are very good.  Highest in the stands, start/finish line.  Show center.  Not so much for the TC air show.  
Seriously best shots.  Like this T-Bird formation post.  In that formation, the flight came right at us.  In other formations that follow the runway, all crossing action happens right in front of you.  (If they hit their marks.)
This is almost perfect.  I'd like them both back a few feet, but I'll take it.  For the math, read here.

Thunderbird Center Cross

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

450 mm, 1/2500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 (AUTO)

Manual Mode, Size DX

What's interesting about these high speed crossing shots is that even without a camera stuck to the middle of one's face, this instant is gone so quickly.  It's all the missed shots in this sequence, and I remember them all, that help make this special to me.
In another interesting angle to this shot, this required very little cropping.  Almost just enough to center it.  When I try to zoom in as much as I can, I have a low percentage of hits.  And the longer the focal length, the more susceptible to blur the shot is.  And this shot is no different.  But in this pass, my panning with the aircraft in the foreground helped.  Even with the good luck on the shot with my usual post processing workflow the image was sharp enough for posting, but on the screen saver end didn't look as good as it should have.  For most shots, I crop to 1920x1080.  And the resolution is OK.  But on this shot, that format didn't show well.  I had to crop to a 16:9 format.  The end file was about 4X larger.  But on the screen saver, the details really poped out,  Rivets.

C5M - Level Kneel Drive Thru

With all the airplanes, military and civilian, that I have seen in flight and static, there is one that I don't need to reference Wikipedia for information.  OK, maybe a little reference here and there because of time.  Back when my hair was darker, it was my job for eight years to know just about everything about this aircraft as a Flight Engineer, and if I didn't know it I had to know where to find it.  Quickly.
There are senses one never forgets.  Smell.  The smell of stale hydraulic fluid.  Engine Exhaust.  Sound.  The sound of a TF-39-GE spooling up - the whine we called Sound of Freedom.  Sight.  The sight from the jump seat of rolling down a long runway watching the runway distance markers count down, knowing you are heavy and it's 32 degrees C outside.  Torrejon, LETO.  Flying over the Alps.  Flying over the Pyramids of Alexandria.  (There are Youtubes out there with this, I know because some nights I go down that rabbit hole.)
I am a veteran of the C5A and the C5B.  3,600 total hours.  I started my relationship with the aircraft in 1983 on the A models.  Going through retro-fit.  Most aircraft have a set of books that carry performance data.  For a brief time, we carried three.  Just depended on the configuration.  Weak Wing, Pylons and Engines.  Books of charts, the good old days.  Performance Data.
In 2015 I returned to KDOV for a 9 MAS reunion.  As part of the weekend's activities, we had a tour of the M model.  To me, a refurbished B.  The aircraft that was set out for us was tail number 0020.  Dover had the even numbers, Travis the odd numbers.  As a B model, I'm sure I had hours flown on this airframe.  Like going home.  I made a request years ago to get my flight records, no answer.  That's OK  I know.  Enlisted.

At one point there was a photo taken of the entire reunion group.  There was the group, with the aircraft in the back.  So the photographer in me took over.  The group photo would never pick me out, but it was the one time there was no one around 0020.  I drifted to the back, and while everyone was saying CHEEZ - I was taking photos of 0020.  I am who I am.  No apologies.

Yep, I'm the one in the back.  Facing backwards, probably.  Great group of people.

In 2015 I would have had a hard time with this shot.  Heavy clouds, uneven light.  Gray airplane paint.  Interior shadows.  And the biggest handicap, me.  In 2020, with lots of practice trying to save earlier shots I can work with this one.  The original shot had lots of noise.  You could go one way, heavy HDR contrast.  Might work.  Or just take some time, levels and curves.

C5M - Level Kneel Drive Thru

NIKON D90/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

18 mm, 1/4000 sec, f/9, ISO 200

-3 EV, Aperture Priority, Size DX

If I knew then what I know now, I'd have set up the shot a bit different.  Thankfully software improves all the time.  There were no people hurt (removed) from this shot, but if someone was more lost than me, they would have been sacrificed.  It was all I could do to leave the power cart there, but it is part of the subject.  Yep, even that smelled great.

