P-51 Old Crow (R/C) - But sounds the same

So getting in the R/C world a bit, one of the aircraft flying around was a P51 replica of the Old Crow.  The Old Crow, named after the popular Whiskey, flew 116 missions in WWII without being hit, or suffering a mechanical issue.  And is credited with 16 aerial victories.  Triple ace stuff for pilot 'Bud' Anderson.  You make your own luck.
I've seen P-51s on the Air Show circuit with the Old Crow paint job.  There is a P-51B and a P-51D listed as still flying.  The paint job is simple, but iconic.
Back to the R/C world.  The one flying at the field on Saturday was fun to watch.  The pilot was good, smooth.  Air Show smooth.  And yet, there was something different about this aircraft.  It was electric.  Not that being electric make it different.  But it sounded different.  Found out by talking to some of the people there that some model aircraft have sound systems.  That's friggin' awesome!  I need to get out more.
So the aircraft would fly near me - and it was like you could hear the props cutting the air.  Very cool.
So how does that work?  I went to my friend, Google, and discovered a model that boasts a two speaker system.  Says it will product high decibel Merlin sound.  Who am I to argue?  Ruined me for other electric aircraft.  Ha.
One of the other things I found out, and not sure why but I had more in focus shots of this aircraft.  Sure, the is plenty of contrast against the sky, but I tend to think the flight pattern was nice and smooth.  Or I took more shots for some reason.  
This shot is just after breaking the ground, and a real nose up moment.  It is controlled.  The fun part is that both speakers are visible.  Both are on the bottom of the aircraft, just under the engine compartment and in the air scoop.

Old Crow - Nose Up

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20 /NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

750 mm, 1/1,600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 450 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

The rest of these shots were just interesting to me and the focus was really on.

Old Crow - Ascent

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20 /NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

615 mm, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 125 (AUTO)

EV -0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This shot reminds me of a very blue sky in Reno.  This was really far out distance-wise.  It is a lot easier to crop when the subject is in tight focus.  Looks like it is PhotoShopped.  It's not.

Old Crow - Blue Sky Decent

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20 /NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

750 mm, 1/1,600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 110 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This shot is far out as well, just a bit lower against the trees.  Just looks nice.

Old Crow - Decent

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20 /NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

750 mm, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

EV -0.33, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Taking photos of these objects in flight ain't easy.  Small, fast.  A lot of times hard to get in the view finder.  Really happy when it comes together.

It's not lost on me.....

 I shouldn't be here today.  Not like I should be dead or something like that, but I shouldn't be here.  I should be in Reno.  This is the week of the National Air Races.  I've been there the last two years.  I'm not depressed (much) about this.  The Air Races are like the perfect storm of enjoyment for me.  Aviation people, good friends, adopted family and aviation.  Four days of no politics, no local news, just aviation.  Yet, here I am.  Working for the paying job.  Not complaining, just wondering how the alternative universe with no Covid, Kurt is enjoying the show?
So how did I spend the past few days?  The paying job for sure, but I was able to get a few hours for myself on Saturday.  So I went to a new location to get that aviation feeling going.
Last weekend I met people from different R/C aircraft clubs, one of them from the Pontiac Miniature Air Club.  They held an event yesterday that included all their Covid/weather cancelled events into the last big bash.  Perfect weather.  Has my name written all over it.
To be sure, the big hook for me was the warbirds aircraft angle.  Anything in memorial to the Races.
There were 30-40 aircraft at the R/C event.  Maybe slightly over half were warbirds.  Fun to watch.
Some of the pilots were very good a air show flight patterns.  Very smooth transitions.  Most of the powerplants were electric.  Yea, I'm a bigger fan of the gas engine but I understand the benefits of the electric.  If they could just put the noise and exhaust in an aerosol can - I'd buy a case at a time.
Back to Saturday.  And thoughts of Reno.  And races, not military birds.
One of the race classes this year is the STOL (Short Take Off and Landing).  In 2019, the races had a demo of this class, and for as slow as it was there was some excitement.  But with the introduction of that class, the statement that event the slowest class at Reno is faster than anything at Daytona died.  I was looking forward to watching this year.  I have a previous post on STOL racing here.
One of the more interesting R/C aircraft was a STOL design.  Gas powered.  And Smoke.  I'm in!

STOL - Blowin' Smoke

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

750 mm, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

EV -0.33, MANUAL Mode, Size: DX

This aircraft put on quite a flight.  Not very STOL like in that these are functional aircraft, not show craft.  Anyway was a lot of fun to watch.  That approach and landing were very STOL like, in that is was steep and short.

