London Skydrive 2021 - and what could have been

You know, you try to do everything right.  And then from nowhere.....

I didn't see this coming.  Everything for the Skydrive 2021 show is on such a tight timeline for 72 hours.

I had my Covid test taken at a location that is not Rite-aid or Walgreens.  Or at Quest Diagnostics.  Or at some  local government establishment.  I chose an establishment that specifically said their testing was good for travel.   And they didn't lie - the test was what was required.

There was/is a problem though.  The sheet with the test results is incomplete for  Canada.  Simple omission.  Canada requires name with DOB, dates and time of the test, type of test and result of test.  All of that information was on the sheet provided.   And Canada requires the place where the test was administered.  And the place that is not Rite-Aid, Walgreens sheet did not have that information.

The test took more than 36 hours to process, taking another test was out of the question.

I called their support to see if another form was available where the test location might be mentioned.  I was able to get another form with a code of the testing location.  It was suggested by the support person that I have the border patrol person 'Google' the cade and the location would be found.

I have crossed the Canadian border enough times to respect the border agents and the job they do.  When I have the correct identification and follow the rules, it all works well.  I have seen a border crossing apprehension.  It isn't pretty.  I'm not going to ask an agent to 'Google' something.  I think that would make the visit very short.

Live to see another show - new motto.

Reno is in a couple of weeks.  While I'm 98% certain of travel, there are some issues I continue to watch.  There is a wild fire close by.  And as of today, the area is a Covid hot spot.  So the wait is on.  

Heritage Flight - P51 and F35

As I've mentioned before, and most definitely reserve the right to say over and over again, Heritage Flights are difficult to photograph.  Not that these are once in a lifetime events, but half of the show is disappearing and will be gone at some point.  So you don't want to miss the opportunity.

It seem as if I have settled in on 1/160th second for WWII aircraft.  I'd like the get 360 degrees on the prop blur, so may have to slow to 1/100th.  But at what cost?  But you don't know until you try.  And try I will.

One of the nice things about going to an airshow three days in a row, you have a good idea of what is coming.  For a one day adventure, I will have to be much faster.

In these two Heritage Flight shots, I have a cheat and a save.  For the cheat, I waited until the P51 was perpendicular to me.  Took the shot at a normal 1/1600th sec.  Nice and sharp - and the prop unless you are really looking for it  is tough to tell it is frozen.  Cheating, eh?  Maybe.  And the save?  Had to sharpen the shot more than I'm usually comfortable with.  But it turned out OK.  Never know what you get unless you try.

The Cheat:

Heritage Flight - P51, F35 and A10

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

202 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/3.5, ISO 160

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

And the Save:

Heritage Flight - P51 and F35

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

570 mm, 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 160 (ND 0.9 filter)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Countdown to London Skydrive 2021

Many events claim to be the best.  Who really knows?  And who really tabulates the information?  I've never been asked about ranking events.  Well, that's not really true.  I never answer anything.

All that being said, the London air show, on paper, looks to be really good.  London Skydrive 2021.  I bought a ticket last year, but that didn't work out so well.  I bought my ticket for the 2021 show in April, long before the border was open.  Have to have a little faith.

Well, the border is open.  Not just drive though open though.  There are still a few hurdles to clear.  First is to determine the requirements for border crossing.  From what I've read, you have to (maybe should?) register your trip or crossing.  There is an app for this.  So I've created an account.  My trip can't be registered until 72 hours prior.  And I can't register the trip until I have proof of a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of my border crossing.  And there different Covid tests.   And not all of them are recognized for border crossings.

The pre-trip has been an interesting learning journey.

As to the show, there is a photo pit.  And there are still tickets.  But.....  From what I can see, there isn't much benefit from the location.  You're not by your car, there is no shade provided.  You're on the tarmac.  On a possibly sunny day.  Been there, done that enough times, it can/will get HOT.  I need to see this before I invest.

As to the show, part II:  Line up looks fantastic.  Headliners are the Canadian Snowbirds and the Blue Angels.  Supporting cast include CF-18 Hornet Demo Team, F-16 Viper Demo Team, E-2C Hawkeye, C-2 Greyhound, KC-135 Stratotanker, P-8 Posiden, Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin and HC-144 Sentry.  And a E-3 Sentry (AWACS).

Lots of first timers for me.  The CF-18 Demo team should be great.  They can decal up an aircraft.  And the Snowbirds are supposed to put on an excellent show.

This may sound odd, but the aircraft I want to see most is the AWACS.  The AWACS takes me back to Okinawa.  The AWACS had a detachment there.  This is a memory lane trip for me.

This is from the early 80's.  Yes. they had color film back then.  I would sit on a hill overlooking the runways to take shots with my Minolta XG-1.  And the film would be developed by a local Japanese firm.  I spent a lot of Yen on bad photos.  Hopefully another item off the memory lane bucket list.