Sunrise Jogger on the Beach

To no one's surprise, time to go digging through the archives.  Lot's of time at home.  A disturbance in new subjects to add to the inventory.  To that end, I've been down memory lane, while I still have a working memory.  What I find going forward will be more story than photograph.  I am adaptable, if nothing else.
Members of my extended family had a tradition for years of traveling to South Carolina for a family vacation.  I was always invited, but I'm not much of a hot weather person.  South Carolina in August.  Hot, Muggy.  I did call their bluff once, I did accept the invitation in 2012.
The summer trip was a three pronged venture for me.  At the time, my in-laws were close by and I have a number of military friends in the area as well.  Short story, home run.  Hit all the boxes, touched all the bases.  Family and friends time.  Feels like it was just a few years ago.
I will spare everyone pictures of my family.  We're a good looking bunch, but this isn't a family album or Facebook.  The vacation destination was Hilton Head.  With a beach.  And I'm pretty much beach-phobic.  Sand and sand where it shouldn't be.  I'll stop there.
But the beach is a wonderful place to improve one's photographic skills.  And this is my attempt to take an interesting beach photo.
I was thinking about this photo for a few hours prior to going to the beach in the dark.  I took about 40 shots in the same local.  Very few turned out, but that was expected.  Lots of experimentation and changing light conditions.  Just hoping one shot would intersect both at the same time.
In 2012 I was shooting with the D90.  Wonderful camera for the time.  It was smarter than the user.
I wanted to get early morning beach activity.  In central Michigan, we don't get these sunrise colors.  I wanted sun colors, a cloud layer and some interesting water.  Not much to ask for?
Fortunately for me in this roughly twenty minute time period, there was lots of activity between the camera and the sun.

Sunrise Jogger on the Beach

NIKON D90/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

18 mm, 1/10 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400

Aperture Priority, Size DX

One of the few times I've set up a tri-pod, and it shows.  The trouble I had was sometimes I'd get a walker and the motion just wasn't right, too solid.  Sometimes the runner would be too ghosty, if that is a term.  One shot the water was nice with motion but the shutter was so slow, the subject was not visible.  I was able to make it out for two mornings.  The second morning was no cloud cover.  I didn't handle the sun well.  Learning experience.

Stono Baptist Church

In memory of my South Carolina trip.  A year ago.
My SC host is an early bird.  Says to me, hey on the way to the Air Show have something I want you to see.  I said, I'm all in.
We stopped near a little town (?), Ravenel.  Just beside the road is this abandoned building.  A simple design.  The Stono Baptist Church.
The original Stono Baptist Church was established in the early 1840s.  A fire of the original building led to the establishment of the current building in 1847 (ish).  The church was active up to the beginning of WWII.  The building has been dormant since.  Although the church is no longer active, there are recent headstones in the attached cemetery which lead me to believe that function is still active.
At the corner of SC 165 and New Road is the 'old' Stono Baptist Church.  From the outside, looks like an old single room church on a maintained lot.  And this is why one needs a tour guide.  While the outside is interesting in a charming way, it is the inside where the treasure is.
And this is where the photo mistakes begin.
The front door is almost directly east.  Beautiful sunrise, to our backs.

Stono Baptist Church - Sunrise

NIKON D7200 Ver.1.04/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

27 mm, 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

My host, who is pictured here, is not getting a close up of the front.  He's going for the object inside.

