Mixed bag of images from yesterday...C&C and edits are allowed....

[IzzieK]

I do not know where to put this one so if I am not in the right area here, you are welcome to move it somewhere else..

Anyway, yesterday morning hubby, Tucker (our new bionic dog) and I headed off to Creve Coeur Airport to see the B17, B24 and the P51 being displayed there for 3 days (it ends today). It was beautiful day to fly and I was having a wonderful day shooting when a car passed in front of me to go to one of the commercial hangars there. The owner of the hangar apologized and told me to carry on. Then another car followed it closely behind and stopped right in front of my view. I moved forward to get a better angle when the door of the second car opened and out came this old gentleman with an Air Force necktie. I thought he was having a hard time getting down and noticed that the driver was not going to go down so I asked if he needed help. We ended up chatting for a while, while his cousin park the car outside the airport (only members' cars are allowed inside the airport...) Here are some of the shots I am willing to share with all of you -- if you are interested. This is the first time I had used the AF button of my camera so if they are not that good, I apologize...

1.



2. B 17


3. Nose Art B24


4. David Schaeffer is the old WWII vet I met and talked to for a good while. He piloted a B24 in his youth and then became a grocer for 3 decades after leaving the military. I shook his hands when we met and he has that warm fuzzy good grip that he cared about this airplane. I thanked him for his service to this country and told him later on that I will want to take a photo of him beside the plane.


5. And last but not least, the surprise! -- Small world:
I cropped a little bit of the above photo because there was a wheelchair that was showing right at the corner, not knowing that the guy at the wheelchair was in the same command as David Schaeffer above. They are both 93 years old with David becoming 93 next month in August. I forgot to ask the name of the guy in the wheelchair as hubby was calling me and that bionic mutt needs attention. Bummer!

[ST1]

A nice set of images Izzie along with your story telling skills which bring the images together with the ex servicemen, well done. I was going to ask why was this the first time that you have used the AF button on your camera do you have an aversion to doing so or do you just like doing the focussing yourself.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, I wonder if you could have used a longer exposure/filter to get fewer people in the image. A few folks for scale reference is fine, but a few with even some blurred movement would have added a bit to focus our eyes on the main subject.

Very nice I like the angle you used to capture all of the plane.

[bnnrcn]

I especially like #3 Isabel

[chauncey]

Izzie, I envy your opportunity to share your time with those folks...treasure the moments.

[Stagecoach]

Those magnificent men and their flying machines comes to mind Izzie, a good series and I also especially like No 3.

It's always a problem with people all around with shows but then again it can add to the scenes and memories.

Grahame

[rpcrowe]

Izzie... Very nice shots of these wonderful old aircraft and the even more wonderful men who flew them into enemy fire...

[IzzieK]

Peter, sometime ago someone advises to use the AF button to use as a focusing instead of the manual focus or doing the usual half pressed to focus then push the shutter fully to take a shot after recomposing. It has to be done in the menu. I did changed the menu, used my newly acquired focusing point to play later on. Well, the next day which was last Sunday, hubby said the old planes will be at our airport for three days. I decided to go with them (bionic dog included). It will only be an hour or two anyway. Then we got to do some shopping before we go home. Well...these are the results and I am not happy with it because everything seems to be out of focus including the clouds for instance, in several shots. And I was having a hard time trying to find out if I have to press the AF button again to recompose after to get the shot that needed to be shot. It was hard work because once that button was pressed, everything seems to be sharp nearby. Since I left my camera bag in our hangar I have no access to my speedlight and some other stuffs. I only took the one camera that I needed.(I always bring two cameras). I thought I cannot park my car in front of the commercial hangars there because of the "show". (Maybe I should have since Rod Hightower's hangar was well empty at the front even though it was two hangars back.) Anyway as soon as we got home, I changed my focusing point on Shutter On. Dumbo me -- I should had practiced first before I went out...

[IzzieK]

John (Shadowman) -- Maybe I should have but my hour/minutes were wasted battling with the AF button thingie. No time to think of other stuffs. I will remember this next time when (if) we go to Texas for the fly-in there next month. That is a good idea...

Thanks for the comment...I shot several angles actually and this is the only one I like best also because of the angle included the clouds that did not come out right either.

Thanks for commenting, Binnur...

Yes, William C. Boyer... I really enjoyed that old man I talked to. We are going to the assisted living place this Sunday after church to pick him up to have lunch with us at the airport where he will (might) meet some people who will share his interest in airplanes. We have quite a few antique airplanes still flying and being put together in that airport apart from the ones at the museum there. David just moved to the assisted living place near where he live two months ago. Since my stepson used to work there when he was in high school, I am sure they will trust us to take David away from there for a few hours.