So the airshow, for me, will begin Wednesday.  I'll get the Covid test.  I should test negative.  And that might be the easy part.  Then the pressure starts.  The hard part will be to capture the props and helicopters as always.

And then be able to cross back.

The C17 Globemaster Multiple Points

I didn't like the C17.  Didn't like it at all.  It is small.  Sounds like a female moose in heat.  (Fact).  Small crew, no Flight Engineer.  What's the point?  I didn't like the C17 in the way that a big brother says they don't like their little brother.  I'm a C5 guy.  That is also a fact.  I'm also very proud of what the C17 has done this week.  In the same way a big brother is proud of the little brother, when the little brother does good.

Cargo is cargo.  The cargo air crews move the freight.  The C5 had its most famous non-freight flight in Viet Nam.  This week the C17 did the same.  As a cargo crew alumni, I am proud.  Whatever number you go with, either 600+ or 800+, this crew did it right.  As I was listening to their story on the news this morning, and they were talking about the training - I had flashbacks.

I saw a C17 fly an airshow demo at MCAS Beaufort in April of 2019.  I lost of lot of my personal hate toward the airframe that day.  It flew like a fighter.  OK, at over-weight fighter.  But it still moved well.  I had a chance to tour a C17 in Reno later that year.  As I sat in the co-pilot's seat, I identified myself as part of the Cargo Club.  From the pilot's seat, the Moose driver pointed to a small area on the overhead console, and said that was the Flight Engineer.  We had a chuckle.  I made a brief comment about George (auto pilot).  I didn't press the point too hard, as I had a long way to go to get off the aircraft.  Again, more chuckling.  It's a club thing.

What's common between the C5, the C17 and the very special breed it takes to crew the C-130 is the air crew.  We're not a fast jet crew.  But when cargo, or people, needs moving the cargo aircrew will get the job done.

To the C17 crew of the special cargo moved this week - Cheers!  May you never have to buy another drink, anywhere, again.

I have a previous post of a C17 takeoff here.  That was the best picture of the bunch for the day for me.  Best being easiest to edit.  But with a few more years of editing behind me, I could tackle the difficulties I caused my self that day.

That day, I made photography tough on myself.  Didn't meter right.  Used spot metering.  I remember it well, like it was yesterday.  Last time I ever used spot metering.  At least the shot was in focus.  Small victories, and RAW format.  And layers and masking.

This is the C17 doing a dirty pass for the show.  Looks like the gear is not fully down and locked.  Looking back, 1/4000 second shutter speed is unnecessarily fast.  And the ISO could easily be taken to 100.  Call it learning curve.

C17 Dirty Pass

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR

217 mm, 1/4000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 250 (AUTO)

EV -1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Shooting way above the horizon gave a nice blue sky.  Getting closer to the horizon, gives a more hazy look.  Same sky.  Lots of South Carolina humidity.  And distance.

C17 on Approach

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR

375 mm, 1/4000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

EV -1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

In a week, I will get a chance to see the Moose fly at the London (Ont) airshow.  I'll bring a few more years photography experience.  Still thinking what combos to take across the border.  Less equipment would probably be better.  But....  What's the fun in less?  Anyway, the demo will mean a bit more to me this time around.

B17 Yankee Lady - Low Pass

One of the benefits of photographing aircraft from our location at the Thunder over Michigan show at the end/beginning of the show flight path was the banking profiles of the aircraft that were flying close to us lining up for flight in front of the spectators.  The prevailing winds for the show generally put us at the entrance to the flight path.

One of the last photos for me of the event was of the Yankee Lady doing her thing.  At two and a half days in the books, I was truthfully photoed out.  For Sunday, I had put the long lenses away and was going to work with only subjects close to me.  But I'm a sucker for the local B17 and anytime I see it flying, I will try for something.

As to the photo, finally had some decent sky to work with.  But what really got me was the tack sharp image.  On the aluminum skin, it is rivet peeping.  Prop blur, check.  No sharpener needed for this one.  And the nose art, perfect.  So it gets posted.  Noting fancy, just technically good.

The Yankee Lady in a low pass.

B17 Yankee Lady Low Pass

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

202 mm, 1/160 sec, f/14, ISO 100

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

By the end of the show, I had a few things figured out.  Nailed the ISO at 100.  I usually don't like using any aperture setting above F/11 - but the F/14 did its job and I can't find any issues with it.  With this lens, I'd use it again.

Heritage Flight - F4U Corsair and EA18G Growler

I am a big fan of World War II air power.  What a time for the development of aircraft.  By the time an aircraft was designed, produced and landed for the first time, there is a good chance it was almost obsolete.  But I do like the lines of a slide rule designed aircraft.

One of my favorite WWII aircraft is the F4U Corsair.  The distinctive design gets to me.  Big engine, big engine noise.  And a TV show.  But mostly the design speaks to me.  It is so different, unique.  See it from miles away.  Two years ago, I saw this plane fly in SC.  Great show, and a good photo.  