STOL - Landing Flare

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

465 mm, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 220 (AUTO)

EV -0.33, MANUAL Mode, Size: DX

And the short landing.

STOL - Landing

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

750 mm, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 140 (AUTO)

EV -0.33, MANUAL Mode, Size: DX

With any luck, I'll see the real thing next year.

R/C Aircraft - What could possibly go wrong?

 I'm not a fan of publishing anyone's not so perfect moments.  Not even for the sake of storytelling.  But in this case.....
In cruising some of the R/C community websites, the uncontrolled portion of flight transition between ground and air often has its own page to honor the event.  I think it might be a right of passage maybe?
These are to honor the events.  No one was hurt.  All of these aircraft, except one, flew later in the day.  And the one that didn't, I'll bet flew the next day.  Or could have.  I did not hear one foul word.  Didn't see any tears.  What fun.
The biggest surprise I found, photography wise, was getting something in the photo to give scale and reference.  This is the first is a sequence of three where the aircraft eventually is half under water.  It didn't end well.  But I like the positioning with the person.  You can still tell, there will be no miracle pull out.

Crash - Going In

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

750 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 110 (AUTO)

EV -0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

A lot of the aircraft are not as I would remember.  I expected gas engines on all, hours of build wood frames.  Times change.  Engines changed from gas to electric.  Building materials went from wood to plastics. 
I didn't witness this next scene.  I was late.  Is the right side up aircraft just to the scene early?  Coincidence.  Maybe so, but I didn't see any pit fights.

Crash - One Flipped

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

750 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 220 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This next aircraft is more of a flying boat.  No pontoons or low hung engines.  This one had a gas engine.  This was actually more of a successful landing, but unsuccessful high speed taxi.  Looks like bad timing between a turn to the right, a breeze from the left and some chop.  Result, a buried nose.

Crash - Hard Right

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

330 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

EV -0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This was a take off that didn't succeed.  A lot more violent water action with the increased speed and higher prop rotation.

Crash on Take Off

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

330 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

EV -0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Again, no aircraft was really hurt, every pilot walked away with a story.  And a photo.

Seven Lakes Park Sandhill Cranes

 I often see Sandhill Cranes when I go to the Refuge.  Not all the time - but a lot of the time.  I don't know a lot about them, other than they can be LOUD.  With a nasal call that came out of Jurassic Park casting.  
I found myself at the Seven Lakes Park in Holly, and this was not expected.  
I need to get out more.  I was focused of the subject of my afternoon, and almost missed this opportunity.
There was/is a pair of Cranes that occupied the part of the park where I was.  They were always within sight, clearly not too afraid of other bi-peds.

After a while, I could hear the airborne announcement of incoming Cranes.  From this I could tell who was squawking.

These birds were not more than 30 feet above me, and when that happens you are just keeping your finger close to t \he shutter release and hoping for the best.  Hope you have a good AF lock - and you won't miss the shot.

And in the spirit of I wish, I wish this was head on.  But it isn't.  The bent wing span doesn't have any angles.  Almost stealth in design.

I also have a few shots of an Osprey that wandered around.  I hadn't seen one in the Refuge all year.  And there were at least two in this park.  They didn't come as close to the area where I was, just an overflight.

de Havilland Canada Beaver - R/C Style

 In going to an event where there are many subjects, where people have put time, effort and $$$s into their hobby, I really don't like saying - This is my favorite.  First, I was there for only one day, and an expert that does not make me.  And if I get to another event, I don't want to be looking over my shoulder for a loose D cell coming my way.
This is what I will say after two days at the event, anything with a gas engine will get my attention.  The noise, the smell and the pit crew.  Next, colors.  Seems I gravitate to yellows in either primary or accent.  Next, size.  Bigger is better.  If not trying for speed, slower is better for me.  Like in Reno and the T-6 class, bigger, slower and I have a good idea where it will be second to second.
Taking photos of aircraft in straight and level flight is fun, but doesn't translate well for my purposes.  There needs to be something else for the keeper shot.  I threw away a lot of technically good photos from the last two days.  Obviously anything with water was a keeper, and if I could get some reference from a water line and trees, that was a keeper.  And in a serendipitous  surprise, an odd placed person seems to bring the story home.
On Thursday, with heavy overcast skies, this de Havilland Canada Beaver caught my attention.  First, it was one of the more colorful aircraft in flight for the day.  Great contrast against a dull sky, the AF locked right on.