Stono Baptist Church Organ

NIKON D7200 Ver.1.04/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

18 mm, (1/60, 1/500, 1/8) sec, f/11, ISO 100

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

And this is where the downward spiral began.
First, my primary rule for on the road photography is to not change a lens in the field.  Yep, on this day was was carrying two bodies - but for an air show.  One could say that I didn't know we were stopping here and they would be correct.  But we returned the next morning and I didn't make any adjustments.  That's just stoopid.  This was an area with multiple possibilities.  I had my walk around 18-200 here.  This screamed for a 35 mm prime.
Next, with a 35 mm prime lens, I could have taken three portrait orientation shots and stitched them together.  Straighter lines to work with.
This is a three shot HDR.  No faking this one.  It is very necessary with the sunlight on the trees and the inside almost dark in the shadows.  It is what HDR is made for.  Well, that's one thing I got right.  And the math checks out, with a 35 mm prime lens doing a three shot stitch - yep 9 shots.  But it would be worth it.
And finally, a tri-pod would have really helped.
All  lessons learned.  Just need to put into practice.
And this is how an artist works.  Not like me who swings the camera around.  Again, lesson learned.

Well, the building has been there for over 70 years, maybe it will make it for another when I can return.  The organ in the room is just an awesome subject,

U2 - Not the Band

I recently finished listening to the story of Lockheed's Skunk Works from Ben Rich's view.  Fortunately for me, the name of the book is Skunk Works.  Easy for me to remember.  The Skunk Works is the builder of the U2 Dragon Lady, SR-71 Blackbird (Habu) and the F117 Nighthawk aircraft among others.  The book is a fascinating read/listen.  As with a number of military aircraft from the past, I have been fortunate enough to have seen them up close.  And in their natural environment.  Not an Air Show.
While stationed at Kadena, Okinawa in the early 80's I witnessed the Blackbird doing take offs and landings.  On Okinawa, we called it Habu, local for an indigenous snake.  Magnificent aircraft.  Watching night take-offs was spectacular.  White afterburner.  
Just before I rotated off the island, I got this shot.

From a post, almost exactly 10 years ago:  
https://kurtpankopfphotography.blogspot.com/2010/03/sr-71-1982-kadena.html

I saw the Nighthawk at a downrange base in the early 90's as part of Desert Storm.  Good story to tell.  But not for the public, sorry.  I saw the Nighthawk in the States once during an air show.  It was parked in front of our C5.  I was able to see it from the top.  No photos though.
But no photos of a U2.  I don't ever recall seeing one live.  Until 2018.
The U2 is a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft.  Run by not the Air Force.  The aircraft was designed in 1953 and entered the inventory a year later.  Like the B-52 and C-130, it is tough to improve some airframes.
In 2018 at the Reno Air Races, one of the unannounced events was a U2 flyby.  I was pretty excited to see this.  My first live U2.  I was so excited to see this that out of 20 shots, only two were usable.  What went wrong?
The airspace at Reno is often changing.  You go from T-6s that are large and slow with slow props to more advanced prop driven racers that are smaller and faster.  Faster speeds, faster props.  And then you have jet powered aircraft.  Mix in a rookie behind the camera to the fast paced environment and you get a situation of shooting a jet with slow prop settings.  And that is what happened here.  And I'm happy that two shots survived.
Two years ago, I tried to 'save' this image.  I could get close, but not enough to post.
The sharpening software I use just came out with an update.  The software can now target sharpening via a mask.  Yes, I could do this using layers, but this is much easier.

U2 Flyby - Dirty

NIKON D7200 Ver.1.04/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

450 mm, 1/125 sec, f/18, ISO 100

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

I need to get the aircraft sharp, not the sky.  Without layer lines.  This upgrade works.
The shot should have been around 1/1200 second at f/5.6.  Jet settings.
This is a pretty aggressive crop.  At screen saver size, the tail number can be read.  But as to the rest, it has a clarity that only the owner could like.  The smaller the format, the better the shot.

Time marches on.......