I am also a big fan of the Heritage Flights during air shows.  History in review.  In the Thunder over Michigan show, there were three sets of such flights.  All were fun to watch.  Most were not so much fun to photograph.  First, you have to photograph for the slowest aircraft.  Usually prop driven.  And in the case of this past weekend's A10 flights, the aircraft color matched the sky.  No contrast.  There will be other opportunities.

This is a good USN pairing, the F4U Corsair and the EA18G Growler.  This was taken on the Sunday.  On the third day of the show, I was going for for more quality shot than distance.  I was using the 70-200 f/2.8 lens on the D500.  Not enough reach for most of the show, but when they turned in close I could get some nice shots.  The issue with close in shots, it is more difficult to catch a clear image at 1/160th second as the pair are moving aster across the sky the closer you are to the target.  So there were a lot of blurry throw away shots - and one keeper.

The keeper.

Heritage Flight - F4U Corsair and EA18G Growler

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

300 mm, 1/160 sec, f/14, ISO 100

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

That gray sky is a killer.  Almost looks like a B&W with a F4 color insert.  That 1/160 sec shutter speed is just right for that aircraft.

Mix 650+ MPH and Humidity and you get..... The F-35 Vapor Shots

I have a number of photos of fast jet tail pipes from last weekend at the Thunder Over Michigan show.  Seriously, most every demonstration show team has a speed run.  Don't hold your breath for the A10.  But I'll get to the Warthog later in another post.  But the fast jets will definitely get the Mach meter going.  We were close enough on the flight path for these speed runs, you can not turn fast enough through 150 degrees.  

Most of the time during the weekend event, the F-35 was the early show, which means there was humidity to work with.  Just like having mother nature as a partner.

You know the run is coming.  You can see everyone looking down the flight path.  You are on the right side if this.  Those poor folks at the other end of the show will miss this entirely.  But you catch a glimpse of a small dot against a cloud.  The dot gets larger.  You get the dot in viewfinder.  You hit the focus.  You press the shutter release button - and if you are lucky you will get more than the tailpipe.

It is close to that fast.

In the humidity, the air pressure around the speeding aircraft changes quickly.  This makes possible art to be captured.  The air being pushed causes a vapor area to be created, then the vapor will disappear almost as quickly as the aircraft moves forward.  The vapor cloud may last only a second or two.  You just press the take photo button and hang on.

And with a bit of luck, you can get your shot.  The luck comes in that one of these vapor clouds happens at the same time you have the camera in action.  If you see the cloud, it is often too late to catch it.   Although you might catch the one forming right after the one you saw disappear.  

My lucky shots.  Both are pretty much the same - fast jet in a cloud.

F35 Sonic Cone

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

465 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 180 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

F35 Sonic Cloud

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

615 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Lots of room for improvement, such as maybe a bit more light via sunny skies.  I get to see the team at Reno in a few weeks.  The sunshine will be plentiful - the straight line vapor not so much.

Almost Perfect Blue Angel Cross

In photographing the service Demo Teams, you could argue that once you've seen them perform and have some photographs of them - what else is left?  To a certain extent that might be true.  I have some great photos of the Blue Angels from two years ago at MCAS Beaufort.  Blue skies, with just a hint of haze.  And the only reason I know there was haze, is because when the skies in Reno are clear, it is really clear blue.  Again, I fall back to the Best Buy TV conundrum.  Then you get a hazy Michigan sky, flat as can be.  Even Photomatix can't do anything with it.  Couple a flat sky with the air show smoke which didn't evaporate this weekend and photography is a real challenge.  Doh!  With that, many of my Blue Angel shots are throw aways.  Practice.

I have a number of good team formation shots.  When these formations go by now, I mostly enjoy the show.  And looking for the next cross maneuver.  It is an art.

What I don't have, is the perfect cross shot.  Frankly,  I'm not sure the perfect cross shot exists.  It's not my white whale, but close.  So when I get the almost perfect cross shot, I can't let a flat sky, slight motion blur issue and a bit of distance get in my way.  Like most projects, just break it down and attack what you can.

The distance issue is easy - Gigapixel.  If this was just going to be a web post, this step wasn't necessary.  But this shot is going to be screen saver so gave it a bit of a push.  This shot also had a bit of motion blur.  And yes, motion blur is possible at 1/3200 second.  

When setting up for a cross shot, you follow either the left or the right aircraft until they intersect, then press the button.  I find it is easier to follow the aircraft from the right.  Following this aircraft, as you pan left with your right eye in the viewer, you can see the aircraft on the left coming in when it is close with your left eye.   With practice, it becomes easier.  This would be really great if the aircraft coming in from the right was closest to you.  The aircraft coming in from the right will remain in focus, while the passing aircraft will have just a hint of blur.  The closing speed on these aircraft is over 900 MPH.  But it always seems that I'm following the wrong aircraft.  Must be a pilot union thing.  But we are talking just a bit of blur - and a touch of sharpening will save it.

