Aerials

This blog post today has no other purpose than to gratuitously brag about some really cool flights I've taken in the past. As some of you may or may not know, DC since Sept 11th has been pretty much designated off limits. The fifteen mile radius out from National Airport is under a Flight Restricted Zone. Only people in and out are major airlines, military, and those lucky enough to be granted a waiver. On occasion, I've fallen into that category.

Last couple years I've flown with an outstanding pilot, Jal Mistry. (see below) We've had great fun and a few adventures...but never in countless flights did I ever feel uncomfortable or had any reason to question his judgements. A man of great yet quiet confidence, you someday may find yourself being shuttled back and forth from Boston or NY and DC with Mr. Mistry up front. Be glad about that!

Anyway, just a couple pics. First is National Airport. Yes, The National Airport! We flew right over top of it! Think about it, huge airliners taking off and landing, where would you want to be?

Next is a shot of the National Mall. Washington Monument and The Capitol Building stand out.

Finally, my man Jal. Not only is he an excellent pilot, but he is always willing to help me get the shot. In this case, I asked him to put the plane in a steep bank so we could see the ground below us. What you see is part of North Beach's Galesville's harbor and the Chesapeake Bay.

Pretty cool, huh?

Opportunities

This weekend I was presented with a great opportunity and a great challenge. I was lucky enough to be one of about 15 or so photographers to have free reign throughout the Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center out at Dulles International. (Thanks Rob!) The place is massive. And it has everything! From the Enola Gay to the Enterprise Space Shuttle...and more! As I said, quite the opportunity!

The great challenge? Making interesting photos. Like most museums Udvar-Hazy is well lit...not nicely lit, but well lit. The photo above of the Flying Tiger gives you a good idea about how it looks throughout all the hangars. Not very compelling, really. And, frankly, it's not supposed to be. It's a museum. It is supposed to display things for people to see. It's not supposed to look really cool for us photographers. That's our job. Make it look cool.

Well, I had no idea what I was going to do. I had brought a minimal amount of equipment, taking a less is more approach. I had never been there, knew nothing of the size of the space or the lighting or the things I'd see. Totally blind. So, after we were given a brief orientation we were set free. I walked around just taking a few snapshots here and there, getting acquainted...trying different compositions. But I bored quickly of that. I soon realized it was the dull lighting that was boring me. I had to create better light.

I pulled out of my pack two speedlights and a couple gels. One blueish-purple, the other amber. I underexposed the ambient light by about two stops--maybe just one and a half, not too sure. But this significantly brought down the plain white light of the museum making for pretty dark photos. I then simply needed to add my own light, using the colored gels to get a little drama out of them. I am fairly happy with the results, but I'd love to get back there someday with the knowledge of the place I now have...I'd bring a couple more speedlights, try a few more tricks.

Until then, here are a few of the shots from that morning. Hope you like.

John the Fisherman

When I grow up, I want to be

one of the harvester of the sea...

I think before my days are done, I want to be a fisherman...

Calling John the Fisherman.

-Les Claypool, Primus

For the past two years or so, I've been shooting my own personal project down at the C&O Canal and Great Falls. Periodically, John and I meet up. As passionate as I am about my photography...it barely comes close to John's passion for fishing. As I stated in an earlier post John is one of my best subjects. Very patient and accommodating. I've got countless images of the boy at various points throughout the year. Fall, Summer, Spring (no Winter shots, but maybe that, too, one day!)

Anyway, I intend to share many of these images as time goes on.

Now, I've always been jealous of the fact that John pretty much has a personalized song by one of our favorite bands (see above). In the song, however, "John" grows up to be a fisherman of the seas, and he ends up dying when his ship goes down in a major storm. You can rest assured, though, that this will never happen to our John. We were both on a ship in the ocean once. We both puked our guts up for nearly 4 straight hours! Both vowed never to return to the sea.

Selah.

Velvia 100 and a light table.

Shot some film the other day. Yes...film! Slides. Chromes, if you will.