What a difference two weeks makes.  The last post talks about going to air shows that have now been cancelled.  I thought my South Carolina trip would go on no matter what - and I've had to postpone it.  So far in my neck of the woods, we are allowed to roam, but not in packs.  Don't like the thought of it, but if it brings this craziness to an end quicker I'm all for it.
That being said, I did go out to the Park for a quick walk and a few shots.  I did not see anyone at the park.  There were two other cars.  My deal with C was if there were five cars or more, I would turn around.  I would not spend more than one hour there, unless I had phone approval.
Aside for the need of fresh air after being cooped up for a week, I had two goals for the brief outing.  One, check the status of the park Eagle's nest and test out the D780 and 200-500 lens combo.  
I had gone out to the nest a few weeks ago and didn't see much activity.  As an Eagle lifecycle non-expert, I think last year at this time it was egg watching time in the lifecycle.  So that there was no activity was no surprise.  Today, I wanted to see some activity just to let me know, life is going on.  
As I remember from last year, when the activity was egg guarding and warming with minimal nest movement, the nest inhabitants were hard to see.  The best vantage point to see the lowest part of the nest is also the farthest away.  Challenges.
So today walking by, I thought I saw a white plastic bag in a tree.  A small bag.  But it was not, it was the top of the Eagle's head.
So, as allowed by time and law I will try to get out there again this year for some good photos.  I think the D500 and the 200-500 will be an excellent combo.  The extra reach by the D500 will allow the photos to not be as cropped and allow greater definition.
So this photo with the D780 and cropped.  From a great distance.  Spylike.

Eagle in the nest from a distance

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00 /200-500mm f/5.6E

500 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 125 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Seems to me last year, I'd go out to the nest around 5:30 ish and stay for an hour or so.  I could usually get some activity, so depending on how events unravel in the future there will be photos.
Aside from getting distance shots, I wanted to get some definition shots.  I need to test the auto focus between the D780 and 200-500.
And while the Eagles were playing the distance card, I can always count on the Canadians to help out.

Canadian Goose and Reflection

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00/200-500mm f/5.6E

500 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 280 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Not exciting, but for being tied to home and not supposed to travel with friends you have to take what you can get.
And the AF combo passed the test.

Air Show Mode - 2020

A4 Taxi Wave

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

450 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/9, ISO 560 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

The Air show 2020 season is on the radar.  Just past the 6 week ring.  I have three weekends of work and three free weekends to go.  Yes, I'll probably get some horse action in and maybe some wildlife opportunities but I am now in air show mode. 
Air Show Mode.  Last year, to say I was obsessed with doing better with props might be an understatement.  This year, what to work on?  There will be a lot.
First, there is the new equipment question.  
The D500 is a air show beast.  Fast.  Large buffer.  As a DX, makes the 70-300 an effective 105-450.  Best reach, 600 mm.  Proven, and I'm comfortable with it.  
The D780 not as fast, but at 7 FPS it is adequate.  If I can get comfortable with the Live View, it goes to 12 FPS.  Yep, that'll work.  Matched to the 70-300 lens, it is, well 300 mm.  I could toss it to DX mode, but that sort of defeats the purpose of a full frame camera.  Looks like some of the next two weeks will be testing.
For lenses, I just can't see lugging the 200-500 around for a few hours.  I can hide the 70-300's size in a back pack.  In the back pack it doesn't look all that big.  The 200-500 can't be hidden.  I have a holster bag for it, still can't hide it.  The Charleston show rules are a small camera bag will get in.  I'm not sure the back pack will get in.  Until I get a 24-70 FX lens, the 18-200 on the D500 will have to be the close up unit.  Note to self, last year at Beauford MCAS, there were no useful close up shots.  That little fact may factor in as to the equipment question.  Also, there are two days of show.  If it really goes south, there will always be day 2.  And I can always try to get the back pack in, just have to return it to the car if it exceeds limits.
Seems like an awful lot of thinking for a four hour show.  Is there something else at play here?  Absolutely!
My host for Charleston has upped his game for 2020.  Last year he was a disgruntled Canon owner.  This year, Sony A7iii.  (And I think he's not happy with last year's efforts - he's going to be out to beat Team Nikon.)  He's got 6 weeks to get ready as well.  But he also has southern weather so he'll have a few days on me.  So yes, under all the niceties of our discussions, there will be war.  And dinner.
Two weeks after Charleston I'll be at Cherry Point MCAS in North Carolina.  I'm very excited about this event.  I have two young air show rookies to work with.  Goal is simple, rev the kids up and get them to want to be with Uncle Kurt at some point next year for another show.  And if they at some point get excited about the aviation field, hopefully another reason to do well in school.  No pressure on me.
The crown jewel of photography will be the Thunder over Michigan event in August.  I have the photographer's package.  This is special access to the event.  By this time, I should have all the kinks worked out and should be ready for almost anything.
Closing out the year will be Reno in September.  I have to get creative, there has to be other angles I can shoot.  The 200-500 won't be an issue, other than carrying it around. 
So the next six weeks there will be some training.  Local parks and Port Huron for bird and Sea Gull for moving target practice.  Working with the 200-500 on both the D500 and D780.
Yep, and I'll have to do the same thought process for the horse events.