Replacing the sky is the tricky part.  I've found that to really be successful with sky replacement, just tweak it a bit, don't go overboard.  In this case, I need something that is 10 degrees from flat,  Something with just a bit of definition.  I will often take sky photos for just this purpose, replacements.  I had a shot of some storm clouds that with a bright adjustment would fit the bill.  The aircraft have nice edging so the mask was very easy.

Put it all together and:  The Almost Perfect Cross

Blue Angels - Almost Perfect Cross

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

300 mm, 1/3200 sec, f/3.5, ISO 140 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

While technically the shot is Photoshopped, the aircraft are real.  I can live with that.

The Atlas A400

Over the winter of Covid, I spent a lot of nights exploring different subjects on YouTube.  Many of these nights, I's start around 8:00 PM.  I'd watch a few videos and next thing you know it was 2:00 AM.  On the good side, I could have been eating the whole time.  On one of these adventures, I found myself in the Mach Loop.  Search it in YouTube,  It is not what you think.  While watching, I saw an aircraft I thought was a C-130 doing low level maneuvers.  But it looked a bit odd.  And as it turned out, it was an Atlas A400.

Atlas A400 Airshow Static

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

24 mm, 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 110 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

The Atlas 400 is a European military transport aircraft, built by a division of Airbus.  Cargo-wise, in terms I can understand, it is designed to slot in between the C-130 and C-17.  The customer base is primarily European with about 95 units produced at this time.  It looks like the fleet could grow to as many as many as 170 units.  They are out there.  Unfortunately I did not get a chance to enter and tour the aircraft at this show.  Just more reasons to go to another airshow.

The aircraft is prop driven by four Europrop TP 400-D6 engines, each moving 8 Ratier-Figeac FH385 and FH386 variable pitch tractor propellers.  I started looking at the design of the propellers and to be honest, I got lost.  Props have come a long way in design past a simple slat.  But the key word is props and what it means to me.  Slow shutter speed.  Between this aircraft and the other prop driven aircraft, I threw away most of the air shots as not viewable.  I've gone to the if there is not prop blur, with few exceptions, there will be no kept photo.  The best inflight shot of the A400 I have is at 1/160th of a second.  Most of the other shots are at 1/200th of a second.  So that is the shutter speed range.  The ground shots are much easier.

In selecting what shots to keep from the Thunder Over Michigan air show last weekend, one of the positives to the decision is to catch multiple subjects in a shot.  In the airshows, if I can get viewers in a shot with an aircraft in flight - I like it.  So a take off in the distance is a great way to line up the viewers to get in the shot.

A400 Airshow Take Off

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

750 mm, 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 560 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

I was too far away to catch the vapor trail coming off the props very well, but if you pixel peep up close, they are there.  The take off 842 RPM was doing its best to show off the circular vapor trail, but I was just too far away to really capture it.

This is the best shot of the group, taken at 1/160th shutter speed.  Cruise setting is designed to be 730 RPM.  The shutter speed really did a nice job.

A400 Slow Pass

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

300 mm, 1/160 sec, f/14, ISO 100

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

I don't get to see many aircraft outside of the US inventory.  And a cargo aircraft too.  I enjoyed watching this aircraft do its thing.  

I do get a kick out of aircraft naming.  Still going with Galaxy is the largest.  Call me a Homer.

Thunder Over Michigan - Saturday

Today was a full day.  There was early for cast of rain that never materialized, never the less the morning was quite muggy.  The photo effects were incredible for the fast jets.  The clouds moved enough to make the day borderline comfortable.  Enough about the challenges.

The high humidity has an effect on fast moving aircraft.  Essentially the aircraft will create its own mini weather system.  With a jet flying straight and level, the closer to the sound barrier the jet's wings get, the more the low pressure is created in pockets along the jet's wings and fuselage.  Low pressure clouds are formed.  And for some reason, they move along with the jet.  It's an illusion.  The point is, when you see the clouds on the jet, you are moving along.  Plus, regulations forbid breaking the sound barrier in populated areas.  So you want to go just fast enough.....

I had been trying for this shot since yesterday, lucky for me the winner is a fast jet.  Adds more to the story.  And this frames out well.

Fast Jet Fly by

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

480mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 280

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size, DX

This needs more than a laptop edit.  This was around 11:30 AM, not this dark.  They laid down a lot of smoke. (It looked lighter in the edit, seriously.)  But you get the idea.

I like the two stories, fast jet and photographer on a stand.

My day was good.  Lots of work with the 200-500 lens on props.  And I had more success that I originally thought.  Need to get the real equipment on the case when I get home.

The shots today were good enough to allow tomorrow as a video experiment day.