I have to say, I sometimes really do miss film. There's nothing like that tactile reality. A sensation that's painfully absent from digital. Throwing a roll of 36 slides onto a light table and watching them come to life. Slowly scanning each one with that 8X loup. The colors! The sharpness! (if you have a steady hand and a good lens!)...there's nothing like it.

But time (and technology) moves on. Digital has done wonders for my photography. No denying it. And if it weren't for my digital camera (Nikon D200, thank you very much!) it'd be next to impossible to maintain a web presence without going completely broke!

So, no real complaints...just a mild lament. There's no going back. I will, however, continue to on occasion pull out the old Nikon F3 or F100 and have myself a blast shooting away without the crutch of looking at the LCD on the back of the camera (I actually still do that with the film cameras, but nothing's there!). Oh and did I mention that killer sound of the mechanical whirr of the motordrive. Ah...what a joy!

Yep, I really do miss it.

Shadow and Silhouette

Take advantage of shadows. They add drama to the photo, depth. I was at the Lincoln Memorial and saw how the shadows were being thrown against the walls by these massive Roman columns. So I walked around a bit until I found a spot where I thought could make a nice photograph.

As I was setting up for the shot I heard the footsteps of somebody coming around the corner. So I just waited...when this stranger steps into the picture it turns an otherwise nice, kind of abstract photo into a dramatic scene with a human element.

Shadows and silhouettes... gotta love 'em!

Editing Redux

Photographer hard at work (above) doing the thing we all should do...even if it's just occasionally.

I recently poured over tons of family photos that had just been sitting around taking up hard-drive space and decided to put them into some sense of place and order. Here's how I tackle a not insignificant cache of images.

First, I do a quick scan of the thumbnails and click on and delete all obviously bad photos. Way too dark, closed eyes, out of focus, camera shake, etc. Next, I try to find one decent photo of as many different family members as possible. Try to represent everyone. When I discover I don't have a single shot of someone I make a note and damn sure try to get it next time around! After that I look for all usable "multiples." Shots of two or more people together.

All the while I'm keeping in mind that I don't want more than about 20 images from any given event. (Don't get me wrong...I have many more photos than I actually show. I don't delete everything! And you don't have to either.) Keeping people interested beyond 20 photos can be quite a chore. If I have at least one decent photo of all at the event and I'm at or around 20 images, I'm very happy!

In this latest round of editing I came across a series of about six photos of Rachel's Aunt Arline. They were shot in quick succession in the exact same spot. (I do this to make sure I have at least one without a blink.) Turns out, they are all usuable as Aunt Arline is a stunning woman! However, you people don't need to see all six nearly identical images. I found the one shot--and it didn't take long--that pleased me most. She has a natural smile, the light was good, no distracting background, slightly off center...boom! That's it! Done. Then on with the process. Editing is a task I wish I could get someone else to do for me. But I can't. So I try to find the time and make the effort. Consistently using the process as described above works for me. It did take a while to get to where I was doing it almost by rote, but now it's pretty easy and flows rather nicely. Anyway, just thought you should know.

And in case you're curious, here's Auntie Arline!

Sunset

I believe it was Galen Rowell who said he photographed sunsets at every opportunity. There's one every day so why not? Same "sustained thermonuclear fire" as ever. (Here's the actual quote: "You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn't waste either." ) As the golden orb --Cold Comfort Farm, anyone? Anyone?--OK well, as it gets closer to the horizon the light working its way through the thicker atmosphere just can't be beat. People travel all over the world looking for the best sunset experience. A blanket and a bottle of wine in the Marin Headlands; a rustic cabin on a lagoon in the San Juan Islands; the drunken stumble of a freak show at Mallory Square in Key West. All worthy sunset viewing spots. However, next time you find yourself in front of a spectacular sunset (or sunrise for that matter), turn around. Something or someone behind you is being bathed in wonderful photographic light! I noticed this over the weekend in Blue Ridge Summit. And as I am lucky enough to have tolerant and willing subjects all around me, I had no choice but to take advantage. Thanks Matt, Jodi and Chris. You look great!