Most members of our (my husband's) flying club are old people. The young ones are just starting to come in to become members lately. I love old people -- ex military men, vets... They have a story to tell. They have experiences to impart. Or maybe they like me too because I was raised from the old school too. And I allow them to rant and vent... j/k...

Grahame...my favourite movie of all time is Secondhand Lions with Michael Caine and Robert Duvall. They put together this old kit airplane and flew it by just looking at the manual on how to fly it and enjoyed their time, did what made them happy and died happy. Thank you for commenting. I really enjoyed my day last Tuesday...I was just warming up when the silly mutt decided he wants to go home...

Thanks Richard...'appreciate your comment. Keep up your good work... Your stories makes me cry and laugh too...

[thegman]

Izzie, a very nice series, I particularly like #3 and as usual your anecdote is superb . I recently had the good fortune to shoot some shots of an old DC47 that actually flew in France during WW2 that landed at my local airport enroute to the 70th year commemeration.

[wilgk]

What a great day you had!
I'm a big softie for elder folk as well, so to see and read about these great gentlemen is fantastic.
I have a tear in my eye as I read how you thanked him for his service to your country.
A lovely series of a day you will cherish, well done.

[csa mt]

I liked the last one best, as it reflects the last of the "greatest generation". Looking at that image, you can just imagine the discussion between these old gentlemen!

The entire series is most excellent!

[FrankMi]

Lovely pictures, fond memories, and very interesting commentary Izzie! Thank you for posting!

I'll be away for a week and that may be extended through to the end of August so if I don't get to post images for a while I'll still try to check in from time to time to see how you and the others here at CiC are doing.

[dje]

These are great Issie. I particularly like the last three. A successful shoot I'd say.

Dave

[plugsnpixels]

Great shots and stories! It warms me to see the very elderly servicemen still up and active and reliving their youth together.

If you get a chance to go out there again, try some very low-angle shots wide a wide lens to get rid of distracting tarmac objects (random people and cars especially) and thus dramatize the planes and even the veterans standing right in front of them. Planes and sky go together, so this should work!

[ied]

Great story Izzie, I'm you made his day. How nice of you to take time to
listen to him share some of his past experiences.
Irene

[rpcrowe]

I really respect the old gentlemen who had the courage to fly over Germany and other occupied areas in the face of horrific losses.

Our higher echelons of the military made some terrible strategic errors during WWII. One great error that cost the lives of a significant number of bombers and crews was the theory that bombers in formation could protect themselves with their defensive armament against fighter attack. It was not until the P-51 Mustang came along (with the Rolls Royce Merlin Engine - the Mustangs with Allison engines were pretty crappy) that our daylight bombers had a shred of protection against the fighters of the Luftwaffe.

However, Germany came close to winning the battle of Britain by concentrating the attacks against the Royal Air Force Fighter Command aerodromes. What saved England was that the Luftwaffe switched its efforts against the cities, docks and factories, giving the RAF Fighter Command a much needed break.

AFAIK: TheAllies did not seem to learn from this lesson... Neither the U.S. Army Air Force nor the RAF expended a significant amount of resources against the German anti-air defenses, fighters and anti-aircraft artillery.

[FootLoose]

I like the third shot, too, Izzie. Now, if you had climbed up onto the nose of the plane and taken some pictures looking back at the cockpit, or over at the prop, that would have been cool.

[IzzieK]

Load your shots here...I don't mind. It will be interesting to see...

PICTURES ...OR IT DID NOT HAPPEN....

Cheers mate...

Izzie, a very nice series, I particularly like #3 and as usual your anecdote is superb . I recently had the good fortune to shoot some shots of an old DC47 that actually flew in France during WW2 that landed at my local airport enroute to the 70th year commemeration.

[IzzieK]

We missed you too when you were away, remember? But you can't help being away for so long because YOU LOVE US... because YOU'LL MISSED US ... so you decided you are going to police our post, did you?

Go enjoy whatever you are meant to do...next time you check I will have a better image to show. These are crappy ones because of my mistakes but I uploaded them anyway so I can share my happy day with you all.

God speed,wherever you are going.
Izzie

Lovely pictures, fond memories, and very interesting commentary Izzie! Thank you for posting!

I'll be away for a week and that may be extended through to the end of August so if I don't get to post images for a while I'll still try to check in from time to time to see how you and the others here at CiC are doing.