2021 Thunder Over Michigan - Friday

 Friday is in the books.  Great day, lots of fun.  And I found some new friends.

Yea, we flock together.

I had a pretty good day.  Got lots of walking in.  I might have more than four or five good shots.  Most of the day was spent figuring out what camera/lens combo I needed for where we were.  We are not located at show center.  We are off to one side completely.  On the good side, we are on the taxiway for some of the aircraft to access the active runway.  Awesome.  Less than 30 yards away.  But that takes up one camera.  What is the best action combo?  I had really good results with the D500 and 70-300.  I had some good results with the D500 and 200-500.  But that thing is heavy.  If I go with that Saturday, there will be a monopod attached to it.

I also nailed the ISO to 100.  Didn't let it float.  Initial observation that on the D500, it helps.  That might be more of an issue with the beast lens, it has a fixed aperture.  It did OK today, and it wasn't total sunshine.  Just have to see how the days plays out.

I have to work more with the flat sky.  Was horrible today.  At the end of the day, started to overexpose a wee bit.  Did it help, not sure but made me feel like I was doing something to combat the issue.

Looking forward to Saturday.  Slight chance of a passing storm.  Hopefully not as hazy.

F22 Demo Team @ Battle Creek Airshow

What I missed most about airshows cancelling last year was being around the total environment of military aircraft.  And the support people.  There is the noise.  Not only of aircraft inflight, but the spooling of engines, the support carts and the APUs.  Although this particular event did not allow for much close contact, I'll gladly accept the flight noise.

After a year without jet sound, Friday's show in Battle Creek with the Raptor taxiing down the taxiway in front of the crowd took me back to days on Okinawa where we'd have a J57 engine on the test cell bed - just bringing it to life after in shop re-build or maintenance.  After the idle checks were completed, we'd take it up to MRT and let it cook in for a while.  All the time, my partner and I were close enough to inspect for defects.  And maybe 20 yards from the blast wall - where the noise would reflect back.  Lots of ear protection required.  And when MRT checks were completed, then we'd add the water.  If you weren't ready, it would take you off your feet.  How it didn't depart the test bed is beyond me.

It's all about the jet noise.  And the F22 in Demo mode doesn't disappoint.

I went to the show on Friday and returned on Saturday.  Two hours each way.  Eight hours total.  And would do it again.  Friday, I stayed for most of the show.  Saturday - just to see the demo again.  Both days presented challenges.  And opportunities.

Friday was nice blue skies with puffys.  Saturday was high light overcast.  Friday, I had what I would consider a Airshow camera kit.  Saturday was experimental.  And all that showed.

This first shot is from Saturday.  The F22 afterburner to me is one of the most interesting subjects of Raptor flight.  This might be the best angle to catch it from.  If you catch it from directly behind, the exhaust really makes for a different, diffused photo.  The sky is incredibly flat here.  My bad luck to be up against a cloud.  Even Photomatix can't help, and that is a first.  At my first F22 Demo show, MCAS Beaufort in 2019, the show was a bit closer to the crowd.  The Raptor flew down the show line and made a quick turn away from the crowd.  We were close enough to feel the heat from the burners at the turn.  That was just great.  And I was hooked.

F22 Bank Right

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

450 mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 140 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

The next two shots are from Saturday.  Saturday's goals were to catch as much vapor on the wings as possible and see if the D850 and the 70-200 lens was a good airshow combo.  With a 200 mm reach I knew I could only catch the closest of opportunities, such as rapid flight path changes.  I thought the two goals would work together.  And they did.  These shots are tightly cropped.  I wanted to test how much crop I could get away with on a D850 shot.  And at what point the lens just didn't pick up any detail.  And, when did I need some help from Gigapixel?

This is a good shot of the aircraft initiating a climb from level flight.  There is some vapor coming off the wings.  And a nice afterburner glow.  This was a pretty good crop that came out well.  The focus is pretty much dead on.  The ISO 64 leaves a very clean image.  One other really good aspect, no sun reflection on the canopy to deal with.

F22 Power Climb

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

200 mm, 1/2000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 64

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

This next shot is another going vertical from a different side.  But what is clearly different here is the pilot silhouette.  The direct sunlight on the top of the aircraft produces some interesting colors.  No AB glow, but you can't have everything.

F22 Taking the Raptor Vertical

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

200 mm, 1/2000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 64

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

This last shot is from Friday.  Again, the F22 is in a nose up attitude.  I sense a pattern here.  Anyway, I got caught in an effect that has happened to everyone.  I locked the exposure in the shade, and the subject moved to the sunlight.  Doh!  I usually hate when that happens.  But not this time.  The effect is flying into doom.  The greys.  But, I had trouble choosing between a dark themed shot, or something more realistic.  I decided to go with both.  I went primarily dark, but lit up the underside of the aircraft.  It was work, and there were many iterations before I could get the exact look.  But it is a Sunday.  I have the time to experiment.

