tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57496911408889619362024-03-20T00:16:11.032-07:00Fox-3 PhotographyDGloverPhotoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09116312703083032452noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-1178867172102405902019-01-28T11:28:00.001-08:002019-01-28T11:32:16.402-08:00Is my pilot safe? - Part 3The last two blog posts have passed along my perspective on how important the pre-flight briefing is for both the pilot and photographer. Nothing less than a commitment to flying as a team will provide a baseline for safe execution when airborne. But there are a lot of things that can still go wrong, even with the best of briefs!<br />
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As aviation photographers, we should be prepared to sit through, and if asked, participate in the post-flight debrief.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1yKHj0dtUedbhr8n5c17LS2WyCuJEMhOuajEG3NvX546AXo9G0PNbx_KDTMY0fY0InuVRVyBDpz5zpHGfbMT1MOh29FNM5yKtyfRjpKiztrMjQiqc-VoybXiBKqx92U25MgcleGXQqqI/s1600/DSC08292_edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1yKHj0dtUedbhr8n5c17LS2WyCuJEMhOuajEG3NvX546AXo9G0PNbx_KDTMY0fY0InuVRVyBDpz5zpHGfbMT1MOh29FNM5yKtyfRjpKiztrMjQiqc-VoybXiBKqx92U25MgcleGXQqqI/s320/DSC08292_edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A simple, straightforward, no frills debrief</td></tr>
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Throughout aviation, the concept of “no egos in the debrief” has developed so that we all can learn from our mistakes, because even the best among us will make them. Good pilots and aviation photographers should want the constructive criticism of a debrief, as it helps refine the rough edges, and catch problems that we may be blind to in our self-evaluation. I’ve taken my lumps in the debrief as a photographer and as an aircrew. The best pilots I’ve flown with will have a few comments on what was otherwise a well-executed flight – and we should expect as much. If your pilot brushes off the debrief, or worse yet, shows some “attitude” when other flight members attempt to debrief them, those should be red flags to you that this pilot may not be someone you want to rely on in the dynamic regime of air-to-air photo missions.<br />
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During the debrief, when the pilots all look at you and ask "did you get it" you had better have the right answer! Time, fuel and maintenance hours were all devoted to your attempt to capture these aircraft in flight, so I hope for your sake the answer is "Yes!" Photoflights are busy, so at least prior to the debrief you need to have taken a cursory look at the images via your camera LCD. Some photographers will show all of their photos to the pilots during the debrief - but I recommend that you don't do that. Unedited RAW photos are a bit like the ingredients in a gourmet meal - they may be uninspiring or even downright unappetizing by themselves, but when placed in the hands of a skilled chef, they make for an amazing dining experience. This is another reason to become familiar with the in-camera editing features of your camera. If you can take a RAW image and do an in-camera conversion, crop, rotate and color balance - then at least what you show the pilots won't be that far from the final result (all depending on your editing technique).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be prepared to discuss what worked and what didn't work!</td></tr>
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And finally, if your pilots ask for your input on how they could have flown the photoflight better, be direct, addressing either a specific formation or flight event that did not fit your photo plan well. If you saw what you thought was a safety issue, bring that up as well, but understand that your knowledge of aviation and formation flying may not be as extensive as that of your formation pilots. Regardless, a good group of pilots will realize that if the photographer is uncomfortable with how the flight is conducted, then the chances of accomplishing the photo mission are dramatically reduced. Don't belabor the points - the debrief really isn't about you, but you must absolutely be prepared to give your input (when asked) in a concise manner.<br />
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These are obviously not the only ways that you can “Get to know” your air-to-air pilots, but they are the most concrete ones that I use daily when working in aviation. You absolutely must get to know your pilots, and likewise they have to get to know you as well. Realize that the evaluation during the brief, flight and debrief will be two-way, and do your best to live up to your pilot’s expectations of professional conduct – and expect nothing less from them in return.<br />
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<i>Did you miss Parts 1 and 2? </i><br />
<i> Part 1 can be read</i> - <a href="https://fox3photo.blogspot.com/2019/01/is-my-pilot-safe-part-1.html">HERE</a><br />
<i> Part 2 can be read</i> - <a href="https://fox3photo.blogspot.com/2019/01/is-my-pilot-safe-part-2.html">HERE</a><span id="goog_1509615214"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1509615215"></span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-90587962334646783672019-01-22T02:24:00.000-08:002019-01-28T11:30:01.651-08:00Is my pilot safe? - Part 2My previous post passed along a way to evaluate your prospective air to air pilot via their brief. For all of my 20+ years in aviation, the flight brief has been my most critical point of evaluation, and often a last point before engine start where everyone concerned could say "I don't think we're ready for this flight, today."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MmxmdHYzup2hPkLODBv3XoErcMMQNOh61Q4J7TG0vqkmNFWk5DKUCJcIhOor-cC6cRiFKClobQTAFuzddNpff-aVr_ZuNJBMWUtlKAIQUiL_dbT3WcKpRa4gqpbdecHBPHqEQRjmasE/s1600/Glover_20140304_0012148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MmxmdHYzup2hPkLODBv3XoErcMMQNOh61Q4J7TG0vqkmNFWk5DKUCJcIhOor-cC6cRiFKClobQTAFuzddNpff-aVr_ZuNJBMWUtlKAIQUiL_dbT3WcKpRa4gqpbdecHBPHqEQRjmasE/s640/Glover_20140304_0012148.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a cold day photographing the Movie Memphis Belle air-to-air</td></tr>
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But aviation photography is different than regular formation flying, and as a result the airborne team has an additional member - YOU, the photographer!<br />
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The second way that I recommend you evaluate your prospective air-to-air pilot is based upon how they listen to your brief. They didn’t give you a chance to brief as a photographer, you say? This should be of great concern to you on the day of your flight!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4tlkjSl4XrIROPbKuEWQ-akhpSEnMKyNJkbFawjzaKM8p43QUj19VfGC9FscC51ROi4U-ZY-5g4UJ0zqC3rw18VLKqkfs99Qln_vyug7_Q8LWTrwsa_3oVUuWJhziQ6RcezuyM7zR6U/s1600/Briefing_01_RCP_sqr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="1098" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4tlkjSl4XrIROPbKuEWQ-akhpSEnMKyNJkbFawjzaKM8p43QUj19VfGC9FscC51ROi4U-ZY-5g4UJ0zqC3rw18VLKqkfs99Qln_vyug7_Q8LWTrwsa_3oVUuWJhziQ6RcezuyM7zR6U/s320/Briefing_01_RCP_sqr.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Briefing the photoship pilot prior to the flight</td></tr>
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If your photo pilot is not attentive to your goals as a photographer, you might not capture the image you wanted (or needed), and worst case, you might be put at risk with an impromptu, unbriefed maneuver –<br />
<b><i>“Because I thought it would make a great photo”</i></b><br />
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(Which is not something you EVER want to hear and sadly, I have...)<br />
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Now, don't get intimidated, these briefs don't have to be formal affairs! But it is YOUR opportunity to give the pilots in your flight a quick overview of the photo setups that you want along with your understanding of their aircraft's performance and limitations. I cannot overstate the latter, as I have watched photographers lose the respect of pilots quickly when they ask for difficult (or even risky) maneuvers on their first photo flight with a pilot.<br />
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<b><i>"Hey, can I get a shot of you inverted over the top of your wingman?"</i></b><br />
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This brief is your chance to convince the pilots that you know what you are doing, and that you are not going to put their aircraft and lives at risk in an effort to just get that one photo you have been hounding them for. I recommend providing the pilots with cards showing the formations that you want them to position into for the camera, and those can even be simple hand-drawn affairs. Discuss who is positioning aircraft and who is on the radio talking to the formation. Always discuss how and when you will <i>"Knock It Off"</i> if the flight becomes unmanageable or worse yet, unsafe. Get the point across quickly, build confidence, and be the professional that they hope you are. There are a lot of different things to cover in a photo mission brief, but that will have to be the subject of a future post!<br />
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Unfortunately, as a relatively inexperienced air-to-air shooter, you may not catch an issue with your pilot via either of these two methods, but the next one I give you is a dead giveaway to a pilot you should be cautious of flying with (again).<br />
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<i>Part 3 is now online,</i> <a href="https://fox3photo.blogspot.com/2019/01/is-my-pilot-safe-part-3.html">HERE</a><br />
<i>Did you miss Part 1? You can access it</i> - <a href="https://fox3photo.blogspot.com/2019/01/is-my-pilot-safe-part-1.html">HERE</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-33884633114240254182019-01-19T02:30:00.000-08:002019-01-28T11:30:30.212-08:00Is my pilot safe? - Part 1I often get frustrated with "big-name" aviation photographers who talk about securing that "first air-to-air" and give advice without actually passing along anything concrete in their blog posts. Recently one of these individuals decided to pontificate on how to secure that first air to air photo mission safely.<br />
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Let me paraphrase what he said:<br />
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<i><b>“Take some ground photos - make a print – give it to a pilot – because of that you will meet and get to know them – then you can determine if they are safe to fly with.”</b></i><br />
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Sadly, that leaves a lot up to interpretation. If we are assuming that you are new to aviation, and specifically air-to-air photography, how will you evaluate this prospective air-to-air photo pilot as you “get to know them”?<br />
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One of the first things that I learned years ago as an Aviation Safety officer is that the “gut feelings” of an inexperienced individual were often misleading and dangerous for them to rely on. In most cases one of two polar opposites happened. Either they experienced fear when there was no increase in danger, or they had a false sense of security when the situation became risky. I won’t delve into the psychology of those two situations, but the point that an aviation photographer should take away is that their “gut feeling” about a pilot is no way to assess the risk to life and limb when going flying!<br />
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So, what can we rely on?<br />
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The need to evaluate a relatively unknown pilot fairly quickly is nothing new in aviation. Pilots in a variety of situations (commercial, military, flight instructors, etc) all have to be able to quickly take stock of the individual they are flying with in order to build a set of limits that they are going to put around that person’s piloting skills. There are a lot of pilots who may be qualified or experienced to conduct a photo mission with you, but that doesn't mean they are <i>safely prepared</i> to fly the mission!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLHZM8OWSFmwXiprpnLEn0duw-H8fCn4PRYJbHJb5UPdF-MtXpx-Cojro1gpgzWRxqZ1Arygg1TRPXB4ARzFW0E35NlQPws8qsTQDgZA25L0wi0Y9m7Y3UsjNmgeOzcZmoFQb-raoAF0/s1600/_DSC1246_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLHZM8OWSFmwXiprpnLEn0duw-H8fCn4PRYJbHJb5UPdF-MtXpx-Cojro1gpgzWRxqZ1Arygg1TRPXB4ARzFW0E35NlQPws8qsTQDgZA25L0wi0Y9m7Y3UsjNmgeOzcZmoFQb-raoAF0/s320/_DSC1246_sml.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilot briefing before a photoflight at Oshkosh</td></tr>
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The first and best way to evaluate your pilot as a photographer is via the brief they give. While it is called a “brief”, it should be thorough and cover every action from strapping into the aircraft, through the different parts of the flight, and all the way to engine shutdown. If a pilot just says to you, “I’ve got this, let’s just go fly”, the odds are that there may be a part of the flight they haven’t thought through in detail, which can be a significant safety hazard to everyone! As you “get to know” a pilot, you should have several opportunities to see how they brief, well before you ever get into an air-to-air formation flight with them. Once you are ready to do that first air-to-air flight, make sure you leave enough time in your schedule for the pilot to give you and the other flight members a thorough formation brief, and certainly don't pressure them to get airborne quickly for you to start your photoshoot!<br />
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However, it isn't just the pilot's brief that can clue you in on their suitability for an air-to-air photo mission. In our next blog post, we will talk about a second way to learn more about your prospective pilot, and how to set yourself up for the best chance of a safe and successful photo mission.<br />
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<i>Part 2 continues</i> - <a href="https://fox3photo.blogspot.com/2019/01/is-my-pilot-safe-part-2.html">HERE</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-77675630636163303452019-01-14T04:46:00.002-08:002019-01-14T04:48:56.060-08:00Access vs. Trespassing<div align="left">
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<i>(or how to straddle the barbed wire fence</i>) </div>
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<i>by Ed Simmons</i></div>
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Ever since seeing the "Omega Man" with my folks at
the drive in the 70s, I've been fascinated with dark themed/ abandoned
locations. I like to shoot old buildings/ abandoned warehouses, and basically
anything that looks like it belongs in the zombie apocalypse. There are
lots of cool pages and venues for this type of photography, and most of them
share a common set of ground rules, one being "Don't ask the photographer
for the location or for their access" (if it's not a well known spot.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQoxZhMdoGqgeiGK_iXaTEgEkR2Shob2OTIVRTY2F7Q5NOplQauHR4u709AdNLtzkvIiPyweFErdENqC6tu6iB9wxXRkC7luEUKl98i0uai5nYrgi_riuHpUxoQqBVuSqnzz7j_Skskto/s1600/50288941_483906832138013_655831554659975168_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQoxZhMdoGqgeiGK_iXaTEgEkR2Shob2OTIVRTY2F7Q5NOplQauHR4u709AdNLtzkvIiPyweFErdENqC6tu6iB9wxXRkC7luEUKl98i0uai5nYrgi_riuHpUxoQqBVuSqnzz7j_Skskto/s640/50288941_483906832138013_655831554659975168_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In other words, get your own access / find your own shoots.<br />
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A lot of these photographers find the thrill in bending the
rules to get access, i.e. trespassing. My own comfort level involves
"Always get permission" I find this will sometimes get me some
cool stories about the site as well as the thrill of the chase of getting in
touch with the owners, and the bonus of not worrying about getting arrested or
shot. Most property owners don't mind if they're asked politely, but they don't
want 50 other photographers showing up the next week, so it's understandable why
discretion is important. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_JDCUZZbZ6u-_bFtQDZaWtqLtzlZUhiQB0TxFxigIbtw9lttqYOXM3zSoiopSG8uoIulhXSmg8FfiGRNU0HXW-CcOhpUAg8HIYUNOhsCaoZJxuEcGcM5AndqYEW-cEmHXU-mwMwTrb8/s1600/DSC08291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_JDCUZZbZ6u-_bFtQDZaWtqLtzlZUhiQB0TxFxigIbtw9lttqYOXM3zSoiopSG8uoIulhXSmg8FfiGRNU0HXW-CcOhpUAg8HIYUNOhsCaoZJxuEcGcM5AndqYEW-cEmHXU-mwMwTrb8/s200/DSC08291.jpg" width="200" /></a>Aviation photography has a lot of similarities. There
are plenty of public venues (airshows) to get photos, but trying to get
something more private/ one-on-one will get better pictures, but and should be
handled with the same concern about being a good citizen in the photography
community. Good manners and social skills will also go a long way. Before
stalking the taxiways at your local General Aviation airport with a long lens,
take the time to meet some folks, bring some donuts by to the FBO, and make
sure to ask the airplane owners if they mind you taking their pictures, and
respect their wishes if they say no.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you really want to shoot warbirds or other cool airplanes
without having to fight the crowds at an airshow, a growing and sure-fire way
to get great access to some cool airplanes (and some great training) is to take
a class with one of the many providers of aviation-related photography
seminars.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Joining the CAF or your local EAA chapter, volunteering at
local airshows, museums, or other events, are great ways to meet some folks that
can help you with additional behind-the-ropes photo opportunities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Along this subject line, I had a great conversation with a
local warbird owner about this topic, and in addition to the above, he
suggested the following advice for those wanting to do some private warbird
photography on your own:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before asking to shoot, get to know the owners/ pilots. Do your
research on the plane, the "mission" of its owner, and define
the purpose for your shoot. Look at pictures of their plane from previous
shoots, and try to think of something unique to accomplish. The
owner will likely ask what the pictures are going to be used for.
