My turn: Three birds -- for C&C..Please...

[IzzieK]

Hubby and I went to Athens, Tennessee last week/weekend for his annual fly-in event. It was the 70th year of the making of the Swift airplane. Lots happened there but here are some of my shots...

1 Eagle bird by Maya Arye: First time I saw this bird was when we went to Westover (California) almost 8 years ago. It was parked amongst so many airplanes besides so I did not really took a shot of this as at that time, the theme I decided to embraced were the younger generation pilots of vintage airplanes. Along the line, on the last day I met a gentleman, a Canon shooter who showed me the best way to photograph this bird. And I showed him what we can include in the first shot -- the clouds and the US. Flag.



2 Maya will be flying off to Tullahoma so I waited until they are positioned and asked him to stop so my newly found photographer friend and I can take this shot. The clouds here were manufactured as it was a bland and very hot day (98°F). I escaped quickly to the hangar after this shot where it is airconditioned because I felt my knees will be buckling soon if I don't.



3 This is called a T-35 Buckaroo. The original owner of this plane passed on last year and Paul Barnett bought it from the heir. It is one of those significant airplanes in the line of the Swift birds as there were only 17 of these made in its time and only three are now in existent. Paul and his wife own two of them and another one lives in North Carolina, out of annual and not flying anymore...Because it was the 70th Anniversary of the Swift, Paul decided to do many a favour by flying them in his bird. His goal was to match the number of years of the Swift, 70 fly-overs with anyone who agrees to fly with him. He outdid himself and flew 72 times. Petrol and all at his expense. That's nothing to him -- he owns the Nissan dealership in Mississippi. Paul is the one at the front. The guy in blue at the side of the airplane is the one who put that bird together (as well as many others) and make it safe to fly. (The clouds here were also manufactured in pp.)



4 My husband's pride and joy -- Saudi marked Buckaroo: I will not bore you with the story of this airplane but suffice to say, there were only 10 of this kind made in the early 1946 and shipped directly to Saudi Arabia in 1953. Long story short, Bill brought this back to the US in 1970's after a long and arduous search for it which many failed to do so (just all talks and speculations on all others). The then King of Saudi Arabia gave this bird to Bill along with conditions of course and the remainder of the 9 others which were in parts that were in the desert of Jeddah most of which were untouched since it was delivered, all in good condition. One completed one is still in their museum at Riyadh. The 10 made for delivery for Jeddah were the first of the trainers. The USAF ones like the one above was allocated to the US Armed Forces were made after.



For C&C -- please. I have more to upload in the next few days...I promise. So thanks in advance for passing by and any comments and critiques will be appreciated.

[Geoff F]

Not a lot wrong with these, Izzie. Maybe a fraction tight widthwise for the first two. Possibly I would be prepared to lose a little of the cloud in #1 and crop to 5 x 4 ratio?

Is there a bit of over exposure in the clouds with #3? The slightly wider width works better with this image.

[Saorsa]

I agree with Geoff F, the clouds are blown out and distracting. Otherwise, the shots are good. I don't know if shooting from the port side might have had a less cluttered background.

[rudi]

Must say I did expect something else to see .

All in all good shots. In nr 4 (the pride & joy), maybe I would crop off a bit at the top and I would like to see the whole left wing, Clipping a wing with birds is usual a no-no

[flashback]

Izzie, shots are good, good angles, blah blah blah blah....I want to know more about the whole "The then King of Saudi Arabia gave this bird to Bill..."
so what's up with clouds in #1? they look real enough but there's a color shift from white to yellow? Whatupwitdat?
#2 colors are vivid and I never noticed the clouds, they look real enough to me...for the most part.
#3 is all shiny and whatnot but a really cool shot, but those clouds...they almost look upside down,
As for the last one, I refer you back to my earliest comment...

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured, very tight crop that helps eliminate distractions.

[FootLoose]

Good sharp captures of the birds, Izzie. I think you have done a pretty good job of introducing the clouds in post.

Did you shoot the first one with a polarizer? I sometimes get that kind of yellowy colour in clouds when I use one (or mis-use one). Also, there seems to be a darker patch in the sky behind the tent which looks like it might be the result of processing too.

In the second shot, the bird seems to have quarter of a spinning propeller. No sign of it at the pointy end where two men in the background are clearly visible.

In the 3rd, the highlights in the cloud do seem blown. Perhaps you could have pulled them down before layering them into this image.

[wilgk]

Sounds like you had a great time Izzie!
I kind of like the drama in the clouds, manufactured or not, but understand what others have said in this regard.
I wonder how #3 would look in B/W or sepia tone with reduced vibrance, sort of an old fashioned type processing application.
Nice efforts on a hot day!

[IzzieK]

Not a lot wrong with these, Izzie. Maybe a fraction tight widthwise for the first two. Possibly I would be prepared to lose a little of the cloud in #1 and crop to 5 x 4 ratio?

Is there a bit of over exposure in the clouds with #3? The slightly wider width works better with this image.

Widthwise, I was trying to avoid the crowds. The public wasn't exactly cordoned off from the event so quite a few of them were milling around, waiting in the tent away from the heat or milling around the airplanes and asking questions...or looking at the added bonus -- vintage cars. I had wanted to blur the background but too much work. Thanks for the suggestion on #1. I will do just that.

'Appreciate your passing by to comment...