F22 Nose Up

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

450 mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 110 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

And another mistake that came out OK.  Screen saver stuff for sure.  Definitely a look I like, but will have to be very careful to not force it elsewhere!

As to the experiment of the D850 and 70-200 lens.  On its own, 200 mm won't do.  If you can crop and enlarge you can clearly get by.  Emergency use only.  I ran into another Nikon user with a 200-500.  I think he had the right setup.  But seeing how large it is...  One of the things I have to think about is mobility.  Since I'm there alone, I don't really have the option to set up a base and work out of one location.  So lugging the monster lens around is not an appealing choice.  Lugging two cameras around is not an appealing choice.  As of now, my go-to would be the D500 with the 70-300.  Gives me a 450 mm reach.  The 70-300 is comparatively light and smaller.  On a sunny day, prime time air show hours, works great.  But you really have to like the D850's ISO 64 look.  Pixel peeping at its finest.  Just another step on the journey.

The Blue Demon Pitts

One of the Battle Creek air show acts was the Blue Demon Pitts.  The Pitts aircraft design originated in 1943 and first flew in 1944.  The original design was a single seat, bi-plane used primarily for acrobatics.  The design was/is very successful.  The aircraft was very popular in the 60s and 70s, getting a lot of attention for performances.  Various models of the Pitts comprise the majority of entries in the Reno Air Race Bi-Plane class.

For Friday's airshow, two shots of the Blue Demon Pitts made the cut for the day.  One shot fooled the camera so much, it turned out pretty artistic for me.  The other, just plain lucky.  I may have to create another category for the year end awards, this being called the Blind Squirrel  Award.

The day had a light upper level haze going on.  And there was some airshow smoke going on as well.  I wasn't having any luck shooting the aircraft with a 1/250 sec shutter speed.  I thought the best opportunity for a good shot would be the top of a vertical climb.  On the plus side, the aircraft is about as slow as it will ever get.  The downside is distance.  For the distance, I was using the 70-300 lens on the D500.  That gives me approximate 450 mm reach.  (I just can't think of lugging around the monster lens, but some day I will!)  At some point during the performance, there was a vertical climb at show center.  I was able to get these two shots, just the top of the climb was reached, and the fall back through the smoke.  The second was after the recovery from the stall and start of controlled flight.  Both nice slow speed, and a touch of luck on my part.

I will guess that the airshow smoke and the slow shutter speed, helped by a three stop ND filter helped to confuse the camera.  And these are the results.

In this shot, I like the light of the smoke.  Mistakes often lead to creativity.  And this is creative for me.  This has a pretty sever crop, any more and I'd have to Gigapixel it.  I usually like my subjects to take up more space, but in the case the smoke is almost as much of the subject.  And the prop blur is just right!  Reminds me of the opening of a John Wayne movie western art.  Definitely on the screen save list.

Falling Pitts

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

450 mm, 1/250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size: DX

3 Stop ND Filter

Shortly after this fall to earth, the aircraft will regain controlled flight.  When this happens, it is still moving relatively slow.  In a series of six shots, this was the best.  Again, prop blur!

Pitts in the Clouds

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

450 mm, 1/250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size: DX

3 Stop ND Filter

I'm planning on returning today, or more for the evening show.  I'd like to catch the F22 Demo show again, can't get enough of the sound.  And I'll stick around for the twi-light show.  And maybe the night show.  I'll travel much lighter, planning on only the D850 and 70-200/f2.8 lens.  I may take a CPL filter just for fun.  But that's all and I'll just have to make it work.  

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.

Port Huron Video Tests

 The video saga continues.  And with much better results.  I'd been waiting all week for Saturday.

The weather forecast was for storms all over the state.  The decision was to head to Mackinaw City or Port Huron.  Since both location had virtually no chance of nice weather, I went for Port Huron.  Turns out, that worked.

But getting to PH was a journey.  The video journey.  

So far, I've figured out what the GoPro is good for, and not so good for.  Let's start with the positive.  it is set for wide angle.  With a very a small sensor.  And infinity focus.  It has an auto leveling function, where the horizon for the most part is level.  It has a 'smoothing' function where the image is not shaking, such as when the truck is on unimproved surface.  Very handy features.  It will take videos at 5k, but is somewhat limited on other functions.  The not so good side is it is fixed wide angle.  Although there is a 'narrow' mode, it is only less wide angle.  For an action cam this makes sense.  For my interest in videos, not so much.  I want the close up.  That being said, I won't be sending it back.

What really drove home the wide angle elements to me was this clip.  This is from a drive in the Refuge where a Heron flew across the front of the truck.  When it happened, I thought it would be great on the GoPro.  In reality, not so much.  Looked small and far away.

However, the GoPro sparked the interest in videos for me.  There aren't any feature length videos in my plans.  I am, however, looking to 'enhance' some of my photos when I can.  There's more to a F22 demo than afterburners.  With a video clip, there is movement and sound.  Same for the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels.  And if the GoPro won't get me what I want, then maybe the Nikons will.