de Havilland Canada Beaver - Static

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

42 mm, 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size: 16:9

One thing I found out is that the prop blur is almost impossible (after two days of information gathering) to get right.  The electric motors when slowing down for decent look like they quit rotating.  Hey, it's electric.  In full power for take off, it is how I like to see it.  This has just a smidgen of blur.

de Havilland Canada Beaver Decending

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

750mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2000 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size: DX

Although I won't say which is a favorite airplane, I will say what is one of my five top shots for the day.  This is one of them.  I like the landing shots.  Water everywhere.  The trick is catching the right moment.  Event at 7 FPS, it doesn't always work.  This comes as close as I got for the day - nailed it.

de Havilland Canada Beaver Controlled Splash

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

750mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1100 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size: DX

Again, a CP would help.  I will be looking for one today.  Amazon will probably make another sale today.  The monster lens has a 95mm size, the filters are few and far between.  The fun of the hunt.

Skymasters of Michigan Fly In - 2020

 Another new subject, Remote Control Aircraft.  I've been waiting for this day for a few weeks.  Aircraft.  Finally.
R/C Aircraft on the water.  What could go wrong?  Actually nothing.  The day was fairly gray and a pretty good breeze across the water.
All went well for the aircraft, but all sots of issues for the photographer.  I took 315 shots for the day.  I kept just under 100.  Sure, there were some close duplicates that were nixed, but there were also metering issues.  The flat sky was an issue, and the water at certain angles was no better.  A CP would help with the water shots, but I don't have one for that lens.  (Note to self, get one!)  There was a backdrop of trees across the pond that helped the metering and produced some nice shots.
The first good sized aircraft I saw was this nice big yellow target.  Perfect for my first photos.  Nice contrast for the auto focus.  I would expect it wouldn't go streaking across the sky with any big jerky movements.  Something even I can track.
There were a few things I took from the event today.  First, it doesn't matter the aircraft event, engine exhaust is like perfume to me.  Different from AV-Gas to be sure, but the smell of a hard working engine.  I was also a blast to the past to try to find aircraft in the view finder.  Not always easy.  And once it is in the view finder, try to get a AF lock on the subject.  I will probably change the AF for tomorrow to be larger so a lock will be kept longer.  And the ultimate blast from the past, get the right speed for some form of prop blur.  Ah, the good ol' days.
For once, I figured out the camera lens combo correctly.  I had the monster lens on the D500 so I could get out to 750 mm for the air shots.  And I had the 24-40 f/2.8 on the D780 for walk around.
Like a lot of my mistakes, this is a doozy.  I had no idea when I shot this that the man in blue was there.  But this really works.  Tells the story of the day.  Gives reference.  Shot should be on a flyer somewhere.

Yellow Taxi Out

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

315 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 250 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

One of the themes I was trying to catch was the interaction of the water.  Either taxiing, T/O or landing.  A wing tip in the water might be interesting as well.  There were some close ones, but nothing that needed rescue.
So we have the taxi water interaction.  There's a lot going on here.  You have mist behind the propeller, you have large water droplets and water displacement from the pontoons.  And a wake.

Yellow Water Taxi

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

675 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 220 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This next shot was complete surprise.  Water interaction I didn't expect.  Water in flight.  Yep, you can see the water dropping from the pontoons.  Awesome.  Care to guess the wind direction?

Yellow Climb Out

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

675 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 220 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

And more water action.  The taxi in.  Call me old, but this action looks like movies made in the 50's with battle ships.  Or Godzilla.

Yellow Taxi In

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

555 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 250 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

There were other good shots from today.  Some will make it here.  But I did learn a few things.  I have a lot of shots at 1/2000th second with a slight amount of prop blur.  These shots at 1/1000th second are good overall focus and I was able to catch the plane with good focus.  I did use VR on these shots.  Maybe not necessary.
Tomorrow promises to be a better day, at least weather wise.  Maybe a little more sun.  Winds under 10.
Things to think about.  I had been using center weighted metering for today.  I think I will try matrix metering tomorrow.  Some of my shots were darker than I would like.  With the aircraft being all different colors, I think I need more of an average setting.  And I'm going with 1/1000th or 1/1250th for the shutter speed.  

If I can remember.