"Portfolio building" is a legitimate reason, but respect that many
warbird owners have thoughts on how they want the images of their planes
portrayed, so please respect their boundaries. It is also poor taste to
remove or alter nose art, change colors, etc. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Many warbird owners own businesses and travel for long
periods of time to be able to afford and support their airplane(s). Time
is something that we never get back in this life, so please respect people's
time as the precious commodity that it is. Approach it this way: If you have the greatest idea for a warbird shoot ever conceived,
say so, but don't beat around the bush, just spell it out clearly. If you
want to chat, offer to meet in person, bring your portfolio, and always bring
or buy the coffee. Don't blind message someone on Facebook wanting to do an air-to-air shoot out of the blue. If you are that good, they will reach out
to you. With the average cost of operating a warbird being high,
it is a significant investment to do a "quick" air-to-air shoot, not to
mention the risks involved. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For the most part, the pilots "get it" when people
want to take pictures, but you still need to be polite, respectful, and bring
your A game.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrVFhXaeI3Ul7w3KBvz8Eq1u70HfA8VBwz5NEQEwSvVUTdgzHiD1AXrXc7102PKdXFzFYEX1rszPSVTfTQeGLZMpwYxCxswwqosSqJqU5dt1QW0_2kTfNfcjzjctkDarIAsb7f8vj6CY/s1600/ed_profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="733" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrVFhXaeI3Ul7w3KBvz8Eq1u70HfA8VBwz5NEQEwSvVUTdgzHiD1AXrXc7102PKdXFzFYEX1rszPSVTfTQeGLZMpwYxCxswwqosSqJqU5dt1QW0_2kTfNfcjzjctkDarIAsb7f8vj6CY/s200/ed_profile.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>Ed Simmons is an aviation and zombie apocalypse photographer based in North Carolina. When he isn't out chasing airplanes or abandoned sites, he is shoveling horse poop on his farm.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-9245122108783048382019-01-04T12:45:00.000-08:002019-01-04T12:45:20.647-08:00The Great Yellow Vest DeceptionA few days ago, some comments were traded on social media that led to the Vice President of the International Society for Aviation Photography (ISAP) publically asking me "what about the yellow vest offends your sensibilities?" What a great question - assuming that it is the vest which offends me instead of the conduct of those wearing the yellow vests.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-JDSUB6Mua_Yzfo22RuMLi5wTfLvdaFTeZxKkDzx42SctCIeSoUnEBIxyAeuyu6Hca3u4oN0fT0O1knczDFHq5vg96e0gDwMwx_FtjE5SEqnLTPShrxzbKcxKDOREENWAMl1GxzzhS0/s1600/Glover_160218_33599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-JDSUB6Mua_Yzfo22RuMLi5wTfLvdaFTeZxKkDzx42SctCIeSoUnEBIxyAeuyu6Hca3u4oN0fT0O1knczDFHq5vg96e0gDwMwx_FtjE5SEqnLTPShrxzbKcxKDOREENWAMl1GxzzhS0/s640/Glover_160218_33599.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISAP photographers at NAF El Centro behind the "Line of Death"</td></tr>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a> So let me step back and relate what ISAP purports as the reason for wearing the vests - an attempt to <i><b>"increase professionalism and standardization"</b></i> in the aviation photography community. I'll be honest, I'm all for that, in principle, and I even share some of the ISAP President's personal proscriptions, such as wearing long pants on the flightline instead of the ubiquitous cargo shorts. However, when you take a piece of safety equipment and make it part of your standard dress code, there can be second order effects that you have not thought of, along with the inevitable good-natured joking. Imagine if you will, the laughter that would ensue if the 3G Aviation Media workshop photographers suddenly showed up in bright blue 3G-branded hard hats at every event - whether protective headgear was a requirement or not! Joking aside, it has become an issue when people assume that the reflective vest is a required part of the aviation photographer's dress code. <br />
<br />
One well-meaning PAO went so far as to require reflective vests during a night shoot on a closed ramp. Rather than look at the risks to the photographers that the vests would mitigate - they said "ISAP wears them all of the time, can't you?" I'm sure all of the photographers reading this are imagining what their long exposures would look like with a mass of photographers surrounding the aircraft all wearing yellow vests with reflective tape - yes, I can hear the screams all the way over here. Thankfully some back and forth discussion about risks and the best way to mitigate them <i>WHILE </i>still getting good photographs led to the requirement for vests being dropped. All of that discussion aside, there are certainly times that vests are a prudent part of a photoshoot, such as uncontrolled flightlines, military exercise embeds, and other points where photographers are <i>IN THE MIDDLE </i>of the action, not partitioned off to one side behind an orange snow fence.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0FogRe9KRYZSGAHr-dbNK9QLKItm0GT29PTnmjW8qI2Zak5G5lw86i0Td2yQfO2WZJ0KUpnI8Caa-8rKi7CO-V14Pbjti9WeZhQ0wI65DBbESHbPobUjMeZ8RHJycslsWTTWGdhfbZk/s1600/COAP+vests.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0FogRe9KRYZSGAHr-dbNK9QLKItm0GT29PTnmjW8qI2Zak5G5lw86i0Td2yQfO2WZJ0KUpnI8Caa-8rKi7CO-V14Pbjti9WeZhQ0wI65DBbESHbPobUjMeZ8RHJycslsWTTWGdhfbZk/s640/COAP+vests.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good use of vests for photographer safety - photo provided courtesy of Rich Cooper, COAP</td></tr>
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So, the question becomes, what is the "professionalism and standardization" that ISAP uses their reflective vests for, if not for photographer safety. In my opinion, it is nothing more than branding, an attempt to get the ISAP name in front of aviation photographers. <i>THAT IS OKAY</i> - but let's be honest about why your members are wearing the vests while standing outside of a military base, on top of a hay bale, or inside a roped-off photographer's pit at an airshow (or other area where the risk of unobserved photographers is nil). But even more troubling is the observation by many non-ISAP photographers at these events of unprofessional conduct by the vest-wearers of ISAP. So rather than ensuring a professional image for ISAP, in some cases these vests are actually highlighting unprofessional conduct by the organization's members - in effect the vests are making ISAP even more of a target for its detractors. ISAP, if your custom yellow vests aren't enhancing your photographers' safety or the image of your organization, let's just put the vests back in the camera bag, where they belong.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-7208354495824212802019-01-03T16:11:00.002-08:002019-01-03T16:11:28.378-08:00The Return of the BlogIf I was going to subtitle this post (as I do in my other blogs) it would be:<br />
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<i><b>Hold onto your (floppy) hats, photographers! We're in for a bumpy ride!</b></i></div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKy5yI_XEE8AA1ZYxBNw8_nRm5CRdSqEDhX0Tq33BtcLGAm16SIommxiRM5W5q5V9ViExsloTzhFFwvZckedQiOpvqkhqi5COnzmKfTP6BXZuKSM0OD9EOlH09qPzKw7a1Jsl-wst-AHw/s1600/Glover_180414_40640_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKy5yI_XEE8AA1ZYxBNw8_nRm5CRdSqEDhX0Tq33BtcLGAm16SIommxiRM5W5q5V9ViExsloTzhFFwvZckedQiOpvqkhqi5COnzmKfTP6BXZuKSM0OD9EOlH09qPzKw7a1Jsl-wst-AHw/s640/Glover_180414_40640_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a pyrotechnics specialist pauses to record the event for posterity</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
I've been putting content and commentary in a lot of places around the web. I've been learning to make my blog posts less wordy and more to the point. I think it is time I returned to this neglected photography blog and really started to address some of the issues in aviation photography.<br />
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Whether you think of aviation photography as a hobby or as an industry, I hope you'll stick around for the next few weeks of blogging, and keep an open mind. It won't just be commentary from me, but from other aviation photographers who see issues and feel they should be addressed. Not to worry, the opinions they voice will certainly not always agree with my own - but I think it is important that we have this discussion in a more permanent fashion than on a social media wall, or in a closed members-only forum.<br />
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So sit back, grab a bowl of popcorn, and let's see where the discussion takes us!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-44035140726085372582017-10-19T20:44:00.000-07:002017-10-19T20:44:32.601-07:00The "New" Lightroom CC - and why you hate it!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JHO7A6GQhr5rV51pKEwr0Ct4vDtlWkx7LcoW4qz35I8Kd5e3tPBYWns2SCCYErgbj_Ijc8Fn-jRJFmeDF6vEVLpu-YKLm91UgCSmcJXgarMKjbDVfsakL2Mxq2siWcDR5Db4NDpLWSo/s1600/_DSC7672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JHO7A6GQhr5rV51pKEwr0Ct4vDtlWkx7LcoW4qz35I8Kd5e3tPBYWns2SCCYErgbj_Ijc8Fn-jRJFmeDF6vEVLpu-YKLm91UgCSmcJXgarMKjbDVfsakL2Mxq2siWcDR5Db4NDpLWSo/s640/_DSC7672.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TA-4J image edited on LR CC - Win10 and Android</td></tr>
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Let me warn you now – this blog post will probably anger 95%
of Lightroom users. The other 5% won’t
be mad because they are too dense to realize I am insulting them as well… So let me begin.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />I’ve already seen quite a bit of anger and disappointment on
the Interwebs over the cloud-based “New” Lightroom CC. And a lot of it is from people who haven’t
even installed the new version, yet. So
let me get this straight – you people are the first to cry “FAKE NEWS”, or to
rip apart a movie critic’s review of the latest blockbuster-to-be, yet you are
willing to take the word of some “tech guru” about whether or not this latest
software will work for <i>YOUR </i>workflow. The
way I see it, you are either a sheep, or you are scared of change – or perhaps
you are a sheep that is scared of change.<br />
<br />Now to address the other 45% that I haven’t just
alienated. At least you installed the
new LR CC! But then you piddled around
with it, read some more online “reviews” while waiting for your images to
import and upload to the cloud, and then after about 15 minutes declared – “I
HATE THIS VERSION! It doesn’t do feature
“X” or mode “Y” the way my old Lightroom does!
<b>THIS SUCKS!</b>”<br />
<b><i><br />And so, I’ll give you three reasons that probably explain
why you feel that way…</i></b><br />
<br /><b><u>#1 You think of Lightroom as a photo editing platform</u></b> – Let me
shatter your world view here. It isn’t
now and never has been. It is an image
<i>MANAGEMENT </i>program that happens to incorporate a lot of the features from Adobe
Camera RAW. The first purpose of the LR
franchise has been to put an <i>ORGANIZED </i>catalog of your images at your
fingertips so you can find the <i>RIGHT </i>image at the right time.<br />
<br /><b><u>#2 You don’t understand Smart Previews (in the previous LR
version) </u></b>– I don’t have time to explain the beauty of Smart Previews in a
cloud-based environment if you don’t understand how they work. Do us both a favor and Google “Lightroom
Smart Previews” and learn the basics before my next blog post on the efficiency
of the new LR cloud-based construct.<br />
<br /><b><u>#3 You really don’t have a workflow, you just import ALL
your images, edit a FEW of them and delete NONE of them - </u></b>100GB of space is not
a lot, even for me, 10TB of space seems awful confining – but let’s be honest,
how many of you are seriously culling your images brutally and only keeping
your best shots? LR CC isn’t for the
photo wing of the National Archives – it is a tool for photographers to have
their current and best images at their fingertips in an organized fashion.<br />
<br />Okay, now that <i>ALL </i>of you hate me, well, except for that 5%
I was referring to earlier, go out and download the new LR CC. Don’t import your entire current collection –
just grab a memory card and say “Okay, I’ll import some images, and then what??”
Don’t make the new LR fit your current workflow – see what can be done in
real-time with the new tools and how they either assist or hinder your ability
to edit across multiple platforms seamlessly.<br /><br /><i>Here is a quick timeline of a workflow test tonight:</i><br />
<br /><u><b>0hr 00min</b> </u>– opened LR CC and selected a “card folder” of 999
RAW images from a D500 I shot at AirVenture in Oshkosh this year. Clicked Import<br />
<br /><b><u>0h 10min</u></b> – all 999 images had previews generated on my
Surface Pro 3, and they began uploading to the cloud<br />
<br /><b><u>0h 15min</u></b> – Transitioned to my Android tablet (Samsung Galaxy
Tab A) and selected an image of a TA-4J out of the first 50 previews that had
loaded to edit. No RAW images are on the cloud yet. Began using the tools and spent more time
trying to figure out where some had moved to than actually using them – MY GOD!