In my video viewing experience, I know more about what I find in a 'bad' video.  For now, a good video just is.  First on my list of unpleasantries is video jumpiness.  This is not video shakes from being handheld, but action too fast for the video frames.  I my research, I found normal video frame rates are 30 frames per second.  To test this, I shot video of a car passing in front of me at a theoretical 35 mph.  Theoretical in that 35 mph is the speed limit in the sub-division.  At 30 FPS, the images were shaky, not smooth.  What would a jet at 450 mph look like?  The image of a car crossing at 35 mph looks much better at 60 FPS.  The Nikons will handle a 60 FPS at 1080 - and that's good enough for me.  But what does a Nikon video look like?

And that takes us to Port Huron, for video testing.  Nikon video testing.  I had the D500 paired with the 70-300 and the D850 paired with the 24-70.  If I was walking around an airshow, this is my kit for now.  I didn't take a tri or mono pod to PH.  With the prediction of stormy weather, that was one less piece of equipment to deal with.  I'll deal with the next level later.

What did I learn?

First, the Nikon DSLRs have a very bad reputation for video auto focus.  Nikon made great strides in this area with the mirrorless models such as the D780 and the Z line.  But I have what I have.  I'm too late in the game, both age and financial, to switch to mirrorless.  So I need to see what the auto focus is really like.  And I found out.

I will also note, that while showing some of the errors of the day, the errors are mostly my issues.  It's a journey, right?

Left to its own, the AF will come in.  But it would be better if I could start out in focus.  And after experimenting, I could get the start of the videos much closer to an acceptable focus.  Staying with the focus subject, one of the other things I noticed when I reviewed the videos on a larger monitor was the auto focus tracking occasionally would search.  I read that depending on the subject and environment, might be better to go to manual focus., At least now I know why this might be better.  Set it and forget it.  This sequence would have been much better in constant focus.

The D500 with the 70-300 did OK, but stretch out the lens magnified every little 'shake'.  There is software that will help out, but for now the level of video editor I have does not include this option.  And some form of pod would have helped.  But for now, this is annoying!

Most of these issues were with the D500 combo.  With the D850 and a shorter lens the videos were much 'better'.  

You can still see the camera shakes, but here it only feels like a home video, whereas with the wind surfer the shakes were really bad.

The was the next to last video shot with the D850 combo.  It's not bad, looks home video.  But what gets to me is the clear, sharp image.

I like the detail on the water and on both watercrafts wake.

Journey fist steps.  Still have to work on color grading.  But have good test files to work on.

First SNWR Eagle Shots for 2021

The Shaiwassee National Wildlife Reserve Wildlife Drive opened on the first of June this year.  Today was the first day I could get there for this season.  And I had a guest to whom I have said this is the greatest place, ever!  Or in mid-Michigan.  So the pressure was on to deliver some wild life.

For today, this time of year, the critters delivered.  We didn't see great numbers, but there was diversity.

We witnessed two really interesting critter acts.  The first were multiple groups of pelicans moving from an area to someplace else.  All moving a loose form of unison, but more about them later.  The next was an Eagle in a place I've never seen one before.

On the way out of the Refuge, the last half mile of Wilderness Drive usually doesn't have a lot going on.  Just after I made the statement to my guest, she says Hey, there's a bird over there.  And after confirming that the critter on the ground was a bird, I could confirm it was an Eagle.  On the ground, just by a pool of standing water.  Didn't look like it was feasting, but who knows? 

I watched the Eagle for a few minutes.  I could tell it was getting ready to do something other than sit.  And then it transitioned from ground forager to aerial predator.  And all I can think of is don't screw this up.  It was fun to watch, and I didn't screw it up.  So I end up with a series of an Eagles low flight path that ends up going nose up into a tree.

For the initial transition, since the Eagle was not in a tree with altitude to lose to trade for speed, it just went horizontal with about two steps and then low level flight.  I thought the wing action would be fast and chaotic.  Not the case, just fast.  This is the fist shot in the sequence I have with the landing gear up and locked.

Eagle First Flap

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

310 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 280 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

If I didn't know that this was a take off event, you could make the argument that the bird was trying to slow down with the wings in a forward position.  But this bird is stretching its wing forward to push itself for more speed.

The Eagle eventually ended up on a branch in a tree.  I thought that was the end of the chase.  Again, I was mistaken.  Although in a tree, somehow the sun found a way to light up the head.  And somehow I didn't miss this one.

Eagle in the Sun

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

500 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 450 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Aside from the really lucky positioning of the sun, this is really sharp, detailed photo.  Not sure I get the same photo with the D500.  And a mostly unnoticed element, the feet and talons really stand out.  In the takeoff sequence, it happened so fast, I couldn't get the zoom all the way out to 500.  With the Eagle sitting in the tree, I had time to get the zoom right.