Labor Day - 2020 (Covid Style)

This was my last totally free weekend for a while, through the end of October.  Seven to eight weeks.  And end of October is if everything goes well.  Pays the bills.  And funds the hobby.
Non-photography related weekend stuff, put some miles on the truck.  My destination on Saturday was packed with tourists.  I think it was great.  Probably a bad year overall for the tourist industry, but good to see people out and about.  But I was not to be part of it, too many people for me.  No photos or souvenirs on that trip.
Sunday was off to the BMX track for the afternoon.
So this year it has come down to horses and BMX as photography subjects.  And that is OK.  C and I have been safe so far.  And that is what counts.
But a close second would be to continue to grow in this hobby.  With aircraft, I have background knowledge of the subject.  I have interest angles.  With horses and bike, I have to sort of feel my way through it.  What works, and what works a bit less.
So Sunday, found myself at the BMX track.  Third time there.  I should have a much better idea of what to get accomplished.  Prior to going out this weekend, I reached out to the track operator to get permission to access the 'interior' of the track.  Permission granted.  And I met some nice people in the process.
The day started out heavily overcast, threat of rain.  At flag drop, nice and sunny with some winds.  Great day to be out.  
As to the photos, the shots taken before the race are not as bright as the race shots.  The lighting was very different. 
I found some good areas on the inside of the track.  I also found out that a lot of the shots I thought I'd like were into the sun.  So half came out really well, and the rest were into the sun.
I've landed on a minimum shutter speed of 1/1250 sec.  At this point I am OK with 'freezing' the shot.  With aircraft and props, I'd never freezing of the prop as a good photo.  With the bikes, I just don't know any better.  After this outing, I may have experiment more with speeds.

Jump Kick Out

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

85 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 (AUTO)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

The ISO being that high wasn't too much of an issue.  Yea, it's visible if you look for it.  So don't look.  I did have to clean up the visible face a bit.
I did back into two sort of 'artsy' shots.  Purely mistakes, but in the end the print is all that matters.  And I like these next two shots.  
It should be noted that these were pretty tight because of my position and major cropping was not necessary.  
With this shot, there was no ISO cleanup.  I think this is 'perfectly' framed.  Some of the bike is missing, but that's OK.

One Looking

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

240 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1800 (AUTO)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

This is an example of the focus lock staying with the intended subject.  I locked on tot he rider when he was in the turn.  And it didn't release.  And it works.

One In Focus

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

195 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1400 (AUTO)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

Accidents, the only way we learn.  And, this week I'll be going to a R/C airplane event.  Time to start researching!

More BMX shots

Last few weeks for the paying job have been long.  Lots of hours.  Big project stuff.
I wanted to head south to Ann Arbor to do a horse event the weekend, but just not feeling it.  Saturday was heavy cloud cover.  Today was much better, but still not feeling it enough for an hour drive.  Each way.
So, I went to the BMX races less than 5 minutes from the house.  That I could do.
Nice day out in the sun.
Today's event was not large.  Wasn't very crowded.  But everyone has fun.
I won't get into the popular debate these days of whether or not the National Anthem should be played before events.  I'm old enough that every competitive event I've been to has always started with the National Anthem.  I'm OK with it.  That will not change, for me.
For the BMX races, the Anthem is played while racers can opt to do a lap with an American Flag.  How cool is that?  I think the younger racers really like this.
The Flag lap.

The Flag Lap

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8

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

EV +0.33, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This is the first outing with the new 27-70 on the D500.  In the end, I didn't use this combo very long.  It worked in this case because I was right along the track.  But the max reach of 100 mm doesn't work many other places.  The best combo seems to be the D780 and the 70-300.
This time out I staked out a new location.  There are three major turns in the race.  I was going to stake out the exit of the last turn.  Not always the best for sun angle.  But with today's overcast it was livable.
There is good action in this turn.  It is a good chance to get more than one rider in a shot that is not straight on.  The issue can be that since this is the third turn, the field of racers has expanded.  Like in air racing, the front end is often decided by the half way point.  But the action for other positions can be more interesting.
This is the type of shot I like, three subjects in the frame.  I like that with aircraft, I like that with cyclists.

Stars and Bars Turn

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

155 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320 (AUTO)

EV +1.0, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

These two were in a higher age bracket.  It was fun to watch them through the race, thinking they might be close when they came to the last turn.  No disappointment.

Two Exiting the Turn

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

155 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320 (AUTO)

EV +1.0, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

And no trip to the park is complete without some air.  And some hair.  This is from a different angle, but not bad.  Wouldn't be a bad position with the monster lens.

Air and Hair

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

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

EV +1.0, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

Good day to be out and about.