WHERE DID MY GLOBAL SHARPNESS GO?? Oh wait I didn’t really need that!<br />
<br /><b><u>0h 30min</u></b> – All 999 previews have loaded on my tablet while I’ve
been “editing” my image – or as other photographers would say “ruining” the
image. Save edits and put tablet down<br />
<br /><b><u>0h 31min</u></b> – Edited image appeared back in the gallery on my
Surface Pro 3.<br />
<br /><b><u>1h 00min</u></b> – fooled around with the local storage options
(yes, there is local storage in LR CC still) and checked out the other
preferences. About an hour in, 250 or so
of 999 images had loaded their RAW version to the cloud.<br />
<br /><b><u>1h 01min</u></b> – On the Surface, right clicked and selected “Save
to” and set the defaults to my custom Social Media JPEG export rules. Hit “Save”
and went to dinner… well, and also sparred on FB with other photographers. And made fun of Tony who just got his Nikon D850 in
the mail, two weeks after our last air to air event of the year.<i> Poor Bastard.</i><br />
<br /><b><u>2hrs 45 min </u></b>– Came back from dinner and all 999 RAW images
(21GB) had uploaded to the cloud.<br />
<br />
Anyway, enough of my poking fun at the REST of the
photographic community – my point is this – don’t be afraid to try the new LR
CC, it has a lot of features in common with the “old” LR CC. But understand
that if you just want to shoehorn the new version of LR CC into your current
workflow, you will be frustrated <i>and </i>angry. Take a step back, take a deep breath and then
jump into LR CC with both feet – try a new way of importing and managing images
and see if there is anything new that the software has to offer, if only you
adapt to it.<br />
<br /><b><i>And remember – don’t be a scared sheep!</i></b><br /><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-90453043381530706532017-05-11T06:20:00.000-07:002017-05-11T06:20:17.638-07:00Why Watermark?Over the past few months I’ve been blessed to have several individuals message me concerning “hot-button” issues that fellow photographers gave them conflicting advice about. I’ll tackle Watermarking first – as I’ve picked on several photographer friends of mine recently for their watermarking strategies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6cEO9_ThfD97NT00jkN3txM6YIO00nwJckU_ZQzpPHw5wm08wi3mYkkN1BDG2G5Xnw055kPmVZbf8qfFQUjg3hJ62yX9loUfhJxr-SteVfR49DaKL6KYwpxPG9RiAPPOG93QvvXD1Hg/s1600/Glover_150912_00707_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6cEO9_ThfD97NT00jkN3txM6YIO00nwJckU_ZQzpPHw5wm08wi3mYkkN1BDG2G5Xnw055kPmVZbf8qfFQUjg3hJ62yX9loUfhJxr-SteVfR49DaKL6KYwpxPG9RiAPPOG93QvvXD1Hg/s400/Glover_150912_00707_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CAF P-51 "Red Nose" at Sunset in Atlanta, GA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />One thing we all know about photographers – they are passionate about their beliefs regarding their photographic endeavors. I know that many will take issue with what I put forward here – but remember these are just <i>MY </i>techniques that satisfy <i>MY </i>aims for <i>MY </i>photography.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3>
Why Watermark?</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntjRDgVHC5Ml_aeiGvXUkjYDSVlRsKVpPvhSbnx35tHVqIpWnThSNghvCyJE8gW0KLh958RoYvesDhu5mJurf2MgcnQQkRYjTxXslCPyqLCDCzevIuv9WXNW5PzSptymCEkcDamz4hB0/s1600/Glover_150912_31822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntjRDgVHC5Ml_aeiGvXUkjYDSVlRsKVpPvhSbnx35tHVqIpWnThSNghvCyJE8gW0KLh958RoYvesDhu5mJurf2MgcnQQkRYjTxXslCPyqLCDCzevIuv9WXNW5PzSptymCEkcDamz4hB0/s320/Glover_150912_31822.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I watermark my images because I want them to be shared, re-posted and distributed around the internet by people I don’t know and will likely never meet, without needing any text to explain who made the image. I want the viewer to be able to find their way to my website which really is the center point of my online presence – linked to my social media presence and (sadly neglected) blog. <br />
<br />
But let that one sink in for a second -<br />
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<i> I WANT my images to travel further than I send them. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I don't want the watermark to interfere with the appreciation of the image, so I do <b><i>NOT </i></b>place it over the center of the photo, but rather off to one corner. I make it semi-transparent to minimize its impact, yet still make the text readable. Several photographers have asked why I am not concerned about people cutting off the watermark and re-using the image and I answer them with this:<br />
<br />
The off-center watermark allows me to set a trap for those who <i>WOULD </i>infringe on my images for personal gain.<br />
<br />
<h3>
It's a Traaaaap!</h3>
By placing the watermark along the edge of the image, I do invite nefarious photo-thieves to crop it out and remove my branding from the image for their own use. But should they do that, they have demonstrated their intent to infringe, which makes my legal case that much more watertight. It will still require me to 1) witness that the infringement has occurred and 2) decide it is worth my time or legal action to pursue. However in several cases where people have removed the watermark and re-posted the image it has been as simple as explaining that their actions have demonstrated an "intent to infringe" and the perpetrators have removed the image quickly.<br />
<h3>
There is No I in Team</h3>
The last reason I use the watermark style I do is to leave room to co-brand an image with an organization I am shooting for. This ties in to an issue for another day - the infamous "shooting for exposure", which is a broad umbrella for a lot of situations that photographers find themselves in.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QPGHaT4dQzlnr3KfbdG58Zy0LGfoxzqA7HNsSA04A4uEp5qNy6UBb5oS_svtKMV8JN6UE3hG8CSSVYowAPRJVdxkAzZJ_DQuVY1N820tr6LJLL8GFltv_HcA7lyAzywWpxoqaaDv3Vs/s1600/Glover_160405_08509_Web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QPGHaT4dQzlnr3KfbdG58Zy0LGfoxzqA7HNsSA04A4uEp5qNy6UBb5oS_svtKMV8JN6UE3hG8CSSVYowAPRJVdxkAzZJ_DQuVY1N820tr6LJLL8GFltv_HcA7lyAzywWpxoqaaDv3Vs/s400/Glover_160405_08509_Web.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee Lauderback returns to the flightline with an incentive flight passenger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The image above shows this in practice with Stallion 51. I spent part of a Sun N' Fun a few years ago working with them to capture images of their participateion in the fly-in, while still pursuing several personal projects during the event. Their target audience was social media, so it only took a few minutes to transfer the desired image from the camera via WiFi, give it a basic edit and add a co-branded watermark. What this provided me was a bit of free marketing as they posted the image within minutes of it being taken - and they got a "better-than-cellphone" quality image to generate interest in what they were doing at Sun N' Fun - in real-time.<br />
<br />
I hope this explains a bit of my rationale for why and how I watermark my images. I always appreciate feedback and discussion, so don't hold back - (not that anyone on the internet would <i>ANYWAY</i>!)<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-53099119290259606082017-05-10T14:44:00.000-07:002017-05-10T14:45:12.552-07:00Where has 2017 gone?It seems like just yesterday I was thinking - "it is now 2017, I need to put up a blog post or two." And now it is almost mid-May! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7DDDJuOt-PK96yqXbuE1zkGvhkTERI7DbAzlD72Kc47gVZ6cWTM67aduVvjQOe86a48nFqklcFePrpbQlylJxldfDUJHYsrnshROoFlhSp8wEUP4uunUb-IjBPL16ChuOilUv2IpHCI/s1600/Glover_planning_med.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7DDDJuOt-PK96yqXbuE1zkGvhkTERI7DbAzlD72Kc47gVZ6cWTM67aduVvjQOe86a48nFqklcFePrpbQlylJxldfDUJHYsrnshROoFlhSp8wEUP4uunUb-IjBPL16ChuOilUv2IpHCI/s400/Glover_planning_med.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
So let's get to it!<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> A lot has gone on these past few months, especially in the <a href="http://www.3gavm.com/" target="_blank">3G Aviation Media</a> photo workshops that <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/111911561121271030359" target="_blank">+Tony Granata</a> and I co-host. We've conducted four very successful air-to-air events in the past 8 months, with our fifth just around the corner. That event will be a quick photo workshop (air and ground) in Sanford, NC, just outside Raleigh. Once that is complete it is time for airshow season to begin in earnest and the workshops to take a back seat!<br />
<br />
Lots of people have been asking about our plans for the fall workshop series, and to be honest all that we have on the schedule is a return to the <a href="http://atlantawarbirdweekend.com/" target="_blank">Atlanta Warbird Weekend</a>. We'll be back for the fourth time, and will absolutely be hosting air-to-air and sunset photography events! Other than that, who knows what the fall schedule will hold... and even if I knew, I might not tell, just yet!<br />
<br />
If there are any aircraft collections or events that you want 3G to explore hosting a workshop at, just drop me a line here on the blog, or go over to our website (<a href="http://www.3gavm.com/">www.3gavm.com</a>) and leave us a comment. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-2997322213711089322016-10-07T11:32:00.000-07:002016-10-07T11:32:01.772-07:00Data Loss and Backups (Part 2) - Operational TestHaving evacuated from the South Carolina coast earlier in the week for Hurricane Matthew, I thought it would be appropriate to share some more about my data loss and backup strategies!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfR6MI02fu83jdm-tCtboUj4oDGA-_0NXgz2FxJLZqyIWmzeS8Pfg3YnKq5M9CJH9hXTsdtqWEObXEKSnNqZ1ZZkI_HcufUg-pRWnr4cFYZ3IZZQ2fbZHK7J5RxQjsVrBuw0weDYjwlA/s1600/154508W5_NL_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfR6MI02fu83jdm-tCtboUj4oDGA-_0NXgz2FxJLZqyIWmzeS8Pfg3YnKq5M9CJH9hXTsdtqWEObXEKSnNqZ1ZZkI_HcufUg-pRWnr4cFYZ3IZZQ2fbZHK7J5RxQjsVrBuw0weDYjwlA/s320/154508W5_NL_sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Courtesy of National Hurricane Center</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
If you read my earlier<a href="http://fox3photo.blogspot.com/2016/03/data-loss-and-backups-part-1-know-threat.html" target="_blank"> post about this subject,</a> you know that I have most of my data residing on an ioSafe Network Attached Storage (NAS) that is fire and water resistant. This NAS is still sitting in Beaufort, SC - which as you can see from the image above is squarely in the path of Hurricane Matthew. I figure this is a perfect opportunity to test how survivable this piece of kit really is!<br />
<br />
Have I lost my mind? Is the only thing between me and 100% data loss the fire and water rating of the NAS?<br />
<br />
<b><i> Not at all.</i></b><br />
<br />
So there is a second tier of defense to my plan. That server backs itself up nightly to Amazon's Glacier long-term storage solution. For about $16 a month, my 4TB of data are mirrored over to Amazon's US servers. Now this backup isn't like Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive. I can't go out there and pull down just one or even a handful of files. This storage is for when I have to rebuild the ENTIRE datastore on the NAS, as I would probably have to do after long-term salt-water immersion should the storm surge reach my NAS.<br />
<br />
But what if a customer calls TOMORROW and needs an image IMMEDIATELY while my house (and NAS) are in shambles? That is the third tier my defense plan. I rarely throw any working digital storage devices away. So once I've moved a SSD/HDD full of images over to the server, I put that drive aside in a stack that is another hedge against the hedge I've already put against my bet. So on Wednesday, as I was packing for an evacuation, all I had to do was grab my stack of two drives that were already bound together, and throw them in with the rest of the important files and items that were going to be evacuated. IF need be, I can point my Lightroom catalog at one of these drives to pull the RAW file in for a quick edit and export to satisfy the customer's requirements.<br />
<br />
Hopefully that explains a bit of my rationale for how I ensure continued access to my most important RAW files regardless of what the weather may bring! Feel free to ask any questions or throw spears at my plans in the comment section below. (And I may even answer some of them!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-25641187173221581582016-05-11T14:27:00.001-07:002016-05-11T14:44:33.487-07:00ISAP and sharing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I was going to write this, the third of my posts about ISAP, as a description of the personalities inside ISAP and its leadership.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUUEwDij9WLZkruvNQV55CQvUIUf6BhCyusuZk4Z-MU6WeR9tJkF5pOahH8wCbaxquMfo8BnjZeq9rah2antPjoUsqlsWL40KSsPJDxOZLDhIiwSGK6aALx6gmMO4Bsh0q2UsntexU5Y/s1600/Glover_160218_33599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUUEwDij9WLZkruvNQV55CQvUIUf6BhCyusuZk4Z-MU6WeR9tJkF5pOahH8wCbaxquMfo8BnjZeq9rah2antPjoUsqlsWL40KSsPJDxOZLDhIiwSGK6aALx6gmMO4Bsh0q2UsntexU5Y/s320/Glover_160218_33599.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Instead I think I’ll pontificate on one of the biggest (and most disconcerting) mis-perceptions in the aviation photography world:<br />
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<div>
<i><b>To share with the members at an ISAP symposium is directly undermining your ability to profit from your aviation photography skills or the contacts you have made in the industry.</b></i></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxyZmwyb6IK83Wkoq50Kvayg7w9uksttoNaeBhPZsjIw1bhiECmJFyPl01teHMxAnWNl5gXvezXzBPGs0DHaFGg10lPacerDjk_ASev6YtdDXpkz3AgABdLlA-wlnPAc3nLujeVvyxwg/s1600/WTF_Dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxyZmwyb6IK83Wkoq50Kvayg7w9uksttoNaeBhPZsjIw1bhiECmJFyPl01teHMxAnWNl5gXvezXzBPGs0DHaFGg10lPacerDjk_ASev6YtdDXpkz3AgABdLlA-wlnPAc3nLujeVvyxwg/s320/WTF_Dog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So before we go much further let me provide two warnings here – </div>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>In the article that follows, there is profanity. If it offends you, please read no fucking further. I’m sorry, I am a retired United States Marine, and we use profanity like an editor uses punctuation.</li>
<li>If your feelings are easily hurt, you may want to unfriend me after you find yourself as an anonymous example used in this blog post. If you do, then please go fuck off. Nobody knows it is you, and while I truly appreciate you sharing your thoughts and feelings, if you are going to react in this manner then you don’t understand that it is only by us discussing issues (passionately) that we will be able to build the organization we <i>need</i> as aviation photographers.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Now for the rest of you who have had to endure my tirades about other photographers, several major camera manufacturers and the unsanctioned lineage of several pilots I have flown with, here goes - </div>
</div>
<div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">I can’t share all of my secrets!</span></h2>
</div>
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<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHQpVJtNW51GwTQP8Doa85B4thUET-lWX_9kJGAvJhW69BEo_Ec5Q2lHvZXFHcy3ew8jtfMQYQJTpL0k9kr9Sbe0oCwMrIR28DdmLrZ9bHvnpruOG_mnrzoJRlNtjXrkYVIB1qHl8D-I/s1600/Glover_131013_6748_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHQpVJtNW51GwTQP8Doa85B4thUET-lWX_9kJGAvJhW69BEo_Ec5Q2lHvZXFHcy3ew8jtfMQYQJTpL0k9kr9Sbe0oCwMrIR28DdmLrZ9bHvnpruOG_mnrzoJRlNtjXrkYVIB1qHl8D-I/s400/Glover_131013_6748_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony Granata works with an aviation photographer at the Great Georgia Airshow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the funniest (<i>at least to me</i>) reasons for people to not participate in ISAP is best stated by the post of an up-and-coming aviation photographer who said to me:<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
“are you going to stand in front of 300 people and tell them all how to take your limited business?”<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
My response was simple and do the point –<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
“Fuck man, if plumbers acted the way we do then all our shitters would be overflowing!”<br />
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My point is this - Other industries recognize the need to bring in apprentices and to teach the next generation. You have to be vulnerable enough to teach your techniques so that the industry as a whole gets smarter and more capable.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Why the heck do we as photographers think any differently?</div>
</div>
<div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">I can’t share my contacts!</span></h2>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F94YWmLKFkOzEKoc9SmE8GeSzNxfUfLA_LLRND_0soCp1ycpHEwxbtcJHcy2mTWeCsEiEsvTQMqaudjLtWcXEe3B1v9wVdAu5GdODB37aaqP53EekZpwMVjO7A9Wh1I6mVdL0Rit5Pg/s1600/Glover_150912_00688_1med.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F94YWmLKFkOzEKoc9SmE8GeSzNxfUfLA_LLRND_0soCp1ycpHEwxbtcJHcy2mTWeCsEiEsvTQMqaudjLtWcXEe3B1v9wVdAu5GdODB37aaqP53EekZpwMVjO7A9Wh1I6mVdL0Rit5Pg/s400/Glover_150912_00688_1med.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photographers at the 3G Aviation Media workshop at AWW 2015</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is usually one of the primary excuses I hear from fellow aviation photographers when they are asked to host a photography event. If you are such a terrible photographer that your clients and contacts are going to ditch you immediately when you host a gathering of photographers, by all means hold your cards close! But I’m pretty sure that most of you have built the client-photographer relationship over years of delivering superior results, and your real fear is that the “unwashed masses” will screw it up for you.<br />
<br />
<i> And that is a valid concern, at least where some ISAP members are concerned.</i><br />
<br />
But don’t your clients host gatherings of schoolkids who want to learn about aviation first-hand?<br />
<br />
Isn’t there a chance some kid will “screw it up” for everyone? Sure there is, but most of the aviation venues are willing to tolerate this risk to bring a firsthand knowledge of aviation to the next generation.<br />
<br />
Why is it any different when dealing with the next generation of aviation photographers?<br />
<br />
Now let me change my focus from the “learned elite” to the so-called “unwashed masses”.<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Stop being such an access whore</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXeztdS_q_AI4X4-I0ws3ZWFg9v6ZVCgW7ODzubXyfgpxRC4vgBA0r-wL-IYhtU99PLyjD73w3vrzodl1DNP2H9K-_B4oXMocObXMsbhedUD2OZ2dNm-KfomjgVUF8PNt1KEnms2l0Vb0/s1600/Glover_160218_33571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXeztdS_q_AI4X4-I0ws3ZWFg9v6ZVCgW7ODzubXyfgpxRC4vgBA0r-wL-IYhtU99PLyjD73w3vrzodl1DNP2H9K-_B4oXMocObXMsbhedUD2OZ2dNm-KfomjgVUF8PNt1KEnms2l0Vb0/s320/Glover_160218_33571.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He isn't an access whore, but I'll use him anyway!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just like the old sign “Your momma ain’t here to clean up after you”, there should be an ISAP equivalent – “ISAP ain’t here to provide you access!” <br />
<br />
In my perception there is a big disconnect with individuals that somehow assume a professional organization exists to provide access to subjects that might otherwise be out of reach to individual members. ASPE does not provide its members with a list of toilets that need plunging, do they? (For those of you NOT in the know, ASPE is the American Society of Plumbing Engineers, and their website can be found here <a href="https://www.aspe.org/">https://www.aspe.org</a> )<br />
<br />
From discussions with several long-time ISAP members, the 2010 Symposium with a field trip to Nellis AFB was a watershed moment. Descriptions such as “picture 100-150 6-year-olds running around an active flightline” do not paint a favorable image of ISAP’s conduct at Nellis. These same members lay the blame at the feet of the individuals who joined ISAP specifically to attend the Nellis trip - “They weren’t members, they just paid to play”<br />