So good at the Refuge.  My guest had a good time.  Wonder if this photo will end up in her house sometime?

The GoPro Story

 As early as two years ago I said, mostly to myself, that I'd never go Video.  And yet here we are.

Over the lockdown I became a fan of YouTube.  I went down many rabbit holes, losing up to 12 hours before thinking - maybe I should call it a day.  I learned about heavy vehicle recoveries in Sweden, ocean vessel recoveries all over the world, military aircraft get togethers called Tattoos and running low level flights in Star Wars Canyon and the Mach Loop.  I watched ATV riders in the US and Canada.  I learned neat tricks in Photoshop.  I watched World Cup Rally racing  all over Europe.  It's been wonderful.

Not that I'll ever make YouTube star status, but some elements of video look fun.  For now, I'm continuing on the still photography track.  But, if I can take take an action photo, and put it in context with a, say 5 second background video with sound if necessary, wouldn't that be somewhat 'cool'?  In my head, I see a F22 crossing in front of the crowd, pulling a multi-G nose up maneuver complete with vapor trails off the wing and I have a video of that 5 second move and in the middle I have one, two or three photographs of the moments that count.  And for a kicker, aircraft sound.  All that's missing is the heat on your face and the smell.

There is a lot to do to get here.  I know very little about videos.  I've made a few videos on ATV outings that are on YouTube.  Yes, I have a channel.  (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTaseYKoLNlodYmLqfEAlpA)

You could ask why I don't use the Nikons to shoot video.  Optical lenses vs digital lenses?  Not an argument worth bringing up.  I believe phones are phones, cameras in an emergency.  I believe cameras are cameras.  And as of now, the GP9 is a video device, not a camera.  Go with the strength.

I've had four video cameras, all relatively cheap, up to this point.  Strangely enough, I don't count my phone as a video device - and have not knowingly used the phone for that purpose.  I used some small unit, hand held unit that shot the Thunder on the Mountain videos.  I used a Panasonic unit attached to the front of my ATV for the first Drummond Island videos.  I used a Contour attached to my helmet for a number of ATV rides.  And the last iteration of the video adventure was a Sena Tube.

All were interesting for their time.  And over time the units had their own demise.  Time to move on.

I got the idea to marry video and still from others.  I've seen some awesome captures of low flying military aircraft through the Mach loop.  Google it.  Lottery bucket list.  There are some very creative YouTubers on that circuit.

The learning curve is not that bad.  The student however, another story.  YouTube has been a big help, with GP gurus offering their advice.  I have to be careful because most gurus want to talk to talk about becoming an influencer.  Not where I'm going.  But every video offered something to think about.

So I'm now experimenting with resolutions, frame rates and editing software.  I'm taking Monday off from the paying job, hopefully I'll be able to get out to the nature Refuge and work on my theories with some flying subjects.  At the end of the month I have some time off.  During that time is the Battle Creek Balloon fly in and Air Show.  Lots of airshow acts and....  The F22 Demo Team.  I'll be there at least one day.  And if my normal routine holds, I'll have to go back another day to fix my mistakes.

If any experimenting is worth posting about - it will be here.

And we're back

 And we're back after a short absence.  The reasons are many and uninteresting.  The good news is we're all more free to roam around.  

I have two money sucking hobbies.  The other one is off-road ATV riding.  Over Labor Day weekend, I was able to get out for a few hours.  First ride in almost two years.  There's a lot of pre-work involved to ensure a successful ride - and not to be 'that guy'.  That took some time.  The paying job took its toll as well.  Now that we can move around again, I have to pay attention to that work/life balance thing.

And the new photography angle.  I came into some bonus buck at the paying job and decided to look into the video game.  I spent a lot of time during the lock down watching all sorts of YouTube productions.  Not that I'm looking into gaining YT celebrity status, but it might be interesting to add a new tool to the box.  So I now have a GoPro 9 - and a bunch of accessories.  I have this idea of mounting the GP9 to the camera to get a video/still shot mix.

So Sunday was out and about the area.  I saw the BMX circuit was back in business - and in a big way.  The park was packed.  The goal quickly became to take less, but better photos.  In truth, I took more photos, but on fewer scenes.  Means, I'm going to throw away more.  And I did.  I wound up keeping about 15 shots out of 120 taken.  

The gear for the day was the D500 and 70/200.  

And if you wait long enough, you can get something new.  Or new to me anyway.  Up until now, the leader of the heat coming over the mound gets the best air.  Not this time.  Second racer over had the best air.  One of those shots where you think you saw what you saw and if that's right you hope then you didn't miss the shot.  Some call that process a nightmare.  I call it signature thought process.

Second Place Air

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

105 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5, ISO 140 (AUTO)

EV 0, MAUNUAL Mode, Size DX

Good day to get out and about.  And a surprise shot.