Here are two examples of what I call “Special Light”.

The first combines itself with one of my other passions – juxtaposition.  Juxtaposition often registers with me as a form of irony, whether natural or man-made.  Here the example is juxtaposition of light, which is just about my favorite!

I am in Colorado for the fall colors it is a very stormy and gloomy day, but there are occasional breaks in the clouds.  I have set up for the scene and I am patiently waiting to see if that (juxtaposition) special light is going to reward my patience.  There is a hole in the cloud cover, the suns rays light up the stand of Aspen trees I have lined up and “click”!

The second, was taken on the same trip to Colorado, but in a completely different location.  ”Buy why does he say this light is special?” I hear you say at first glance.  Yes it is a great scene of an As[en tree wood in fall splendor, but the light?  Can you see it?

If you look at the tree trunks you will notice they are being lit from both sides.  Yes it is a great sunny day which is where the light from the right comes from, but where does the more diffused light from the left come from?

What do you think?  Thank you for coming by and viewing.

However, recently, with the restoration of old warbirds (such as the P-51 Mustang, B17 Flying Fortress and B-25 Mitchell) there is a tendency for the owners to go for polished metal – a new take on “big silver bird”.

So why would I just love photographing these aircraft? Because I am thinking BALKCK & WHITE all of the time.

Please tell me what you think.

B-25 Mitchell "Maid in the Shade"

T-6 Texan

The Arctic Camouflage is a very bright scheme albeit in black, white and grey, but to me as a photographer this is a gorgeous paint scheme as it simple cries out for black and white images.  When I was photographing the team at the 32nd Florida International Air Show the sky was providing the perfect back drop – bright blue sky and beautiful white puffy cumulus clouds – a perfect compliment to Arctic Camouflage when converted to black and white.

I am pleased with the color renditions of these images – but for me the black and whites are just gorgeous.

What do you think? Why not watch the short slide-show below and let me know?  Thank You.

Having made the decision to move away from  shooting film in my Hasselblad “V” series cameras I spent over a year agonizing “do I go Hasselblad H4D or Nikon D3X?”.  A key reason for choosing the Nikon path was that I could (eventually) get long lenses and return to Wildlife photography.  Since making the switch to Nikon I have also re-discovered my first love in photography namely Air Shows and Warbirds, which coincidentally calls for long lenses too.

The Occasion

So I am off to the Florida International Air Show, my first air show in over 40 years and I need a longer lens to shoot the warbirds.  The Nikor 200-400mm F/4 is an obvious choice as I understand that at the Florida International Air Show you can get very close to the flight-line.  So with great excitement a very large parcel arrives via UPS – the lens! Having carefully and lovingly unpacked the lens, I suddenly realize that this is the heaviest lens I have ever held – so with only three days to go before leaving I am frantically working my left arm with a 10lb dumbel!!

I am completely blown away by the detail in the images, the sharpness even at the edges of the frame and the images I can get on its first outing. W O W !!

A Sample of the Warbird images (a lot more to follow):

Black Diamond Aerobatic Display Team

F8F Bearcat in Blue Angels finish. (The Blue Angels adopted the Bearcat as their team aircraft during their inaugural year, 1946)

F-4U Corsair by Vought.

Navy F/A- 18 Hornet, a multi-role aircraft that can switch between fighter and attack function.

The Blue Angels Aerobatic Display Team in Double Fervel formation. Flying Navy F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.

Twin Beech 18 - never designed for aerobatics

Equipment: D3X; 200-400mm f/4 VRII AF-S; Lexar 600X Digital Film

 The Bonus:

During the air show another photographer asked where I was staying.  I said that I was miles away in Venice as I could not get accommodation near the Punta Gorda airport.  He immediately said that I had to go to “The Rookery” in Venice, a fantastic spot for shooting birds.

Louise had located “The Rookery” while I was at the air show so we went there just after sunrise on our last morning before breakfast and heading to the airport.

So the Nikor 200-400mm f/4 proved that it was just as sharp and clear when photographing feathered birds as it was in shooting warbirds – as you can see below.

Early light illuminating a Great Egret at The Rookery, Venice, Florida

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at The Rookery, Venice, Florida

Great Blue Heron (Ardea hernias) and interloping Great Egret (Ardea alba)

A juvenile Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) goes fishing

A nest building male Great Egret (Ardea alba) warning everyone off!