<br />
<i><b>In situations like these, everyone loses. </b></i><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Establishing the ground rules</span></h2>
<div>
When it comes to discussions about sharing techniques and access to unique aviation subjects, both sides of the equation need to understand and agree upon the ground rules.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcTPsYzw9MM-7MmZFteG3dJx-IhIkF8XRHh4yN8YaFfknBoPl-wiz3jEHRNLX0bknExoFYoNNnOgXX4T74Jp1l_IlWm5JmrTNELNzp9w9OLTC3wnrztVyJ5C5l1ZR7wcPzkrS8G1gwNM/s1600/Glover_160218_06413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcTPsYzw9MM-7MmZFteG3dJx-IhIkF8XRHh4yN8YaFfknBoPl-wiz3jEHRNLX0bknExoFYoNNnOgXX4T74Jp1l_IlWm5JmrTNELNzp9w9OLTC3wnrztVyJ5C5l1ZR7wcPzkrS8G1gwNM/s320/Glover_160218_06413.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Centro PAO, Kris Haugh lays down the rules</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
As the one enjoying access, you should be walking on eggshells. Your actions directly reflect on your sponsor, and they have likely put a great deal of their photographic reputation on the line to provide you with an opportunity that you could not arrange for yourself. Did you get that last part? If not let me say it again – <i>That you COULD NOT arrange for yourself</i>. If you disagree with me, then why are you at the event? Why didn’t you arrange your own exclusive shoot?</div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Guess what, there is no shame in needing someone to provide access. Not many of us can show up, unannounced at an aviation venue, and cause them to drop what they are doing and roll out the “red carpet” for us. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you are the one arranging the access you absolutely MUST pre-brief your hosts to understand that the people you are sponsoring ARE NOT YOU. I know that sounds a bit egotistical, but it is an important distinction. You are trying assist other photographers that might not otherwise get access to the facility, and your hosts must understand the risks. At the end of the day, do people blame the teachers for the student who wipes their boogers on the warbird’s windscreen? I certainly hope not.</div>
</div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Build relationships, not a portfolio</span></h2>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvJP147w8sOceQmynC2UcPRD8JnhSC7EZpvVbPI9ose3WsKcdldt5AwPW9xMMMg67Y0_9ADa1UVHKDn1Kec9WlEng6dEtWVHIPlk5ONbMLAauKmmfixEcprJaRFH98TIVzs1hQjzZLNc/s1600/Glover_160218_33279.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvJP147w8sOceQmynC2UcPRD8JnhSC7EZpvVbPI9ose3WsKcdldt5AwPW9xMMMg67Y0_9ADa1UVHKDn1Kec9WlEng6dEtWVHIPlk5ONbMLAauKmmfixEcprJaRFH98TIVzs1hQjzZLNc/s400/Glover_160218_33279.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott Germain advises fellow ISAP member Craig Swancy about his burrito choice </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Let me leave you with two thoughts in summary:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><b><i>Do no harm</i></b> – Whether you are the access provider or the guest, commit to ensure everyone benefits from the experience. If that means you sacrifice the “perfect setup” as the guest photographer, or miss a chance to be in the “front row” as the host, you have to be willing to do so in order to increase the overall level of photographic execution for ISAP members at the event. In the end, a little humility goes a LONG way at group photoshoots.</li>
<li><b><i>Be vulnerable</i></b> – This might be tough for a lot of the established photographers in the group, but it is essential to the continued improvement of the aviation photography community. If the experienced professionals are not prepared to teach many of their techniques to the up-and-coming generations, we condemn them to learning the same way we must have… by personal failure. This is at BEST an arrogant way of making the newcomers “earn their chops”, and at WORST a dangerous opportunity for them to risk life and limb on an experience we could have saved them from. </li>
</ol>
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-69203383472685803082016-04-25T17:29:00.001-07:002016-04-25T17:29:06.779-07:00ISAP and friendships When I posted my thoughts about possibly leaving ISAP, I thought I knew the response it would bring.<br />
<br />
<i>I was wrong.</i><br />
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First, I was very surprised by the former ISAP members who I had never met that contacted me to relate some of their experiences and issues with ISAP. Many related a feeling of being isolated, shut out and not welcomed into the organization by a clique of people “at the top”. <br />
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Second, I was disappointed and quite frankly saddened by the series of responses I received from former ISAP members who said that they saw no value in the organization in its past or current form.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_UiUxFL1WDhYs8BxTzl6qVBCMztpXPvb4AK14PtHm725qiaExvjDxtieMBogVmX64veaWvjWB-TehG8-_oEEd6gmNniSYxoNePoJCgHrubgpXAfWv4WkbbHEixorRL8jxOE0M_Q8pBR4/s1600/Glover_160218_33484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_UiUxFL1WDhYs8BxTzl6qVBCMztpXPvb4AK14PtHm725qiaExvjDxtieMBogVmX64veaWvjWB-TehG8-_oEEd6gmNniSYxoNePoJCgHrubgpXAfWv4WkbbHEixorRL8jxOE0M_Q8pBR4/s320/Glover_160218_33484.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The reasons ranged from the cynical to the absurd, and cover such a wide range of ideas and perceptions that I’ll have to save those for yet another post.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
So back to the first group of responses. The “shut-outs”.<br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Organizational culture</span></h2>
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Sure, I could give in and simply relate the stories of how these people felt that a clique of photographers who were established names in the business refused to acknowledge their proposals, treated them like underlings, and generally ignored them at ISAP gatherings. I could rail against the “establishment” of the aviation photography “industry”, and the “elite” of ISAP who should have welcomed these fellow photographers as friends.</div>
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<b><i> But that is the easy way out.</i></b></div>
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Here are the realities:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi131OClMa6Ya3rHFxxdNklxr5EgBhn4Xn74YhOJtSjyCUd5jE99ZM5ULNRit3WaxTfsbQJxL9QQk-Fsgv0XGUGpzvXZAEg5xJ5isotO2BcT3145oQABP-3tyhuF-8UYdGl5zA5efzMdWA/s1600/Glover_160218_33288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi131OClMa6Ya3rHFxxdNklxr5EgBhn4Xn74YhOJtSjyCUd5jE99ZM5ULNRit3WaxTfsbQJxL9QQk-Fsgv0XGUGpzvXZAEg5xJ5isotO2BcT3145oQABP-3tyhuF-8UYdGl5zA5efzMdWA/s320/Glover_160218_33288.jpg" width="320" /></a> Each of us has different skill levels. Even among individuals who shoot with the primary goal of selling their images either editorially or as fine art.</div>
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Each of us has different personalities. Not all of them mesh well.</div>
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Each of us has different photographic interests inside the already narrow field of aviation photography.</div>
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We are not going to naturally fit together as a social group and become fast friends.<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Professional friendships</span></h2>
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In my case, I have the unfair advantage of being a Retired
Marine, which means that every 2 to 3 years I was ripped out of the comfort
zone I was in, placed in another unit, sometimes with very little in common
with my peers, and expected to thrive. I
learned early on that there would always be a few uncomfortable weeks or months
at a new duty station, as I tried to build my new network of friends while
balancing the requirements of work and family.
The toughest of these experiences were when I would report to a new unit
and then be physically separated from that unit to attend schools or
qualifications courses required for my new job.
When I would call back to my unit, I would feel like I was relating to
absolute strangers, as I had yet to really form any bonds with them and was
still the outsider and the “new guy”. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I think a similar problem has developed inside ISAP. Most people don’t build deep and lasting
friendships from once-a-year meetings where a few minutes of pleasantries are
exchanged over lunch or at the bar. To
build these professional friendships requires interaction during the time in
between. And not just “Hey, can I fly
with you at Oshkosh?” </div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Personal experiences in ISAP</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll pick on Jim Koepnick a bit here. Even 4 years after first meeting him, there are times I feel like he’s staring at me as if to say: “who are you, again?” (He actually isn’t but it <i>feels </i>that way!) In his defense, since the first time we met, I’ve left the Marine Corps, grown my hair longer, grown a goatee, and put on a few pounds. But over those 4 years, we’ve talked several times on Facebook or via email, and a few times by phone. Because of our infrequent contact, I shouldn’t expect him to welcome me as a long-lost friend when I see him next. So I still walk up, smile, extend my hand, and re-introducing myself, at least until such a time as he sees me and says “Hey, Doug! What have you been up to?”</div>
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That is what professionals do as the “new guy”.</div>
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Professionals also give people their space. More than once I’ve walked up to re-connect with another photographer who I haven’t seen in years. We’ll exchange greetings and if the usual questions of new projects or subjects is followed by an uncomfortable moment of silence, I’ll move along. Often times the events that we meet up at (airshows, fly-ins and other aviation gatherings) are a “working event”, and as a result the time for socializing may be at a premium. Or maybe they just don’t like the 3G workshop series, my opinions on ISAP, or my personality. None of those things make me any less of a photographer, or any less of a member of ISAP. Not all of us are going to enjoy each other’s company all of the time!</div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Moving forward</span></h2>
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So what is the point of my discussing this? I truly think that ISAP has lost a significant number of members because it failed to find a way to make their membership in the organization relevant. If a new member felt it difficult to interact with established photographers at the symposium, and there was no interaction from the organizational hierarchy either, then it is no wonder they went elsewhere, and took their membership dues with them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUUEwDij9WLZkruvNQV55CQvUIUf6BhCyusuZk4Z-MU6WeR9tJkF5pOahH8wCbaxquMfo8BnjZeq9rah2antPjoUsqlsWL40KSsPJDxOZLDhIiwSGK6aALx6gmMO4Bsh0q2UsntexU5Y/s1600/Glover_160218_33599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUUEwDij9WLZkruvNQV55CQvUIUf6BhCyusuZk4Z-MU6WeR9tJkF5pOahH8wCbaxquMfo8BnjZeq9rah2antPjoUsqlsWL40KSsPJDxOZLDhIiwSGK6aALx6gmMO4Bsh0q2UsntexU5Y/s320/Glover_160218_33599.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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How do professional organizations with charters similar to ISAP’s retain these new members? They have sponsors. In many of these organizations, you have to be sponsored to join, regardless of your background, portfolio, or qualifications. The cynics among us would say that is done in order to keep out those that “do not fit in”, but I’ll take a more optimistic view. These organizations benefit from that sponsor (who is already known to the organization) being that direct link between the “establishment” and the “newbies”. They are there to readily answer the barrage of questions that each new member has, and they provide the organization’s leadership a much smaller audience to canvas for new ideas, recommendations and to help with the organization’s messaging.</div>
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<i><b>Here is my challenge to ISAP:</b></i></div>
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Find a membership coordinator (<i>and retain them for more than a few months</i>). Empower this person to build the internal network of the organization starting from the Board of directors to the newest members. As an organization, come to grips with who is connected to who in the “business” of aviation photography. If there are “disconnected” members, find more experienced ones to sponsor them. Don’t stop asking, be persistent until each member is linked to another, whether geographically, experientially, or by photographic interest.</div>
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<i>And if you have the courage to do so, require sponsorship for new members entering ISAP.</i></div>
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But I don’t imagine you will, as the Board of directors has shied away from many tough decisions over the past several years, leaving the President, Larry Grace, to make unilateral decisions that have often had the opposite effect to what was desired. But that too, is the subject of another post.</div>
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<i>(It seems I have my blogging work cut out for me, doesn’t it?)</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-23405130434874680832016-04-22T09:24:00.002-07:002016-04-22T09:24:46.662-07:00Nikon D500 Anticipation<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpedYU0EnEgCkNY_WE4v80zQCOi5M46mIFmgKWCqszP5nUl-ihuvgYxPAGSQ1d_1epF_T_164GBZO0SniScz0BRbJESwTjI3OlyvaUggn56iI8MI1YFb5EsANkk1vrlDWu75LzjVrpEgQ/s1600/NikonD500_left.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpedYU0EnEgCkNY_WE4v80zQCOi5M46mIFmgKWCqszP5nUl-ihuvgYxPAGSQ1d_1epF_T_164GBZO0SniScz0BRbJESwTjI3OlyvaUggn56iI8MI1YFb5EsANkk1vrlDWu75LzjVrpEgQ/s320/NikonD500_left.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nikon D500 DSLR</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> In
a <i>blatant</i> violation of my advice to photographers at the start of the year
(<a href="http://fox3photo.blogspot.com/2016/01/five-tips-for-2016.html" target="_blank">Five Tips for 2016</a>), </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;">I pre-ordered the Nikon D500 and the 16-80mm lens. According to <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/" target="_blank">B&H</a>, my D500 bundle is working its way to me and should arrive early next week. The timing of this should work out well, as my poor Sigma 17-70 air to air lens is getting pretty beat up and needs to go in for a reconditioning. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"> What am I most excited about? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"> Well, for starters it is <b>NOT</b> the great burst capability of the camera. That will be very cool, and undoubtedly valuable when shooting air to air with military aircraft</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREmATaEEGV559_Ue6f2WyLQybTC05uk6eXVPaEuP-OfGA7JE-ihExec5xIn_ILNcc7fpfniUUXmvAr0l5lH7USwctQiSaO5dvHQRJz9RwdZk5Gy0Z6pHNvAgqwzsSvsw_h7TaGAQ4gFM/s1600/Glover_140418_15437_1v2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREmATaEEGV559_Ue6f2WyLQybTC05uk6eXVPaEuP-OfGA7JE-ihExec5xIn_ILNcc7fpfniUUXmvAr0l5lH7USwctQiSaO5dvHQRJz9RwdZk5Gy0Z6pHNvAgqwzsSvsw_h7TaGAQ4gFM/s400/Glover_140418_15437_1v2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"> Nor am I going crazy over the wireless image transfer. (I am a <b>HUGE</b> fan of the wireless transfer, and have integrated it into my on-site workflow.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"> Does the new Radio Frequency (RF) Speedlight control keep me up at night with anticipation? Nope! (Although I will admit that as soon as I can budget an SB-5000 into the gear bag, or get an NPS loaner, I’ll start playing with it.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"> Believe it or not, it is the sensor that excites me the most on this camera. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"> To put it in the words of my friend and fellow aviation photographer Jose’ “Fuji” Ramos – “This thing makes it <i>almost</i> too easy”. Now, we have all had “those people” walk up to us as we’re sitting on the flightline (or at a waterfall, or wedding) – they take one look at our equipment and say, “Oh yeah, your photographs must be awesome, just look at all your gear, right?” So, I do know that a new sensor will not turn my out of focus, poorly-composed images into award winners. But what I do know is that the shots I have seen coming out of the pre-production models have been nothing short of beautiful. To put it in perspective, they appear to be the same “generational” leap as from the D7100 to the D7200. (which I still credit to the lack of a low-pass filter and the EXPEED 4 engine.) Why am I so willing to give up 3.3 megapixels in my move to the D500? Because after looking at images side-by-side, the difference is staggering. Do I have any of these images to compare, yet? Certainly not, but I’ll be posting them here (and on Facebook) just so all of you pixel-peepers can see the difference first-hand.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"> For those of you who just have to compare specifications and numbers, Nikon has given you the following DX-specific document to help put the D500 side by side with the D7200 and the previous DX flagship model, the D300s.</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96RZZo-YRYNeYvAi9beHK4x3L-8go_p7JUL6JpQM9h_9xTbwyw==/PDF/D500_Comparison_Sheet.pdf" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLD5bnXSx_-iqX_oIruHsdat3MchIaBYZ4zNl2hXMBHb0Qux4Dw2T6ektMDXtDU42o3nlIemPrR_4eGGryt0kIpDuN4Chf0_b4tHhyphenhyphenBo8BpORZwrpAGiLgWVRQfqbFWR2Bbijfbe-bBg/s320/nikond500comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nikon's comparison between DX models (links to Nikon USA site)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;">Is anyone else anxiously awaiting the arrival of their D500? If so, what features interest you the most?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 15.6933px;"><br /></span></span>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-42477355060455759182016-04-06T07:48:00.000-07:002017-05-10T18:07:26.995-07:00Why I am considering leaving ISAP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Now is the time for change</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcb5by_VXd055eSd2ygT9kOzjyIJ-XM08XW94z2S3203t6iFGOfwACB84f7r7QNDKI7w1oBm3cgTSvpnOX1_poLhTRv6Z8JkcLKMZvqpNI5sYm-t0NVgOeduhajHZxkCwpP-Gu8YFvIw/s1600/Glover_160218_33333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcb5by_VXd055eSd2ygT9kOzjyIJ-XM08XW94z2S3203t6iFGOfwACB84f7r7QNDKI7w1oBm3cgTSvpnOX1_poLhTRv6Z8JkcLKMZvqpNI5sYm-t0NVgOeduhajHZxkCwpP-Gu8YFvIw/s400/Glover_160218_33333.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I had a great time at the El Centro Photocall with the members of the <a href="http://aviationphoto.org/" target="_blank">International Society for Aviation Photography (ISAP)</a>. It was a bittersweet event for me, as I had intentionally distanced myself from ISAP and its events after my short stint on the staff in 2012-2013. I only attended parts of the Tampa Symposium, with my convenient excuse of “it conflicts with my flying at SUN-n-FUN.” As I remembered, there are some <i>great</i> people in ISAP, and there are always new, eager members who want to soak up as much as they can about aviation photography. But sadly, it was also a reminder of all that is wrong with the organization.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Issue and Inaction</b></span><br />
<br />