BMX - Big Air

Back in the early 70's I had my own flirtation with big air.  And maybe a touch of big hair as well.  The big hair stories will have to wait.
First big air was on a dirt bike.  I learned that speed wasn't ans aspect to be ignored.  You had to hit the speed right for the best landing.  And you only learn this by going over the line.  Too fast and miss the landing.  Bounce would be a nice way of describing what happened next.  Aside from jumping dirt bikes, I'd also get big air on the ski slopes.  I would jump the huge mounds of snow beneath the snow makers.  Same laws of physics.  
So I have respect respect for those who go for the big air.
At the BMX track there is a path that one can choose to get what I would call big air.  Most choose go to around the area.  But for those who don't.....

Big Air - One Rider

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

140 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 280 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

Big Air - Two Riders

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

165 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 280 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

Big Air - In the Race

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

140 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 280 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

Richfield Park BMX

As in the 1971 Monty Python film, "And now for something completely different".
Started as kind of a crappy Saturday for me.  Lots of odd hours for the paying job last week, so I slept in a bit.  I wasn't enthused to go to the Refuge,  I missed the early morning feeding activities.  I thought of a road trip, just to get out of the house.  Too nice to stay at home all day, I left for the Refuge around 2:00.  I hadn't seen early afternoon activity there, maybe something would click.  I bundled the D500 and monster lens and headed out the door.  See the mistake yet?
When I head out of the house, I usually (99%of the time) take the back up camera with me.  It would be the D780 with something on the picture taking end.
But I didn't.  Shows the mood I was in.
As I was leaving the home area, I passed Richfield Park, home of my oft photoed local Eagle.  I've known about the BMX park there, but never seen it used.  Today was different.  The BMX park was packed and in use.  And colorful.  This could be fun.
I thought my camera selection for this type of event was bad.  It was, but it was livable for a while.  I really needed something shorter.  The 350 mm on the short end took out about half of the action.  After a few shots, back home quickly to do it right.  
I returned for the last hour or so, the finals for the day, with a much better combo.
The day was a lot of fun.  No research on what to do or what to set.  All the mistakes of the past, home to roost.
I took 388 shots between the two cameras.  Only 21 were unusable due to missed focus point or subject miss.  I'll take that every time out.
I settled on 1600th of a second and f/6.3 for the afternoon.  Nice and sunny.  ISOs went from 110 to 900 with the majority of the shots in the 200 to 400 range.  I also settled on EV +1 after a few of the first shots.  I had some slight blowouts but nothing that was terminal.  The rest of the colors played much nicer.  No big clouds moved though, so the light was very even.  There was a slight breeze on occasion, but there are no camera settings for that.
Trying to select only 4 shots for today's blog was rough.  Like the first time I get a new subject, I shoot a lot.  I am getting better in that I don't have that many duplicates.  I was set up for 7 FPS and managed only 2-3 shots per effort.  Good control for me.  No happy shutter.
There were two shots that instantly stood out for me on reviewing the day's effort.  The first shot was a total mistake for me in that it all worked.  Got the whole subject, very little cropping needed.  And in focus.  Very rare for me.  In the air, just right.

BMX - In the Air Just Right

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

300 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

At this point, not knowing any better I wasn't sure if the speed is too fast.  Wheels are frozen.  (Prop flashback)  If there was just a slight blur for motion reasons I think I'd be happier.  This is the only shot where the wheels are this visible.  Most other shots are more head on.  But for me, if I'm worried a bout a little tire blur the rest must be OK.
My second favorite shot is a bit different.  For the most part I was located at the top of a 180 degree turn.  Riders would typically come in low and drift up through the turn.  Sound like an easy shot, but I missed many.  In the space of a few seconds, you're going from max to min zoom.  Sounds easy.  But it is not.  I finally settled on just setting up for the turn shots.  And that worked.
To me, this is the best overall turn shot.  There is the elusive 'story' in those faces.

Two into the Turn

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

170 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 220 (AUTO)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

First, the miss.  The rider behind is the focus point, not the near rider.  That is not creative license.  If the front rider's helmet was all dark, I wouldn't notice it much.  On the good side, this has more 'subject' than most of my shots.  The faces are GREAT.  The blue sunglasses, awesome.
When the starting gate goes down and releases the riders to the coarse, between 2 and 6 riders head for the first 180 degree turn.  To get there the riders must go over three mounds.  This will separate a few of them, but sometimes you get two or three to crest the last mound at the same time, or close.  Some of the older, more advanced riders will get 'air' over this mound.  And then some just plain show off.