The male Great Egret (Ardea alba) showing discretion as the better part of valor!

Equipment: D3X; 200-400mm f/4 VRII AF-S; TC-17EII AF-S; Gitzo tripod & head; Lexar 600X Digital Film

The air behind the Skyvan is very rough as it is not an aerodynamically shaped design – roughly square in profile, so the skills the pilots demonstrate for the air to air photography shoots are incredible.  As you will see through my posts over the next few weeks, not only do they stay with the Skyvan on a solo basis as in this image of the P-51 Mustang “Cripes A’ Mighty” (living up to its name!), but also in formation.

The pilots are everything on these adventures!

This is SERIOUSLY CLOSE!

Hope you enjoy!

T-6 Texan gleaming in the Arizona sunshine

T-6 Texan Closing in

T-6 Texan - even closer

T-6 Texan up close and personal!

I was surprised to see this Ural motorcycle sitting on the Museum’s apron.  The Ural is a Russian made, heavy duty, sidecar motorcycle that was designed and built for the rough and often non-existent Russian roads where only horses or these Urals could cross the terrain.  It was based on a 1940′s BMW motorcycle of which the Russians obtained five machines, through a third party (Sweden) and they dismantled them and completely reverse engineered.

Ural Heavy Duty Sidecar Motorcycle

The Ural motorcycle just happened to be parked right in front of a gorgeous looking red and white Russian Yak-52 aircraft.  The Yak-52 was designed as an aerobatic trainer and since the decline of the Soviet Union is now exported to the West.

Ural Motorcycle and Yak-52

So now my interest is piqued as to someone’s fascination in Russian machinery.

But something was missing, the human element.  Without this both the motorcycle and the aircraft were just great pieces of historical industrial sculpture, however attractive.  People were needed to transform these pieces of sculpture into the functioning machinery they were designed to be.

Shortly after I took these pictures the owner Allen walked over with a friend and we started in conversation (little did I know that within a few days Allen would be my “Yak Buddy” – but that’s another story).  Allen recalled that probably in 1994 his business partner had access to the Urals and asked him if he was interested?  So Allen bought ten of them!  These are now distributed in various part of the US.  So, with my camera hanging round my neck, I persuaded Allen to mount up so that I could take a picture of him sitting on his motorcycle right in front of his aircraft.

The Proud Owner astride his Ural

Allen’s friend thought this was good fun so he was next up.

Allen's friend was next up.

At that point Allen said what was really needed was a picture of a pretty girl sitting on the Ural, not “us old guys!” So looking around the answer wasn’t very far away.  Stephanie Stephenson was visiting CAF with her husband and was soon roped in by Allen to pose on the Ural. (Doesn’t she look so press-ganged?)

Stephanie graces the Ural

Then, getting right into the spirit of things, Stephanie offered to make the moment a little racier!  But there were plenty of other folk about, so we hurriedly talked her out of it.

Stephanie having fun.

But as we were all having a good laugh, Stephanie spied the goggles dangling from the handle bars and immediately made the best of all the images by putting them on!

Stephanie Rocks!

The slight breeze catching Stephanie’s hair really adds a dynamic into the picture.

We had a good laugh and thanked Stephanie for making the moment.

Christine and her dog “Tali(sker)” by her wedding present.  Christine says she like to wake up in the morning, look at this image and dream about stepping into the picture to go for a walk.

This is a 60″ tall canvas gallery wrap of a woodland path taken in springtime in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This was an easy section in a lengthy hike to the Grotto Falls and took my usual patience to wait for other hikers to move out of shot.

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This is a picture of Lindsay with her 35″ canvas Gallery Wrap of Atlantic waves crashing on rocky coastline of Nova Scotia.  The location of White Point Island is just off of the Cabot Trail in the north east of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada.  It is a very exposed and isolated location where you can sit and listen to the rhythm of the waves pounding the rocks below.

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Customer installation

Scott standing next to his wedding present.  A canvas gallery wrap measuring 72 inches wide and 36 inches high.  The image, by Richard King,  is from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is “The Little Pigeon River”.  The image was taken in springtime, so it captures the vivid greens that are the newly formed foliage on the trees.

The longer exposure provides the “movement” in the river as it cascades over and around the obstructing rocks in its path.

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