With ISAP, the annual Symposium was something to look forward to as an opportunity to renew friendships and spend time concentrating on aviation photography, (instead of the constant grind of the business end of photography!) However, the President of the Board, Larry Grace, informed me at El Centro, that the “old Symposium model is dead.” This is unfortunate. To move away from this model is a critical misunderstanding of the market and the core membership of ISAP. It seems like the difficulty of providing aviation access to a hundred or more photographers has been what “killed” the model in Larry’s mind. In my opinion, this is a red herring as many large gatherings have this problem, but continue to thrive and work through it. But it does require creativity, time and effort on the part of the organizers, which leads me to my next point:<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_bOsua4b6DNoq5yzWVP8clqb9LULF6u42kd0Ipue8JyksFqrYmpOBQup5kIXxnZHPZ5uv9TVyzOasXqI870670nzdWx2qxzATjSDBEmpuE5gXdzbVwzKE9coodTp2k3QrHGyzqFzkjI/s1600/Glover_160219_33921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_bOsua4b6DNoq5yzWVP8clqb9LULF6u42kd0Ipue8JyksFqrYmpOBQup5kIXxnZHPZ5uv9TVyzOasXqI870670nzdWx2qxzATjSDBEmpuE5gXdzbVwzKE9coodTp2k3QrHGyzqFzkjI/s320/Glover_160219_33921.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catching Larry with his "backup" camera!</td></tr>
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For the last several years it seems that there are many missed opportunities for ISAP. My perception is that ISAP is currently a one-man-band who just cannot keep up with the workload, nor has the spare capacity to address the fine details of everything that he wants ISAP to participate in. Running an international organization and arranging the logistics of events are often mutually exclusive, and it shows in late-notice communication of upcoming events, and missing details in the planning and execution of those events. This nowhere more obvious than in our ISAP website that often feels like a dead-end of the internet, with a forum that is quieter than a cemetery.<br />
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Where this all points to is a Board of Directors who are not shouldering the workload, and a staff that is non-existent.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ISAP Board of Directors and Staff</b></span></div>
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While this may seem like two issues here, I believe they result from the same core problem.</div>
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If any one of the rank and file members was asked when they last interacted with a member from the Board of Directors (other than Larry), one would be lucky to find if they had ever done so. For years, members have talked about how the board seems to be absent from Facebook or any of the online interaction of the organization. </div>
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Along with this, why is the President of the Board the person running the social media presence for the organization and the chief organizer of events? Do the other members of the Board have any responsibilities? I know from my past service as a staff member that Bonnie does a tremendous job as the Treasurer, but a lack of communication from the board keeps the membership in the dark about the good work she does to keep the organization afloat financially.</div>
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An additional question has to be asked as to why ISAP can’t seem to keep members on the staff for more than 6 months or so. I will leave this issue for others to discuss and share their experiences as staff members with ISAP. But at the end of the day I will connect the dots a bit and say that I think the working environment amongst the Board of Directors and the tone set by the President of the Board directly drives both issues described above.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What is still good with ISAP</b></span></div>
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There is a lot that is still good about the organization, and that is why the word “considering” is in the title of this post!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MsUkI1NubWmWqP-2lINn48bisa52xD-Rp8sSUrS0WUkAEcGVkOB3F6_F9_N3DpFQRMPesqshENNYH2KG4H-Wl8nAPFC10Vyr6WzPX7DRk5GQbwvDMk_BABkKZk1Sryx1HSI_gv-rMuk/s1600/Glover_160218_33288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MsUkI1NubWmWqP-2lINn48bisa52xD-Rp8sSUrS0WUkAEcGVkOB3F6_F9_N3DpFQRMPesqshENNYH2KG4H-Wl8nAPFC10Vyr6WzPX7DRk5GQbwvDMk_BABkKZk1Sryx1HSI_gv-rMuk/s320/Glover_160218_33288.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISAP's strength is its members</td></tr>
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<b>First</b> and foremost are the members – they are great people and photographers with a variety of skill levels. I enjoy shooting alongside them and learn something every time we gather.</div>
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<b>Second</b>, the ISnAP magazine –ISnAP is still a great resource as both a starting point for photographers, and as a source of inspiration and learning for members of all levels. Kevin Hong does an incredible job editing ISnAP!</div>
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<i>But I am not sure if the “goods” outweigh the “bads” enough to keep me paying my dues to ISAP after this year.</i></div>
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If you agree that there are things that need to be remedied with ISAP as an organization, you can:</div>
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<li>Make our voices known by sending emails to the following people on the Board:</li>
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<li>Jim Wilson</li>
<li>Bonnie Kratz</li>
<li>George Kounis</li>
<li>Mike Collins</li>
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<li>But here are some things to remember:</li>
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<li>Realize these emails may not be received favorably, as was the case with Emmanuel Canaan’s complaint to the Board last year regarding the conduct of the President.</li>
<li>You will have to correspond with them directly. If you send your comments to the ISAP Board account on Facebook, or to the ISAP email addresses, Larry will control the discussion. He has done it before.</li>
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<li>Discuss it on Social Media – Be professional but be direct with your opinions. Be prepared to be retaliated against as has happened in the past. Posts are deleted and people are removed from private groups as a result of what they say.</li>
<li>Since the bylaws do not allow for a membership vote of confidence in the Board of Directors, if you must vote, vote with your feet. I can’t tell any of you that you must stay to patiently await where the organization will go this year. Even I am torn about my decision to stay or go.</li>
<li>If you are having fun and ISAP is meeting your needs, then<b> IGNORE THIS POST</b>, but don’t discount the opinions, perceptions and feelings of fellow ISAP members who are not satisfied with where ISAP is going.</li>
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I believe that ISAP can be an incredible organization again, I just have no confidence that the current leadership can deliver on any of their ideas or proposals. I don’t say this out of personal bitterness, but rather from experience watching the dysfunction of the Board of Directors first hand while on the staff. Hearing the good ideas firsthand from Larry while shooting at El Centro gave me a moment of hope, until he agreed with my comment of “I know how this ends, Larry. You and I carrying the entire load, together, again.” </div>
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I cannot and will not be a part of such an endeavor again. ISAP members are always welcome at 3G Aviation Media events, and the ISAP discount will still be offered. But as for me, I will have to think long and hard about my personal participation with the organization. I do have several ideas of how ISAP can begin this turnaround, but those are for another post.</div>
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<i>Do you agree or think that ISAP should change? Leave me a comment below!</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-29109957863875036682016-04-01T05:40:00.000-07:002016-04-01T05:44:26.962-07:00El Centro - Naval Aviation up close and personal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been witness to several El Centro Photocalls during my life. As a former F/A-18 Weapons Systems Officer for the U.S. Marine Corps, I had watched the “herd of photographers” deploying from the vans near the LSO shack many times. With an opportunity to request a spot on the other side of the lens, I jumped at it in order to experience the El Centro Photocall I had so often witnessed.<br />
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<a name='more'></a> Unlike others who may prefer to tell the story of the photocall in a chronological order, I’ll put it together for you in the perspective of how to prepare for each of the parts of the experience: Equipment, Planning, and Execution<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Equipment</span></b></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(Stop bringing the kitchen sink)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgVoFTUYVorzRE9hh5dnMNSAqTqoALYIFZ47DMLRTDSbXUfuTyAv1gMNrb_H6eOAsvZOKxmBxHtiMo7NzOSEA_I1PxWYV5_LaZVfwS98XNCqgMryf1ys7heOuLPqH6SSaKPel9yQML68/s1600/Glover_160218_06962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgVoFTUYVorzRE9hh5dnMNSAqTqoALYIFZ47DMLRTDSbXUfuTyAv1gMNrb_H6eOAsvZOKxmBxHtiMo7NzOSEA_I1PxWYV5_LaZVfwS98XNCqgMryf1ys7heOuLPqH6SSaKPel9yQML68/s320/Glover_160218_06962.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USN T-45 departs on a bombing mission</td></tr>
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The environment at El Centro is austere and unforgiving. Dust, cracked pavement and dirt “infields” all drive how I brought my gear to the photocall. It is tempting to bring a lot of equipment along, either in a rolling bag or in several bags. Don’t do it. There is very little smooth pavement to roll along once you are out by the runway, and you and your camera bag are going to get dirty. Get over it. If you are afraid of marring the finish on a camera or getting a bag dusty and dirty, then studio photography may be better for you. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjARsTBfOBBJ1rkCbCWHPUO5oP7lY9Oew93i3ixDZkD14reOzKAqmdDFJQNfDh_yELa6wn64cBr1awwILOtL0AKMpKlydR-QJ4g4elcbezqtxwoJaLGefLVSXtz7EuJ8HaRMDg5bGkkpY/s1600/versipack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjARsTBfOBBJ1rkCbCWHPUO5oP7lY9Oew93i3ixDZkD14reOzKAqmdDFJQNfDh_yELa6wn64cBr1awwILOtL0AKMpKlydR-QJ4g4elcbezqtxwoJaLGefLVSXtz7EuJ8HaRMDg5bGkkpY/s200/versipack.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack </td></tr>
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To fit this environment, I brought two bodies (Nikon D7200 and D7100), and only two lenses. (we’ll talk lens selection in a bit). My bag was a <a href="http://www.maxpedition.com/store/pc/Jumbo-Versipack-40p6.htm">Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack</a>. It is a shoulder bag that I can sling across my body that also provides a secure attaching point for long lenses.</div>
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Also the constant action to prevent FOD meant that I marked ANYTHING that could fall off or out of my camera with hi-vis color stickers or white gaffer tape. Positive control of lens caps, batteries and lens filters had to be maintained at all times.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Planning</span></b></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(A Plan… I suggest you have one!)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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I do operate at an unfair advantage here. As I was joking with several veteran photographers when four T-45 Goshawks flew overhead and none of our small group pointed a lens skyward – “I’ve already got plenty of crappy photos of those!” Of course we all laughed as those of us who have frequented El Centro have shot and discarded countless images that would be similar to the ones I was about to take. So what was my plan? What was my purpose? It was simple and had 2 parts. </div>
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<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>First, document the ISAP participation in the photocall. </b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Second, nail the shots at the “Golden Hour”</b></span></li>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(Carry out that plan!)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISAP Member Jeff Krueger captures the Blue Angels pass</td></tr>
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To capture the images of the ISAP photographers in action, I brought a Sigma 17-70 OS that was mounted onto the D7100. This lens allowed me to shoot wide enough to put both the photographers and their subject aircraft into the image. As is always the tough part capturing photographers at work, there would be a lot of photos without people’s faces, but creative composition such as the Blue Angel taxi photo above allowed me to at least get a side perspective with aircraft subjects. (just not the aircraft the ISAP lenses were pointed at!)<br />
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To get up close and personal with the aircraft, I brought along the Nikon AF-S 80-400mm VR. This lens allowed me to crop in close on the aircraft cockpit and reach out to grab events that happen away from the photographer’s box by the LSO shack. The angles and lighting of aircraft turning final, or rolling out well beyond the LSO shack are images that you just won’t be able to get without the longer reach of a long lens, or the lens-DX sensor combo.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C-2 Greyhound performing touch-and-goes at sunset</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>The other important thing I did during my time at the LSO shack is MOVE! There are several photographers who “drop anchor” and try to grab that “one spot” that they think is best. I chose to keep on the move, vary my angle with the arriving and departing aircraft all while constantly evaluating my images on the camera LCD. Was I looking for the perfect shot? No, rather I was evaluating what angle of the aircraft I was able to capture and whether THAT told the story, even if I missed the shot. (which happened more often than I’d like to admit, usually due to bad panning!) There is always a lot going on around the airfield at El Centro, and even when you are watching aircraft on the runway, odds are, you might be mission some action on the taxiway, or in the break, overhead.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">EA-18G Growler conducting touch and goes at NAF El Centro</td></tr>
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While I racked up over 2200 images in the short 5 hour span, every photo shot before the Golden Hour was in practice for that small window of time when light, aircraft approach patterns and sky color would all combine to produce imagery that just screams “El Centro”! By the time the sun was setting and the sky took on that gorgeous desert color, I felt warmed up for panning, I knew what spots worked for my imagery, and had grabbed nearly every shot on my “shot list” in an easier, but less dramatic lighting.</div>
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Now it was time to buckle down, shoot my best, and make the images I knew could only come from a photoshoot in El Centro.</div>
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Let me know what you think in the comment section, below!</div>
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<i style="font-size: small;">(A shorter version of this article appears in the April 2016 issue of ISnAP, the magazine of the International Society for Aviation Photography.)</i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">T-45 launching on a practice bombing mission</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDUd9CdfaEwlPCCOYantA-idIA9__LYfYfII90u2xi8BWSM_QJhgV8nEi9Gbz-wKN5sFtwvxZQRky4aF3sbGZtF7gYBw5SjNyiDMQUpChnZpDBch5tMrcyCtgcks_dNF2-oppcopXpnw/s1600/Glover_160218_06902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDUd9CdfaEwlPCCOYantA-idIA9__LYfYfII90u2xi8BWSM_QJhgV8nEi9Gbz-wKN5sFtwvxZQRky4aF3sbGZtF7gYBw5SjNyiDMQUpChnZpDBch5tMrcyCtgcks_dNF2-oppcopXpnw/s640/Glover_160218_06902.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">US Navy T-45 Goshawk rolls over the arresting cable on landing rollout</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbZpKHtw6qG1SF8DjzjzgTALAZSUprm5CiEJQSqbOyQIsnpY7QY8RE7CTaVRF8LU1ZlaO3s5r92AeohtiIkNskOtqdmcmSE761-5jpl23WY_IQXFPPr1_ZtL4OdhgABAmur-swobestc/s1600/Glover_160219_33770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbZpKHtw6qG1SF8DjzjzgTALAZSUprm5CiEJQSqbOyQIsnpY7QY8RE7CTaVRF8LU1ZlaO3s5r92AeohtiIkNskOtqdmcmSE761-5jpl23WY_IQXFPPr1_ZtL4OdhgABAmur-swobestc/s640/Glover_160219_33770.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA-106 touches down after completing a mission </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcAJ1QtL-UZHGIjmHFNhJwJama0VDzVr5avzOf8jU70dcrNhtvLmO5wHsrjzxEmw_mrc_xO0kNOzY6DyeY5ybMnxZALvRTaaEoSakkGdyRpKRPDXS7ivKlqEjg0mOzc5JxLyS-dRqQbA/s1600/Glover_160218_33484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcAJ1QtL-UZHGIjmHFNhJwJama0VDzVr5avzOf8jU70dcrNhtvLmO5wHsrjzxEmw_mrc_xO0kNOzY6DyeY5ybMnxZALvRTaaEoSakkGdyRpKRPDXS7ivKlqEjg0mOzc5JxLyS-dRqQbA/s640/Glover_160218_33484.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISAP Photographer Craig Swancy captures the Blue Angels at the top of their maneuver</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHIdCf7wPNHex8OG2Hg6B0q0ZXiGuLSzZoGwodIxf65r9p1zdGRSKxA4cHIlJd-Hr6VOkDD7dCLiCJ1_mAlei7UuCQAnhpMGjwCeCER_A6Mz_DtUbRfNrof2XwvbguYqTpz-CmGC4ras/s1600/Glover_160218_06874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHIdCf7wPNHex8OG2Hg6B0q0ZXiGuLSzZoGwodIxf65r9p1zdGRSKxA4cHIlJd-Hr6VOkDD7dCLiCJ1_mAlei7UuCQAnhpMGjwCeCER_A6Mz_DtUbRfNrof2XwvbguYqTpz-CmGC4ras/s640/Glover_160218_06874.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Navy T-45 touches down after a bombing sortie in the local ranges</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyzi9-FVJiEsSdpZkQ9iKaXBzyd1S-3Qy1VNj7QgLKU5H1Dwge3AYZSptnnX8TNpsa5fPIJOsgiexqnxoFRSN3g-zX4XDC11-GMSQFUTcomsYz5dJylB5YVp9_JQdM6qk1M8ABoreKvDw/s1600/Glover_160218_07668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyzi9-FVJiEsSdpZkQ9iKaXBzyd1S-3Qy1VNj7QgLKU5H1Dwge3AYZSptnnX8TNpsa5fPIJOsgiexqnxoFRSN3g-zX4XDC11-GMSQFUTcomsYz5dJylB5YVp9_JQdM6qk1M8ABoreKvDw/s640/Glover_160218_07668.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is always one guy shooting the OTHER direction!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWelkHVPLA2FGhQiEHtUcOKANyj03n4sElB9xTDXZIY2BHLTdAMNigjtIYjD0ynzJrC7cD7TFjxfvKCGoUZEF7C4V2p-sGu48JX6u-KQ1Z447WpmyRZUFEOt7sKt3E368WABYlwvvV-0/s1600/Glover_160219_33963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWelkHVPLA2FGhQiEHtUcOKANyj03n4sElB9xTDXZIY2BHLTdAMNigjtIYjD0ynzJrC7cD7TFjxfvKCGoUZEF7C4V2p-sGu48JX6u-KQ1Z447WpmyRZUFEOt7sKt3E368WABYlwvvV-0/s640/Glover_160219_33963.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C-2 Greyhound from VRC-30 conducts Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-61536979606474762202016-03-24T09:29:00.003-07:002016-03-24T09:29:50.109-07:00Data Loss and Backups (Part 1) – Know the Threat<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMjP-7iC9W1I54Bl1uYx3V7DVYf_NQR0czcw4kuedfYfhuMvOkpHRfTpiLv_0HPJFySGhxbADTgofwNvvFSpb_pINHcwMJBwcmoVXdkY2MlATiRkqGTDfDfeFMoJYIzl-oqottLFvyI-8/s1600/NAS_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMjP-7iC9W1I54Bl1uYx3V7DVYf_NQR0czcw4kuedfYfhuMvOkpHRfTpiLv_0HPJFySGhxbADTgofwNvvFSpb_pINHcwMJBwcmoVXdkY2MlATiRkqGTDfDfeFMoJYIzl-oqottLFvyI-8/s320/NAS_01.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As most of you who
read my blog know, I tend to view most issues through the lens of a career spent
in military aviation. It was drilled
into my head many times as a young aircrew that I needed to have more than a
passing understanding of how the survivability equipment on my aircraft
worked. The purpose for this was that,
at the end of the day, it was MY butt that was in THAT ejection seat, and so I