Air Something

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

135 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 320 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

Lots of color in these shots.  I'm so used to lesser options that you would find in nature.  Seeing numbers on the histogram that are new.  It's all good.
The last shot for the day is with the monster lens, and riders coming right at you from the start line.  This was interesting to me, a sense of distance.  And I needed to get something from the D500 in here.

Three at the Start

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

465 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 220 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Great day, lots of fun.  Chance to chat with people.  Lots of new types of shots.
There is an event next weekend.  I'll be working the paying job, but may be able to sneak out for a few hours.  Have ideas for different shots.  Looks like people can go almost anywhere to take shots.  Already thinking of what to do next.
I'll have more posts this week.

Hunter/Jumper Event - Woodbine Farms

This is turning out to be the summer of getting to know your horse(s).  Not that it is a bad thing.  
This past weekend I was able to spend a few hours at a hunter /jumper event in Ann Arbor.
As this was the second time I've been there, I was really looking to improve on the overall quality and variety of my shots.  Last time out, technically the shots were OK, but once I got home I know there were some lessons to be learned.
I spent just over 3 hours there.  The forecast was for rain in the afternoon, and it was correct.  That covered the Novice class - and as such I saw only a limited number of riders, multiple times.  The other event that started just after noon has the riders jump as many gates as they can in a  certain amount of time.  It's a little faster then the Novice class events.  I like them both.
One of my 'experiments' for the day was to see if there was any real difference between  the D500/70-300 combo and the D780/200-500 combo.  Aside from the weight difference, both took excellent shots.  That being said, the monster lens gets heavy very quickly.  Next time, I'll have a monopod at the least.
One of the nice features on the D780 is you can select a 16:9 size format in the optical view finder.  That's generally what I end up formatting to for the monitors.  A number of my shots were in this format.  It's a lot easier to frame the shot, instead of remembering to keep enough space above and below in the frame that will be removed later.
Speaking of cropping, for this event I didn't end up cropping much.  I tried to get a lot tighter.  And, I also missed a number of shots due to missing part of the entire object.
Here are a few from the day.
I like this shot for the position of the horse's head.  The rider is looking in one direction and the horse has other ideas.  Spoiler alert, the rider was correct.

Rider Close Up

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

240 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

Not that I know a lot about horse breeds, but I do know when one isn't brown.  Not sure what this is called, but I like it.  Marble?

Jumper

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

270 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 560 (AUTO)

EV +1.33, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

I'm going to run out of names for these shots.  A lot of 'Jumpers'.
So now we're into the upper ring where the action is a bit faster.  I keep hearing that the best photos are when the horse has all four off the floor and even over the jump.  But I like the 'launch' shots.  And more of a head on shot.  I always thought, not being around the sport much, that the horse and rider would always be symmetrical.  But they are not, thankfully, and the position of the horses head vs the legs vs the rider give each jump a bit of personality.

Jumper

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

240 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 (AUTO)

EV +1.33, MANUAL Mode, Size 16:9

Camera switch, the next photos are from the D500/70-300 combo.  The actual reach is around 450 so the combos are very close.  I can tell a little difference in the post processing.  The D780 processor is a newer generation and I hope I'd see a bit of difference.  But in the final product, tough to tell.
Still in the upper ring, I like the shallow launch.  Shows speed.

Jumper

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

277 mm, 1/800 sec, F/5.6, ISO 220 (AUTO)

EV + .33, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

The next two shots are a set.  And a bit of a story.  
Photography is of interesting things.  For today, it is a horse and a rider going over a jump of an extreme close up.  Some of the jumps don't always go as planned.  Even what I would call the good combos sometimes miss the mark.  In my opinion, it's not a bad thing.  When a horse says "I ain't doin' it", it might be for the best.  The combo does a number of jumps in a short amount of time, and the majority of the time, the combo is successful.
But when they are not, it can be an interesting shot.  The angles are really good.
And the second shot of the set is for equal time, this combo was pretty good.

Jumper - Halt

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

277 mm, 1/800 sec, F/5.6, ISO 360 (AUTO)

EV + .33, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Jumper

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20/70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

292 mm, 1/800 sec, F/5.6, ISO 320 (AUTO)

EV + .33, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This is just about everything I look for in a shot.  Launch position, four off the floor and the horse's head appears to be just off center.  
I noticed in all the shots, there is dirt flying.  Lots of times in places I don't expect.  When I zoom in to check for focus, I see a lot.  First I thought it was contamination of the lens.  Then I took a breath.  And cleaned the lens anyway.