Sunday Morning Walk on Mt. Washington - Pittsburgh Skyline

Call me a Homer.  I think Pittsburgh's skyline is very underrated when it comes to national skyline publicity.  Few cities have an observation like Mt. Washington.  Add the two together, you can get some very nice shots.
Back in the day, the mid-60s, my grandparents had an apartment on Grandview Avenue.  My sister and I would spend many hours watching the coal movement on the Monongahela River.  Yes, some days had limited vision due to the steel mills.  In the sunlight, it was sort of a yellowish haze.  And on some days, it was as clear as it was this morning.
On Sunday, my sister and I returned to the scene where we walked many years ago.  The day was perfect.  Pittsburgh blue sky, no clouds.  I must be living right, because there was a 'barge' heading down river to the Ohio.  In my memory, the barges pushed by the tugs seemed to be longer, maybe eight long by two wide.  Matters not today, this was an awesome trip down memory lane.
The skyline is not as I would remember it.  Back in the day, the Gulf building and the Koppers building were it.  it was a big deal when USS Steel built the building that now in monikered by UPMC.
Photographically, was out still testing the D780.  I have a few panorama sets to work.  This is a single shot.  I used a 50 mm prime lens.  I'd like to work more with the primes when I can.  Would have been nice to have more power when the barge went by.  Guess I have to go back for more tries.
The Pittsburgh Skyline from Mt. Washington.

Pittsburgh Skyline - Blue Sky

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00/50mm f/1.8G

50mm, 1/640 Sec, f/8, ISO 110 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

The Beech 18 - and some stories

The Beechcraft 18  is a twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured in the late 30's.  Start of the business aircraft industry.  Aside from the air show value to me, my real interest is the military version and a story.
This past summer I saw Matt Younkin's Beech 18 air show event at the Traverse City air show.  In the early 40's the Beech 18 was used as light transport, light bomber (for China), aircrew trainer (for bombing, navigation, and gunnery) and photo-reconnaissance.  As it turns out, I would become interested in the air crew trainer portion.  And I'll talk about that later.
Back to the summer's air show.  The Traverse City Air Show is over water, which is a really interesting perspective.  
And of course a tangential story.  Short version - I was looking for an air show at the airport.  You can fill in the blanks from there.
But an over the water show is interesting.  There is an 'air strip' marked and the area is cleared.  The best place to view would be a boat.  But as I am a land lubber, my seat was far away.  Safe from the fresh water sharks.  No excuses for the photos, just reality.
Because the Beech 18 is prop driven, a slower than normal shutter speed was used.  On some photos, I was lucky enough to match the aircraft speed, but the stationary environment around the aircraft has the blur thing going on.  Interesting effect.
This is the Beech 18 on approach.  It is a far as I can reach, plus f/16.  Not a place I like to be, but when in Rome....  

Beech 18 Water Approach

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/125 sec, f/16, ISO 125 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size 1.3

This water Fly-by is one of those that sort of sneaks up on you.  The subject is about as clear as I can get it.  That is, it is in focus.  Everything else is the blur.  Story telling time.  The photo is at the end of the reach for DX (450 mm) and lightly cropped.  It will will make the screen savers.