had to be the last line of defense to make sure everything would work as I
expected should I need to depart the aircraft rapidly!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Many times
photographers forget that their RAW files and edited images are their
livelihood, and deserve as much detailed care and attention as any equipment
that provides you a “safety net”. We get
caught up in shooting, archiving and editing, forgetting that there are a
myriad of threats to our images, and thus our photographic careers. But with all of the options for Network
Attached Storage (NAS), Cloud Storage, Backup drives and Optical media, what is
a photographer to do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b> Do just what we
would do in the military, analyze the threat and have a detailed understanding
of how your “threat reduction” equipment works!</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> What I mean by this
is take a few minutes and think about the primary ways you could lose your
digital images:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVHnAanKMPMoDAIgi7vLZy9jiWa6fbqKqFqp-WJ9iSazaBmQ1bIdJ3I_bJcpKaanUD7IVDNGWR1XxYI-m0Z5mpdZK7GpJeUch-KF46v3NKgUjasxdorFsquiQdn757xn5KWUaumb0Dhs/s1600/iosafe_firewater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVHnAanKMPMoDAIgi7vLZy9jiWa6fbqKqFqp-WJ9iSazaBmQ1bIdJ3I_bJcpKaanUD7IVDNGWR1XxYI-m0Z5mpdZK7GpJeUch-KF46v3NKgUjasxdorFsquiQdn757xn5KWUaumb0Dhs/s200/iosafe_firewater.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Theft</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fire / Flooding</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Natural disaster</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Computer virus</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hardware failure</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Accidental deletion</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are <span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">plenty more, but these cover a majority of the
ones I have seen or experienced myself!</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">These threats will vary with each photographer’s travel
destination, home geography and equipment setup. For me, living in coastal South Carolina, the
danger of Hurricanes and the resultant flooding are a real concern. Some photographers are limping along computer
hardware that has hard drives which have traveled all over the world and been “ridden
hard”. Others may shoot in locations
that have a less-than-savory reputation for the security of valuables in and
around the hotel. What you as the
photographer have to do, is prioritize these threats from most to least likely,
and begin researching ways to neutralize or mitigate them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> If I looked at my customized, prioritized
list it would be this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hardware failure</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fire / Flooding</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Theft (in transit)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Computer virus</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Natural disaster</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Accidental deletion</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> What I then do is spend the most money to do
attack the top threats, while ensuring that I still have some technique to
mitigate the low-likelihood, low-risk threats at the bottom of the list. So here is how I “attacked” my list. Certainly not a one-size-fits-all method, but
it might offer a point of departure for your own plan of attack:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Hardware Failure:</u></b></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Travel
drives and computers all are Solid State</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Image
archives hosted on Network Attached Storage with redundant drives</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Fire / Flooding:</u></b></span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">NAS is built in an integrated Fire/Flood
resistant casing, and it resides above the ground floor</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Theft:</u></b></span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15.6933px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 15.6933px; text-indent: -0.25in;">As I’m mostly concerned about this happening in
transit, all of my SSDs and memory cards go in carry-on luggage.</span><span style="line-height: 15.6933px; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="line-height: 15.6933px; text-indent: -0.25in;">If possible memory cards travel in a
different bag than SSDs</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Computer virus:</u></b></span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
would have thought this was a “no-brainer”, but I am always surprised how many
people rely on “free” or (worse) built-in security software to protect their
systems. Even your NAS should have
security software running on it to prevent data loss due to viruses or other
malicious software.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Natural Disaster:</u></b></span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
I said earlier, I have to worry about hurricanes. My NAS backs its 4TB of data up nightly to
Amazon Glacier, so if I am unable to evacuate myself AND my NAS before a
hurricane, then I will be able to rebuild the NAS with data held on Amazon’s
servers.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Accidental deletion:</u></b></span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.6933px;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My “working”
files are held in cloud storage solutions that support either “versioning” or a
“Recycle bin”. Just because the file is
gone from my DropBox or OneDrive folder on my computer, doesn’t mean it is gone
forever.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Hopefully this helps you take some time to look at the
threats to YOUR image library and what techniques you can adopt to neutralize
or at least mitigate the threat. I’ll go
into more detail on several of my techniques in later posts, but feel free to
share some of the techniques that work for you in the comments below.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-9515874153144326322016-02-11T15:58:00.003-08:002016-02-11T15:58:47.552-08:00How Nikon made a liar out of me!I had the best of intentions... really.<br />
I never thought that within a few weeks of making the recommendation to photographers everywhere, I'd break my own proclamation.<br />
<br />
Darn you Nikon, and your D500!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyirl8Dk_it0AduSJpzzGRbFpQ30qceHODKs57xKGtJnVURpco1zASqqP12CLOoHGm-UV4UNqvqoiUUkNYT-T20YFiBPS5ERl_zRMHuddeZkK-lOAOyTMWqbHUx_Rmtz3a28E3Gg0Tr0s/s1600/1559_D500_front.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyirl8Dk_it0AduSJpzzGRbFpQ30qceHODKs57xKGtJnVURpco1zASqqP12CLOoHGm-UV4UNqvqoiUUkNYT-T20YFiBPS5ERl_zRMHuddeZkK-lOAOyTMWqbHUx_Rmtz3a28E3Gg0Tr0s/s320/1559_D500_front.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So, let's talk about the decision to drop three thousand dollars on camera gear when I just recommended to the aviation photography world:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;"><u><span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. Don't buy that shiny new camera </span></span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
For me, there wasn't much choice. When the successor to the D300S came out, unless it was a total hunk of crap, I was going to buy it.<br /><br /><i>Why?</i><br /><br /> The Nikon D7000-series has done VERY well for me over the years. They've taken the abuse, delivered stunning shots and captured split-second events (almost) every time. I can take them on flights where I don't have the room or the weight for a full-size professional body like the D4. But the camera still has weaknesses. The buffer for one. For anyone who has used the D7000-series to capture missile shoots, ordnance drops or any coordinated-but-split-second event, the 3.5 seconds of useful buffer are a bit frustrating. I loved using my D300S, but it was quickly eclipsed by the D7000-series and became relegated to a backup (and heavier) body. Now to have the tilting screen, a better buffer than the D7200, expanded ISO range, and 4k video, it became a no-brainer to order the D500.This IS in fact the camera that a lot of us aviation photographers have been waiting 5 years for.<div>
<br /> Okay, so it isn't just the D500 that is eating a hole in my pocket. For years I've used the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 OS as my primary air-to-air lens. It has also been a great counterpart to my Nikon 70-200 f2.8, helping me to cover just about every focal length I need during a static aircraft shoot with just 2 lenses. While the quality of the Sigma has been excellent, I have noticed a difference between it and the Nikon lenses in my kit. So, with the addition of the new Nikon 16-80 f2.8-4 VR to the D500 kits offered online, I had to jump on it. The chance to have the focal lengths I needed in new Nikon glass, just couldn't be passed up. (I have pretty much beat the crap out of my Sigma lens, and it was due for a trip back to Sigma for a refit soon!)<br /><br />Of course that doesn't explain why I also threw in the Nikon AF-S 80-400VR lens, but that moment of weakness is due to be the subject of ANOTHER blog post!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-42601285145269045482016-01-05T18:00:00.000-08:002016-01-05T18:00:29.646-08:00Atlanta Workshop 2016<b>We are doing a workshop at the Atlanta Warbird Weekend again, this year!</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55JouqooFl_c-ZAzaJ1yU5qE7H8KfFpxyiKt0mB-VcNlNT4oEHKqkH24KSO5xpzA5ZsQgTxZtBLcCsqz9kscnwDQKD460r-JW5CEnXJewJQ1LVNyhRSIP0TZKyhpKyWgvM0C2O6fRpNc/s1600/Glover_150912_00688_1med.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55JouqooFl_c-ZAzaJ1yU5qE7H8KfFpxyiKt0mB-VcNlNT4oEHKqkH24KSO5xpzA5ZsQgTxZtBLcCsqz9kscnwDQKD460r-JW5CEnXJewJQ1LVNyhRSIP0TZKyhpKyWgvM0C2O6fRpNc/s640/Glover_150912_00688_1med.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
I am excited to be headed back to the Atlanta Warbird Weekend this fall! On September 24th, Tony Granata and I will be hosting an aviation photography workshop at the gathering, for the third year in a row. This year will mark the 75th anniversary of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3JpH4OCg1MgQxfhppjK8U3Tveb_fOkf_-dGnH85UTzL-Zy-ltA56cRAEtpF4_DcIukt13w7uL9bAnFv8F5WYBFVYaFyeuqLntoerbbLXE1jwKIvUmDGTktxL6Uni0GLlE7X1KKOplOo/s1600/Glover_150912_00710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3JpH4OCg1MgQxfhppjK8U3Tveb_fOkf_-dGnH85UTzL-Zy-ltA56cRAEtpF4_DcIukt13w7uL9bAnFv8F5WYBFVYaFyeuqLntoerbbLXE1jwKIvUmDGTktxL6Uni0GLlE7X1KKOplOo/s400/Glover_150912_00710.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">P-40 Warhawk from the Military Aviation Museum's collection</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There will be several different P-40s flying into the event, and several will undoubtedly get airborne for your enjoyment during the Saturday flight window. As always, workshop attendees will be able to participate in an exclusive sunset photoshoot with the aircraft, all arranged by the 3G Aviation Media instructors.<br />
<br />
We are looking to make this our best AWW photo workshop yet, so keep checking for the latest updates on our website at:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.3gavm.com/workshops">http://www.3gavm.com/workshops</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I look forward to seeing you there!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-27745676462509370482016-01-01T07:54:00.000-08:002016-01-01T07:54:16.323-08:00Five tips for 2016<h2>
Five tips for improving your Aviation Photography in 2016</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hZ0iWU8zKrqF95FZSC-0uDb3etHrNJFVgAMUENWl8Xb-odxW_69qNQ7peB5L3VnMuaRxIHsHJnJ6ieWn-eI_nuXnWVhANdNMUqmXbHEi-uFYvPP3RJ9tuUfys8cAhza5GzpD2z318LU/s1600/ST51BTS_med_wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hZ0iWU8zKrqF95FZSC-0uDb3etHrNJFVgAMUENWl8Xb-odxW_69qNQ7peB5L3VnMuaRxIHsHJnJ6ieWn-eI_nuXnWVhANdNMUqmXbHEi-uFYvPP3RJ9tuUfys8cAhza5GzpD2z318LU/s640/ST51BTS_med_wm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rare moment for me - having Crazy Horse all to myself with no students!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since it is the New Year, a time for resolutions we will never keep, unrealistic self-improvement goals and unbridled optimism, I thought I would offer a few tips on how we all can improve our aviation photography. (Myself included!)</div>
<br />
<i>So here goes!</i><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b><u><span style="color: yellow;">5. Shoot detail (lots of it)</span></u></b><br />
<br />
This is the only tip I'm going to give you that actually involves taking photos, so pay attention! <br />
Our time with each aircraft is limited, so make sure that you capture as much of the aircraft as you can, especially unique details. Some of my friends are pure detail shooters, and their photography never ceases to amaze me. Take a look at Françoise Guilé's website <a href="http://www.airandfeel.com/" target="_blank">Air.Feel</a> (www.airandfeel.com) which portrays her strong visual style through detail images. While I am not telling you to imitate her style, spend more time this year on the small details of aircraft!<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: yellow;">4. Don't buy that shiny new camera </span></u></b><br />
<br />
Or lens. Or fancy widget. <br />
If you absolutely HAVE to spend the money (it grows on trees and is burning a hole in your pocket, right?) then spend it on photographic instruction. I don't say this as a workshop instructor looking to line my pockets, but rather as a photographer who realizes that this trade involves a lifetime of learning. Of course, there are plenty of free videos on YouTube, Vimeo, etc, but once you have run the gamut of those, then graduate to paid instruction.<br />
A great resource for any photographer is <a href="http://kelbyone.com/" target="_blank">Kelby One</a>, but don't discount attending smaller workshops where you can get personalized instruction from instructors. One of the best that I spent my money on this year was with <a href="http://www.katesilviaphotography.com/" target="_blank">Kate Silvia</a> involving Topaz plugins for Photoshop and Lightroom.<br />
Regardless of how much you spend, take the time in 2016 to learn!<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: yellow;">3. Maintain your equipment</span></u></b><br />
<br />
I am a creature of habit, checklists and superstition. It comes from years spent in aviation where your life is defined by written procedures and habitual routines. Strive to be as detailed with your photographic equipment. <br />
Disassemble it. Clean it. Charge it. Re-format it. Put it away after every shoot. <br />
Examine it for wear and damage. When broken, set it aside. Replace it.<br />
If you do this you will find your frustration and stress level will decrease both in the pre-shoot preparation, and during the on-shoot "<i>OhmyGodwhereismywidget</i>" moments. <br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: yellow;">2. Curate your photos ruthlessly</span></u></b><br />
<br />
Many times our objectivity falters when looking at a collection of images from a photoshoot. Wade through them mercilessly like an axe-wielding Viking warrior. Be bold. Elevate your standards. Remove images that don't meet the cut.<br />
If you can't bring yourself to delete sub-par images for historical reasons or future editing, then move them out of the folder/collection you are editing in!<br />
Doing this will speed your workflow and allow you to concentrate on the top 1% of the images you captured, instead of becoming bogged down in the mediocre ones.<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: yellow;">1. Be a good person.</span></u></b><br />
<br />
Maybe this goes without saying, but the best thing you can do for your photography is to be a nice, genuine and personable photographer. This will open doors for you in both the aviation and photographic worlds.<br />
Take time to talk to the ground crew staging the aircraft for you.<br />
Talk to the pilots and owners about more than just "when can I shoot your plane".<br />
Talk to other photographers. Take time to assist a young shooter.<br />
Be humble enough to assist another photographer on <i>their</i> photoshoot.<br />
Our aviation photography community has enough grumpy, self-absorbed, know-it-all, unprofessional camera wranglers. Don't be one of them.<br />
Smile. Laugh. Enjoy life! <br />
<br />
Well, that about wraps it up. I wish everyone a successful and healthy 2016, and look forward to seeing you all around the flightline this year!<br />
--Doug<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-74881359352799916342015-11-02T18:49:00.000-08:002015-11-02T18:49:03.292-08:00Breaking more of the rules<i>(I guess I was in a rebellious mood!)</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDsd7ZWePbUjJIs-D9b9KAb1BE97u_bvDbJYkmKtHwMjKmqbcVj8ZcINzjJ255AmmT1t5TQWFbWY8V3n7otYg_IA2dBqWsz4SuuyOn-U4kA8Q3SaYEgdTsMdcABOCggnfFkwkhAZWsgI/s1600/red_nose_LR_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDsd7ZWePbUjJIs-D9b9KAb1BE97u_bvDbJYkmKtHwMjKmqbcVj8ZcINzjJ255AmmT1t5TQWFbWY8V3n7otYg_IA2dBqWsz4SuuyOn-U4kA8Q3SaYEgdTsMdcABOCggnfFkwkhAZWsgI/s400/red_nose_LR_02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Composition is ALWAYS key to building the foundation of a good image. But sometimes, you have to ask yourself what the real subject of your image is, and how best to highlight it. If you've followed my photography for more than a post or two, then you know that the interplay of aviation subjects with the environment around them is what I enjoy most. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Most of the time, we tell the photographers at our workshops to "fill the viewfinder" with the aircraft. Sometimes we even get up close and fill the viewfinder with a specific detail or component of the aircraft. While shooting at the <a href="http://www.atlantawarbirdweekend.com/" target="_blank">Atlanta Warbird Weekend</a>, I realized that the combination of the sunset and clouds made for a spectacular backdrop for "Red Nose", the P-51 of the <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/101159528852868221046" target="_blank">+CAF Dixie Wing</a> .<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dnezSsSmaoXFDTfCtSOaISBjvKqebnlfOEl4KMINpyJCfJ0T6ysWaLmmw34wKxsoagk3OyvkzmLBlDQGbjaFcAnY5j3BMs8oVCHgDgQBbeOqcHfjsRRykoMcOF7fYBxurZxuJN_W_iI/s1600/Glover_150912_00707_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dnezSsSmaoXFDTfCtSOaISBjvKqebnlfOEl4KMINpyJCfJ0T6ysWaLmmw34wKxsoagk3OyvkzmLBlDQGbjaFcAnY5j3BMs8oVCHgDgQBbeOqcHfjsRRykoMcOF7fYBxurZxuJN_W_iI/s640/Glover_150912_00707_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Nose at sunset</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In this case, the best way to show the sunset experience in all of its glory was to make the subject smaller! Of course I could have stepped closer and shot with a wider angle lens, but then I risked distorting the aircraft or covering part of the wonderful color gradient with the airframe of Red Nose itself. See, the real subject wasn't just "Red Nose", the P-51, but rather "Red Nose at sunset", which meant that the sky, the clouds and the play of light across them was just as important as the airframe itself.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
How did I decide just how far back to go? My rule of thumb is in a case like this to take the subject from being 95% of the viewfinder, to being between 55% and 45%. That allows you to still have detail and recognizable features in your subject while maximizing its interplay with the environment<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So if you're having a hard time balancing your subject and the environment, just step (or zoom) back a bit and see if that helps you balance the two.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-91173533864110575212015-09-26T21:00:00.000-07:002015-09-26T21:00:04.135-07:00Playing with sliders<div>
(isn't serendipity wonderful?)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpo6SvV68MoXPBLSA8u8SqHBhL7YNoIWs0bP3IDCUDNgZTiVf9-NRcJBkDmi4gDVs05Q8uj-jBlis5bKnCFcm2OGcr86Fmmo_KQEIvXGvXIsbwxm9Y0p7nZeB_neeNOLUn9rx34_e_lXU/s1600/red_nose_LR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpo6SvV68MoXPBLSA8u8SqHBhL7YNoIWs0bP3IDCUDNgZTiVf9-NRcJBkDmi4gDVs05Q8uj-jBlis5bKnCFcm2OGcr86Fmmo_KQEIvXGvXIsbwxm9Y0p7nZeB_neeNOLUn9rx34_e_lXU/s640/red_nose_LR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, I'm always happy to stumble upon how Lightroom sliders add creative effects to images when they are maxed out. Now some of you have probably sat there and listened to <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/111911561121271030359" target="_blank">+Tony Granata</a> and I tell you to "Back off the clarity" or "Don't touch that Saturation"! I know we said that, but sometimes you just have to break your own rules.</div>
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<a name='more'></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Vibrance slider has always been part of my post-processing, but strangely, I'd never tried to run it all the way to the left (maximum NEGATIVE effect). After working on some images from the <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/107285845739049767686" target="_blank">+Three-G Aviation Media</a> photo workshop at the <a href="http://www.atlantawarbirdweekend.com/" target="_blank">Atlanta Warbird Weekend</a>, I was hitting a creative brick wall. While staring at my screen, I decided to just start playing to see if anything unique resulted from the Vibrance and Saturation sliders. Well, after running them all the way to the right (maximum POSITIVE effect), and nearly burning my eyes out with color, I put the saturation slider back to zero and ran the Vibrance down to -83. That resulted in the image below:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN19b_BibT9tvq4Trrl8dqFPU74Jv0MbAo5_erLxxftEdPAmqkDtrmDulkn9eh7RSEHn-QAywC7-StzXfdbebBVzjBoVVOqkW0E37swKZEsqnLatBVmNp8PoM_EZdySMh86L4JQUq8Emk/s1600/Glover_150912_31822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN19b_BibT9tvq4Trrl8dqFPU74Jv0MbAo5_erLxxftEdPAmqkDtrmDulkn9eh7RSEHn-QAywC7-StzXfdbebBVzjBoVVOqkW0E37swKZEsqnLatBVmNp8PoM_EZdySMh86L4JQUq8Emk/s640/Glover_150912_31822.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">De-vibranced image of the P-51 Mustang "Red Nose" of the CAF - Dixie Wing </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Now, to show you what I was starting with, here is the same image with the Vibrance slider set back to zero (but all of the other Lightroom edits left in place):</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBun3NBzPLz2DAlKp1tZUB2xwmdBwnap9G6YL5zQjefzlAI9i3j0LGNKSbEaHlw4RACcWLbICgE9zILsQNkKRgmV8tzkGf_tD2NkqzOOviAXqk7N5PmgkF2vfMcgxEhyphenhyphenohz_rGdVEUYHY/s1600/Glover_150912_31822_color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBun3NBzPLz2DAlKp1tZUB2xwmdBwnap9G6YL5zQjefzlAI9i3j0LGNKSbEaHlw4RACcWLbICgE9zILsQNkKRgmV8tzkGf_tD2NkqzOOviAXqk7N5PmgkF2vfMcgxEhyphenhyphenohz_rGdVEUYHY/s640/Glover_150912_31822_color.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Regular color image of the P-51 Mustang "Red Nose" of the CAF - Dixie Wing </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
(not a bad pre-sunset image, if I say so... the clouds were amazing, and I was happy that the workshop attendees were able to get this kind of background after a grey and gloomy morning!)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you are wondering what else I did to get this image to the point where I was playing with the Vibrance slider, you'll just have to wait, as that is for another post!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-90300586663034529112015-09-09T20:20:00.000-07:002015-09-09T20:22:42.199-07:00Top 5 iPad Pro Lessons<h2>
<b>Five things that iPad Pro users should know</b></h2>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcDoyewPAUQANA1E_5b00g25CbgGh_X3aRDqPwybjav1CfPkdbQ_ArCWmhJ3HAoAA2VN9vlE4wIEPH_izMJ_RhvtgKThDSRGnLYrburpNNAtQN8yHhx3X_Xzqm8H6TVS-C_pi4O6H_tY/s1600/Glover_planning_med.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcDoyewPAUQANA1E_5b00g25CbgGh_X3aRDqPwybjav1CfPkdbQ_ArCWmhJ3HAoAA2VN9vlE4wIEPH_izMJ_RhvtgKThDSRGnLYrburpNNAtQN8yHhx3X_Xzqm8H6TVS-C_pi4O6H_tY/s400/Glover_planning_med.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tablet and a DSLR, a photographer's dream or nightmare?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With all of the hype
surrounding the announcement of the Apple iPad Pro today, I thought I should
just share some of the lessons I’ve learned over the last year of using a “Super-tablet”
as part of my everyday photography workflow.
My intent is not to disparage the iPad Pro, which I think will be an
excellent product, but rather to help those who are coveting one decide on
whether or not it will actually help improve their workflow without significant
changes to accommodate the “Super-tablet”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: yellow;"> <b>1. The Screen is mightier than the Pen(cil)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The great
combo of the Apple Pencil and the super high resolution Retina display gives
you the ability to have an incredible amount of control over the graphical
effect that your hand-drawn strokes display.
The only bad part is that we artists often forget that the pencil tip is
larger than a pixel (unlike what is show in the videos), and if you are sloppy with
your pen placement, your drawing, selection, or masking will all be
sloppy. Why do I bring this up? Feathering will still be your friend, even as
accurate as the Apple Pencil will be. Think of it as smoothing for the hyper accurate Apple Pencil. (if you want to think positively!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To add insult to injury, if you are used to using a Wacom tablet and are accustomed to the feel of the pen across the surface, prepare to NOT have that same feedback on the iPad Pro screen. Unless they bundle it with some custom screen protector, it will take a while to get used to the plastic-on-plastic slips and slides that you get with modern high-res displays, but refer to my point above. Feathering is your friend.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: yellow;"> <b> 2. Storage Rubs you RAW</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The good
news is the A9X has an “upgraded storage controller” that will make it faster
and more efficient in accessing the on-board storage. But has anyone heard of plans to allow
hard-wired storage? I bring this up due
to the large number of RAW files that photographers need to move from their camera into their image
reviewing and editing programs then onto whatever temporary storage they have before
the final transit home and into archival storage. If you’ve ever tried to export or import an
entire photoshoot’s worth of images via WiFi, you know just how frustrating it
can be. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think the A9X will help immensely in moving and arranging files ON the iPad Pro, which will be important with ever-increasing size of RAW files. But on the other hand if you have to move files onto and off of your iPad Pro, expect it to NOT be blazingly fast. (are we all tired of the MIMO WiFi promises of 800+ Mbps, yet?) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: yellow;"> <b> 3. Does your workflow include mealtime?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the
A9X processor is billed as “more powerful than 80-90 percent of the laptops on
the market”, as photographers we’re unhappy with about 95% of the laptops on
the market. (numbers by total sales, not brands or models) If
you are having a hard time grasping this, you must be a creative professional
who only uses the best tool for the job.
Now ask the rest of us in the corporate sector or Federal government,
who use laptops that are slightly less powerful than a Garmin GPS. A three year old Garmin GPS. Don’t believe me? Ask federal employees about the laptops they
are issued that just might boot up before they return from the business trip they took it out on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What are
some of the areas where this will be most apparent?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul><ul>
<li>Opening RAW images</li>
<li><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Building image previews</span></li>
<li>Exporting images to JPEG, TIFF,
PNG formats</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
(and lots of other actions, filters, etc...)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
Does this sound familiar? Are these areas that you’re already
frustrated with your current</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
Mac or Windows laptop? Don’t bet that the A9X is going to outperform
your current machine. It</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
will certainly run circles around previous iPad iterations of RAW management apps, image editing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
apps or archiving apps, but don't expect it to be outperforming ZenBooks or RazerBlade ultrabooks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: yellow;"> <b> 4. Size does matter</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Stepping up to a 128GB tablet might feel pretty fulfilling at first. Pretty soon, you'll find out that you will be emptying your full-filled machine. In other words more moving of large numbers of files as discussed in issue #2. I am consistently amazed by the creep in apps on mobile devices. At least Apple has done a good job of keeping the default apps down to about 150MB, but come on, we all know you want to load your latest tower defense or "upset avian" games to kill the time between image editing. While these won't eat up all your space, your portfolio soon will. You will have to be disciplined with uploading items to cloud storage and then removing them from your iPad Pro. How do I know this? The largest consumer of my current MS OneDrive space is my portfolio of edited images that I want to be accessible across all of my devices! Long story short, I work on a 512 GB device and I find back-to-back trips filling my SSD until I can offload the files to an external HDD while traveling or Network Attached Storage when at home. (See point #2 above)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: yellow;"> <b> 5. Optional accessories are NOT optional</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Maybe the
reason that the keyboard and pencil aren't included in the iPad Pro is so that they
can offer a variety of options and new upgrades without forcing you to buy a specific one
in the iPad box. Just don’t think these are optional accessories. Whether it is the
use of hotkeys to execute shortcuts in more powerful software, or in filling in
the metadata on your photos that you have just imported, don’t discount how
essential a keyboard will be during this part of your workflow. Oh, and your Apple Pencil isn’t included,
either.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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So, the $99 pencil and the $169 keyboard add $258 to the
total price for a properly kitted iPad Pro. Is this a "show stopper"? No, but let's at least be honest that the two accessories that are critical to making the iPad Pro more than a 4K movie screen are not included with the baseline model.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b> <span style="color: yellow;">Excellent, you've read this far!</span></b></div>
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Well, since you humored me enough to read this far, I must thank you for your endurance. If you are wondering what tablets I've used over the past year, I've incorporated both a Samsung Note 10.1 and a Surface Pro 3 (512GB Core i7) into my daily workflow. I can't say enough good things about the pen-capable, tablet form factor of the Surface Pro 3. I also can't say enough bad things about the compromises in stepping down from a touch-screen ultrabook. But I guess that is why I wrote this quick article... Hopefully you've learned from my mistakes and now you can apply the knowledge to your decision on whether or not to buy the iPad Pro. Trust me, I'd love to try one, but it will be too hard to justify since I already possess no less than 5 tablet devices in my house!</div>
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Good luck and let me know how the iPad Pros work out once they arrive in your photographer's hands!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-68688696038217444702013-12-10T17:30:00.000-08:002013-12-10T17:30:51.046-08:00January 2014 Workshop<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3G Aviation Media Photography Workshop 24-26 January 2014</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">t</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stallion 51</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kissimmee, Florida</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5xC6Elzz-3D1nC_XSnjrG2so1ZFhbwP95OOGUa_nVP_wl8okFLBVDmBmxGV_XFP7ZOQuAanB4dn3DZx_D2CDxtQtUUcZvbizC4t4GJJ18Qb8lntx_JPsv62r-ID5lhSOXoN-7g5MFdk/s1600/LPAD-web.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5xC6Elzz-3D1nC_XSnjrG2so1ZFhbwP95OOGUa_nVP_wl8okFLBVDmBmxGV_XFP7ZOQuAanB4dn3DZx_D2CDxtQtUUcZvbizC4t4GJJ18Qb8lntx_JPsv62r-ID5lhSOXoN-7g5MFdk/s1600/LPAD-web.gif" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> In January, I'll be working with the other two photographers that make up 3G Aviation Media to host a workshop at Stallion 51's facility. Tony Granata will be teaching his detail shooting techniques and Matt Genuardi will be assisting with utilizing the models and re-enactors. I'll be talking about flightline safety and how to pack for the flightline. All three of us will be working with attendees on post-processing and image workflow. "Fuji" Ramos will return as our guest instructor, teaching participants about shooting "creative perspectives" of the classic aircraft on the ramp.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I'm excited for this workshop, not the least of which is because I love the subject aircraft down at Stallion 51. As if the two TF-51s aren't cool enough, their L-39 Turbojet rocks, and the bright yellow T-6 Texan is hard to miss!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg057DRAhLUch92H_JixoqPrBHaC0bF_IlxklBxUkGr2aJ2Jlb40qS2cClHl5G7A0QTHQEAk2UZBzrzApyPCZ_djEA3KCPNwQP8qCZBBdD2r3CY35y_V8Yja59F20zhG2GVFMl97L1rmFA/s1600/Glover_120317_0277_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg057DRAhLUch92H_JixoqPrBHaC0bF_IlxklBxUkGr2aJ2Jlb40qS2cClHl5G7A0QTHQEAk2UZBzrzApyPCZ_djEA3KCPNwQP8qCZBBdD2r3CY35y_V8Yja59F20zhG2GVFMl97L1rmFA/s1600/Glover_120317_0277_1.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stallion 51's TF-51s and T-6 over the lakes of Central Florida</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> The other reason I'm looking forward to this workshop is because of the great team at Stallion 51. Since the spring 2012, they have been awesome supporters of Matt, Tony and myself, both as individual photographers and as the team of 3G Aviation Media. Whether it is providing us a venue to sell aviation prints during Sun N Fun, or putting up with our pestering them for access to the aircraft for marketing photos, they've taken it all in stride and helped us out with a smile on their faces!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NT3WIuvMVNzmR3wSV94vsBeRNxGh1CSv8qINrWp0RxarCcCjjB6ro1GGROhQVzfh-_Ky8cknDkyRzLLJiVY0cSVxhRbaHycrIITgfR_ZcZiqD4xhb0IyHcDXMF1IJE5xRuL3oOMNugA/s1600/Glover_131004_6398_1_med.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NT3WIuvMVNzmR3wSV94vsBeRNxGh1CSv8qINrWp0RxarCcCjjB6ro1GGROhQVzfh-_Ky8cknDkyRzLLJiVY0cSVxhRbaHycrIITgfR_ZcZiqD4xhb0IyHcDXMF1IJE5xRuL3oOMNugA/s1600/Glover_131004_6398_1_med.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stallion 51's "Crazy Horse" TF-51 on a fall morning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> If you are interested in the 3G Aviation Media workshop at Stallion 51, more detailed information can be found on the 3G Aviation Media website here: </span><a href="http://3gaviationmedia.com/workshop" style="text-align: center;">http://3gaviationmedia.com/workshop</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While you are at it, check out the photos in the 3G portfolio. If you haven't seen a lot of Matt and Tony's work, you'll be blown away. I love working with those two guys, as their shots force me to stay at the top of my game for both in-camera shooting and post-processing. If you have any questions about the workshop, ask away! We would love to see you guys out there on the flightline with us!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-79372863460529218692013-08-27T14:43:00.000-07:002013-12-10T19:00:57.169-08:00November 2013 Workshop<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3G Aviation Media Photography Workshop 15-17 November 2013 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">at </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Commemorative Air Force - Dixie Wing</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Falcon Field, Peachtree City, Georgia</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5xC6Elzz-3D1nC_XSnjrG2so1ZFhbwP95OOGUa_nVP_wl8okFLBVDmBmxGV_XFP7ZOQuAanB4dn3DZx_D2CDxtQtUUcZvbizC4t4GJJ18Qb8lntx_JPsv62r-ID5lhSOXoN-7g5MFdk/s1600/LPAD-web.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5xC6Elzz-3D1nC_XSnjrG2so1ZFhbwP95OOGUa_nVP_wl8okFLBVDmBmxGV_XFP7ZOQuAanB4dn3DZx_D2CDxtQtUUcZvbizC4t4GJJ18Qb8lntx_JPsv62r-ID5lhSOXoN-7g5MFdk/s1600/LPAD-web.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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In November, 3G Aviation Media will be conducting a workshop
in concert with the Dixie Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. <o:p></o:p>Workshop topics are:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRNYIvkjyWqKOio5OoYzgWx3P51nyQ_I533o3PYjbq2V3ozM-U5pzOEVRQoDe0IFoFRbNduFew0KwnrlbeetQBY1fERgZwImRQa4xu956RP1wugrkdZfYK6btUkf4zcdAr8sKRiuJGuA/s1600/1+Glover_130824_78_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRNYIvkjyWqKOio5OoYzgWx3P51nyQ_I533o3PYjbq2V3ozM-U5pzOEVRQoDe0IFoFRbNduFew0KwnrlbeetQBY1fERgZwImRQa4xu956RP1wugrkdZfYK6btUkf4zcdAr8sKRiuJGuA/s1600/1+Glover_130824_78_1.jpg" height="160" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Shooting in the Natural and Ambient light<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sunrise/sunset photo shoot planning<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Static Photography gear bag / flight line safety<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span>Aircraft details - Shooting the "small stuff"<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Post processing and workflow techniques</div>
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November workshop featured topic:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Speedlighting aviation subjects <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">–</span>
with Jos<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">é</span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">“</span>Fuji<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">”</span> Ramos<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Guest Instructor</span></u></b><br />
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Our Guest Instructor for this workshop is internationally
renowned aviation photographer José
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">“</span>Fuji<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">”</span>
Ramos.</div>
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<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64NIVuiuNanodaJ0vB47l8tHIoi9el0EjVLRuhc_oyKvqmnhNzxn1D5lBsHZIwaL2XWPVqrv6NiCbYMbZGVsQ3SKRBPFdY_Jk0AWJ05RMcUUukq1btBgabIJxHpAGRooMjTjzYc1hNRc/s1600/fuji.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64NIVuiuNanodaJ0vB47l8tHIoi9el0EjVLRuhc_oyKvqmnhNzxn1D5lBsHZIwaL2XWPVqrv6NiCbYMbZGVsQ3SKRBPFdY_Jk0AWJ05RMcUUukq1btBgabIJxHpAGRooMjTjzYc1hNRc/s1600/fuji.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">“</span>Fuji<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">”</span> has documented military aviation
subjects all over the United States and is currently qualified for flight in
all aircraft types operated by the US Navy.