Beech 18 Water Fly-by

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

450 mm, 1/125 sec, f/16, ISO 125 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

One of my favorite things to see at an airshow is an inside loop with smoke.  Usually this is never done close to show center but at the end of the show performance box.  And usually at a high altitude,  So it is far away.  When a relatively slower aircraft does this, like a T-6 or the Beech 18, the photo can turn out OK.  (Hopefully with the new lens, I'll be able to get some that are screen saver quality.)

Beech 18 Inverted Loop

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

450 mm, 1/125 sec, f/16, ISO 125 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

The connection of the military version of the Beech 18 and me is via a story told to me by my father from his days in the Air Force.  In college, my father took part in the ROTC program for the USAF.  At graduation from Allegheny, as a non-rated (non-pilot) cadet he owed the USAF four years with two years being active.  If he was to go in as a pilot, he would owe six active years.  The family Ford store would never allow that.  My father wanted to be a USAF pilot, and had inquired after his initial tour was over if he could get back in and go to pilot training.  He could, but during the Cold War, all he could be promised after graduation was Thule (Greenland).  And yet he still considered it.  Back to the initial commission, he was stationed at Tyndall Field.  At the time Tyndall was among other purposes, a pilot instructor school.  While he was there, he often accompanied pilots on cross country training flights.
During one of these flights, in a Beech 18, about 90 minutes from landing at Tyndall there was an odor of gas in the cockpit.  There was the option continue, bail out or ditch.  The two of them decided to continue.  Minimal use of the radio.  No switch movement.  But the decision to bail out was revisited when it came time to lower the landing gear.  One spark would end it all.  Short version, all three of them, the pilot , my father and the aircraft all survived the adventure.
The pilot in the story stayed in the USAF, retiring a general and remaining a life long friend to my father.  Military bonds, eh?
I recently learned of this story during a talk with my father.  I have been talking to him every day for a few weeks.  As a private pilot, he logged many hours.  We share a common love of the aviation adventures and our time in the service.  We really enjoyed sharing our adventures.  Both of us have plenty to tell.  That is our unique bond.  Military and paternal.
But as I write this, he is doing a pre-flight check for his last solo flight.  I'd like to think the final destination are the White Shores.
My father has been a loyal and faithful reader of this blog.  Always there with photo and grammatical 'suggestions'.  And encouragement.  This will be the first post he will not read.

Al and Kurt - 1959

God Speed Dad

The AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

Over the last two years, most of my shots have been cropped to some degree.  Most, more than I'd like.  The big lens, for me in the current kit is the AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR.  Great lens for the money.  Needs some light to work right, but for outdoor it is very good.  When matched with the D500, aggressive crops are possible.  But in the photographic journey, it can be better.
So the 200 - 500.  Better for the birds, for sure.  Better for the air shows, probably.  Better for the horses, well probably not so much.  From the limited time out, it is a strong lens.
Also from the limited time out, it is the heaviest 5 pounds.  I was thinking by 4:00 PM on an air show afternoon, it might be too heavy.  Now, it might be 3:00 PM.  I've inherited a very sturdy Bogen tri-pod that was used for 80's video equipment.  And it's heavy, sturdy.  I'm looking for a gimbal head for the lens to attach to.  Yes, it will be bulky.  But it will work.
So, back to the heavy part.  On my day trip out, February on Michigan's west coast there wasn't much flying action that I found.  However, I can always count on a sea gull to show off when the others are grounded.
This is is the RAW file with no edits other than an aggressive crop.  It's going to take a few more trips out to the size right.  This was at 320 mm, 480 with the crop factor.  So there was room to get tighter, I just didn't get to it.

Under intense scrutiny, it is pretty good.

This is the north marker at South Haven.

Again, no sharpening edits.  I'm looking at the ice on the rails at the base of the marker.  Pretty good definition.  Clearly something to work with.

So, bring on the air show season and some warmer weather for the birding season.