During his photographic career, José has logged time in such high performance aircraft as the
F-14B Tomcat, the F/A-18B/D Hornet, F/A-18F Super Hornet, S-3B Viking, the
EA-6B Prowler, F-5F Tiger II, T-33 Shooting Star, Aermacchi MB.339, the Aero
L-39 Albatross and a wide variety of warbirds.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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As an
instructor, José has been a keynote
speaker for Nikon at the 2009 COMFOT Expo in Mexico City, Mexico, guest speaker
at the 2012 symposium of the International Society for Aviation Photography, as
well as a speaker on Military Aviation photography at the 2013 Photoshop World
Expo in Orlando, Florida. He also represents Nikon Professional Services at
events across the US on a freelance basis, providing one-on-one assistance and
instruction to NPS members.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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He
describes his goal as a simple one: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">“</span>to provide the best in aviation
photography and journalism. With a keen eye on current events while remaining
mindful of history, I strive to educate through my imagery.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">His work can be found at: <a href="http://www.ramosaviationphotos.com/">http://www.ramosaviationphotos.com/</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Agenda</u></b></span></div>
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<b><u>Friday<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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The workshop
begins Friday night with attendees gathering at the Hilton Garden Inn. Introductions will begin at 7pm followed by
the class <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">“</span>Shooting in the light you are given<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">”</span>. Most of us know the times that we would
prefer to photograph our subjects, but do we have techniques to fall back on
when the light is not in our favor? The second class of the evening will be <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">“</span>Planning
for Sunrise/Sunset shoots<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">”</span>.
This class will focus on the tools, techniques and logistics involved in
making a sunrise or sunset shoot go smoothly.
The evening will conclude with a quick review of flightline safety and
techniques for optimizing your gear bag for static shoots. This will prepare attendees to be properly
organized for the next day<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">’</span>s events, leaving some small group time following
for gear check, cleaning and assembly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Saturday<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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Be
prepared, this is going to be a LOOOONG day!
We will meet early (5:45AM) and depart for the Commemorative Air Force<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">’</span>s
facility at Falcon Field, which is just 4 miles from our hotel. Aircraft placement, blue hour and sunrise
shooting opportunities with the CAF<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">’</span>s aircraft will take up the first few
hours. After a break for breakfast your
learning experience continues with sessions on editing workflow and post
processing techniques (working with your own images captured during the sunrise
shoot). Our instructors will share tips
and techniques from common tools such as Lightroom and Photoshop as well as
offer image critique and recommendations, which can be applied to later shoots
during our weekend together.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1k79Xv1p83A/Uh0fmY31t-I/AAAAAAAACBY/2y2QrSWQO8Y/s1600/Glover_1080res_130824_150_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1k79Xv1p83A/Uh0fmY31t-I/AAAAAAAACBY/2y2QrSWQO8Y/s1600/Glover_1080res_130824_150_1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lunch will be provided on-site, followed by our afternoon
sessions on working with Speedlights and models. Time is set aside for gear prep and a quick
evening snack prior to our sunset and nighttime photo shoots. The evening<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">’</span>s photo opportunities will begin with a
sunset shoot mixing the CAF<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">’</span>s aircraft with the talents of models
and reenactors that the 3G team will be bringing in for you to work with. As the shooting venue transitions to
nighttime shooting, more speedlights will be unpacked and you will have a
chance to practice the techniques our Guest Instructor taught earlier in the
day. Throughout the evening, all four
instructors will be present to help each of the small groups with questions or
to overcome challenges presented by the environment or equipment. At the end of the evening we will pack our
gear and depart the CAF<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">’</span>s facility to catch a late dinner.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Sunday<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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The
group will again arrive before sunrise at the hangars to prepare for another
sunrise photo shoot. This will be a
great opportunity to apply some of the tips & techniques you have learned
through the sessions thus far and even try something new! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wwCEyjynfuM/UhvqHSrJp_I/AAAAAAAAB_4/q_RJP1KkJ4A/s1600/Glover_1080res_130824_59_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wwCEyjynfuM/UhvqHSrJp_I/AAAAAAAAB_4/q_RJP1KkJ4A/s1600/Glover_1080res_130824_59_1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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After we conclude shooting, a light breakfast will be
provided allowing time for image downloads, selections and editing. We will reserve some time at the end of the
morning for photographers to share their best shots from the workshop and gain
insights on what they have learned.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The workshop will wrap up around 12pm on Sunday allowing
attendees plenty of time to travel home and prepare for their next aviation
photography adventure.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSq9jL5fxBR4m8PCeRTsMxocgROSEgNyucMCj5QRX6bAo1I1IkTMJDbSHRTsYxnYZdRZJvJWl4_jlH8CQVMNYv8dsElpNjuh_SOX5shptI4Dfp59GUc0PfoeNNk9LJxDiqhICj2G4GT94/s1600/SBD+Sun+Flare-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSq9jL5fxBR4m8PCeRTsMxocgROSEgNyucMCj5QRX6bAo1I1IkTMJDbSHRTsYxnYZdRZJvJWl4_jlH8CQVMNYv8dsElpNjuh_SOX5shptI4Dfp59GUc0PfoeNNk9LJxDiqhICj2G4GT94/s1600/SBD+Sun+Flare-1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>What to Bring</u></span></strong></div>
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<br />
What do I bring? It
would be all too easy to just say <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">“</span>EVERYTHING! <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;">”</span> However, we know that many of you will be
travelling by airline and so baggage limits will be in the forefront of your
mind. At a minimum, you are expected to
bring your own camera and tripod, but here are some guidelines for what gear to
bring:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Camera </strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span></strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Bring whatever you shoot with. Our instructors have experience documenting
aviation subjects with numerous makes and models from high-end DSLRs to
consumer ILCs and even smartphones. At
the end of the day, use the best camera that you are comfortable operating, and
if you want to use this workshop to branch out into other equipment styles, let
us know.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Lenses - </strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Bring the right glass to capture
wide-angle shots of multiple aircraft at sunrise or sunset, and close-up detail
of aircraft. If you have a favorite lens
for portraiture, bring it as we will have models to pose with the aircraft on
Saturday evening.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Tripod </strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span></strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> We will be shooting before and after sunrise/sunset so
longer exposures will require the use of a sturdy tripod.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Speedlights </strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span></strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
Our guest instructor</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">s topic for this class will
cover the use of speedlights, so bring as many as you can! Be sure to have yours labeled or marked so
they can be identified by flashlight when we are taking down the equipment in
the dark.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Light Stands </strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span></strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
Even though baggage space is limited for those traveling by air, small light
stands will help you precisely position your lights for a more dramatic image.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Camera Bag </strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span></strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
Bring a sturdy, compartmentalized bag to move your equipment around the
flightline. Our class will cover some
good tips and techniques for remaining organized during a shoot, but success
often begins with the right bag for your tools!</span></li>
<li><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span></strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Be prepared for weather</strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">…</span></strong><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The good, bad and ugly! </b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">We will be arriving at the hangar before
sunrise and will be shooting out on the ramp until well after sunset. We also cannot control mother nature (as much
as we would like to) so be prepared for some possible rain.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Kneepads </strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span></strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> You will be getting down low on the tarmac
so stop by your local hardware store and pick up a pair of kneepads. Trust us,
they are cheap and the comfort provided will make your experience A LOT more
enjoyable!</span></li>
<li><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Laptop/Tablet </strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span></strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> You will want to be
able to download and edit your images right away so that you can critique them
in order to improve on your technique in later photo sessions during the
weekend.</span></li>
</ul>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>What
is included</u></span></strong><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">All photography photo
sessions and lessons</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">One-on-one
photography instruction and critique</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Access
to vintage WWII aircraft</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Lunch
and a light dinner on Saturday and a light breakfast on Sunday</span></li>
</ul>
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<u>NOTE</u><br />
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The
3G aviation media team has negotiated a limited photography release with the
Commemorative Air Force that allows photographers to use images taken during
the workshop for their personal promotion and individual sale. What is NOT allowed (hence the term
"limited") is sale of the image to a third party for the promotion of
a product or service.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What
is not included</span></u></strong><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Transportation </strong><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">to, from and around Peachtree City, GA</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> The Dixie Wing of the
Commemorative Air Force is just 27 miles from Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta
International airport.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Lodging </strong><strong style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">–</span></strong><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> We will be staying at </span><a href="http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/georgia/hilton-garden-inn-atlanta-peachtree-city-ATLTYGI/index.html" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Hilton
Garden Inn Atlanta located in Peachtree City</a><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">, which is a very short drive
from the CAF facility. A block of rooms
has been reserved at a discounted rate but only a limited supply is
available. You can call the hotel to
make a reservation at (678) 827-8400 , or go online</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">. Use </span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Group
Code: DW3G</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> to get the workshop room rate of $99/night which includes a
complimentary breakfast. If you live
close to Peachtree City remember that Saturday and Sunday mornings will be
early showtimes (approximately 0600 at the airfield), so plan accordingly!</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Workshop Cost</span></u></b></div>
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The
workshop will cost $1199. Sign up now,
as limited seats are available in this fall class! To sign up, click the CAF Logo below, or go to <o:p></o:p><a href="http://3gaviationmedia.com/workshops/">http://3gaviationmedia.com/workshops/</a><br />
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<a href="http://3gaviationmedia.com/workshops/peachtree-city-ga" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_UUTSYjtLX_S9tTR__F1v8LDb3s5vGbGu06bJ_u1_w7ljy9KmSBMJtSg3vTE3ZvWiARP-K62M7ddQTXX-5ZULbzus4Yj456zC-NgXu7clBo33iOxEicxmG8jc79hD16_KLT3P75sFi4/s1600/DW_transparent.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749691140888961936.post-68130008214730970392013-06-11T18:32:00.000-07:002013-06-11T18:40:36.255-07:00Twilight strobe work A few weeks ago I had a unique opportunity to work with my friend Tony Granata while he captured some unique images of the brightly painted "CAG bird" for VMFA-312. This F/A-18C had been the centerpiece for the squadron's 70th anniversary celebration, and the maintenance department was kind enough to tow it out by itself for us to photograph. Fortunately Tony's style differs greatly from mine, even in basic composition, so it was possible to work around the jet simultaneously without getting too much in each other's way. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98Q4hHAPLOmbrRyWPV4-mhpcSaz4m7ru3b-yjPSy0dmjq0wahtapWzfuup2g5m21yEC1hyphenhyphenn42QnvOp6HlDrls67hgsn0vXb_hovKq89cXOeOgCfjVBWyUd-IWQfdyikO54C9P0MZ5yQw/s1600/Glover_130524_583_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98Q4hHAPLOmbrRyWPV4-mhpcSaz4m7ru3b-yjPSy0dmjq0wahtapWzfuup2g5m21yEC1hyphenhyphenn42QnvOp6HlDrls67hgsn0vXb_hovKq89cXOeOgCfjVBWyUd-IWQfdyikO54C9P0MZ5yQw/s1600/Glover_130524_583_1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a> While Tony was working some very tight shots of the aircraft's nose with his strobes, I opted to try to light the majority of one side with mine. I used two flashes for this, a Nikon SB-910 and a Nikon SB-700. The SB-700 was positioned on the ground. set to its widest beam, and pointed at the aft junction of the canopy and the airframe. The SB-910 was handheld by me, and pointed at the vertical tails of the aircraft.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNN5hc6qJlIs666-F6G8nCVLtWxmhhgIe7HYJRuH8fXwoPT8mI4lKIQ6u-i4dskWmuQqD5u5hMqEDPHr1y70WGDmHNb8xP48pEjo0hwPZ57FIMcq8ugp4k52XjhQ_-dKsijn5rM8hQNM/s1600/Glover_130524_581_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNN5hc6qJlIs666-F6G8nCVLtWxmhhgIe7HYJRuH8fXwoPT8mI4lKIQ6u-i4dskWmuQqD5u5hMqEDPHr1y70WGDmHNb8xP48pEjo0hwPZ57FIMcq8ugp4k52XjhQ_-dKsijn5rM8hQNM/s1600/Glover_130524_581_1.jpg" height="294" width="320" /></a></div>
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I started with a rough guess of the aperture that I would want based on my expected depth of field, starting with an aperture of f10. From there I started to dial down the shutter speed until I got the overall exposure for the image that I wanted, and started shooting with the strobes to set the final aperture since I was using Nikon's TLL to drive the strobe's power for overall image exposure. I shot several test images with a variety of apertures before I settled upon a final aperture of f7.1. This gave me the desired balance of strobe on the airframe while allowing me to capture the last bit of twilight on the horizon.<br />
A little cropping to emphasize the fade to black of the twilight, but thanks to working so deliberately to manually manipulate the lighting, very little adjustment had to be applied to the resulting final image.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xSIKf5nN3l6T7oMPyc_V72lxkMjVf88g-PB9gBiRhNrm0rCjp_Z1V_b6Ri4oPuqY7swJo63u22QTyXhxBqaJQLJwx80dfQaDSC8H4P5tgKTdqzWlewLAWduBQQczshSZe4TLEFknIP0/s1600/Glover_130524_583_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xSIKf5nN3l6T7oMPyc_V72lxkMjVf88g-PB9gBiRhNrm0rCjp_Z1V_b6Ri4oPuqY7swJo63u22QTyXhxBqaJQLJwx80dfQaDSC8H4P5tgKTdqzWlewLAWduBQQczshSZe4TLEFknIP0/s1600/Glover_130524_583_1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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[Thanks again to the Marines and Sailors of VMFA-312 for making this shoot possible, and for inviting Tony and I to share this celebration with you!]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0