[IzzieK]

I agree with Geoff F, the clouds are blown out and distracting. Otherwise, the shots are good. I don't know if shooting from the port side might have had a less cluttered background.

I had shot on three angles and I thought I like this ones better. I have very limited angles to shoot from because of the crowd. I could have shot very early in the morning but the darn pilots all have covers on their plane to protect them from heavy condensation. By the time they removed the covers, the sun was already way up...

Appreciate your comments and suggestions...

[IzzieK]

Must say I did expect something else to see .

All in all good shots. In nr 4 (the pride & joy), maybe I would crop off a bit at the top and I would like to see the whole left wing, Clipping a wing with birds is usual a no-no

In my hubby's environment, 'bird' is a plane; in an Aussie environment, a sheila and a bird are the same Sorry you were disappointed. I should have thought hard before I put that title... I agree with you about that crop you suggest but this one is made for the museum's markings that included the logo of the organization. I just did not bother cropping for presentation here. And yes, I will have to reshoot the whole thing when there are no chairs and tables around. We had our banquet in that room. To us, it is the blessing of having a spanking brand new $500,000 facility for the $100,000 price we paid to build this building and its associated departments in one place. Thanks Rudi. 'Appreciate your comments and suggestion. I was trying to crop that guy looking at the airplane at the time and was distracted.

[IzzieK]

Izzie, shots are good, good angles, blah blah blah blah....I want to know more about the whole "The then King of Saudi Arabia gave this bird to Bill..."

Bill went to Saudi Arabia because he was following up the story (with pictures) that Cotton Conder sent him about the trainers Cotton accompanied when they were given to the Saudis in the early '50's. He was still a test pilot for TWA at the time. Anyway, long story short, he applied and was sent to Saudia Air Lines to teach their pilots how to fly airplanes. He made friends, many friends that he trusted enough to ask about the whereabouts of the Buckaroo. The lengthy process of asking the then King Abdullah to give him even just one complete Buckaroo and its parts started to unfold through the help of his pilot friends and of course Prince Bandar, the illegitimate son of the King. Being a pilot himself, he was one of those instrumental in Bill's being given all the 9 boxes of parts and anything that belongs to the T-35 itself. They were just in the parts grave in the desert of Jeddah at the time. I have the original letter of the King to Bill and the subsequent translation that the FAA required. It also stated the conditions of how the airplanes will be shown to the public and of course maintenance of the same. We own one of the planes and is on display on the second floor of our hangar.

so what's up with clouds in #1? they look real enough but there's a color shift from white to yellow? Whatupwitdat?

Oh that!!! It was done in Color Efex. I will have to remove it. I sort of wanted it to look better but I failed...

#2 colors are vivid and I never noticed the clouds, they look real enough to me...for the most part.[/QUOTE]
It's a brush cloud I got from phlearn by Aaron Nace. Plonk one and stretched it. If that is real, the ride will have been bumpy up there...LOL

#3 is all shiny and whatnot but a really cool shot, but those clouds...they almost look upside down,

Caught me! Yup! how did you guess I flipped the clouds vertically...can't fool you,eh?

As for the last one, I refer you back to my earliest comment...

With a little bit too much on the lengthy side...

Thanks, Jack...always rely on you to keep me up on my toes...'Appreciate it...

[IzzieK]

Nicely captured, very tight crop that helps eliminate distractions.

You got it! Thanks John...for understanding and commenting.

[IzzieK]

Good sharp captures of the birds, Izzie. I think you have done a pretty good job of introducing the clouds in post.

Did you shoot the first one with a polarizer? I sometimes get that kind of yellowy colour in clouds when I use one (or mis-use one). Also, there seems to be a darker patch in the sky behind the tent which looks like it might be the result of processing too.

Yes, but it was more on pp. I am trying to find out which of the effects made those patches. I sumaybe spect using the Detail Extractor is the culprit because I had already pushed the Structure in Viveza...maybe Detail Extractor is the overkill here. Yes to the polarizer too. The sun was just too hot -- 95°F on all the last 4 days we were there...They can't find anyone better so I was assigned official photographer again despite Bill putting his foot down.

In the second shot, the bird seems to have quarter of a spinning propeller. No sign of it at the pointy end where two men in the background are clearly visible.

The two visible men are Bo Mabry and my stepson. Sonny boy was being given a lecture for being a yahoo in the field. As for the shutter speed there, I was thinking of 1/250 but the plane was not in the air yet so I thought 1/125 will be enough...I didn't expect it to be too slow, maybe 1/150 will be just right?

In the 3rd, the highlights in the cloud do seem blown. Perhaps you could have pulled them down before layering them into this image.

As Jack had observed, I flipped the darn thing upside down... perhaps I should just leave it right side up and lower the brightness, eh?

Thanks for your detailed observation...appreciate your comments and suggestions, as always...
Cheerios...

[IzzieK]

Sounds like you had a great time Izzie!

I thought I was having a good time but I overdid it and was treated for heat exhaustion inside and was brought back to the hotel once someone found Bill and extracted him from his BOD meeting. Of course, I was given a lecture as soon as we board my broom to the hotel. I am not quite out of the woods with my bronchitis yet...I have another appointment with my pulmonologist after Father's Day. I am sure he will hit the roof when Bill tells him what happened...

I kind of like the drama in the clouds, manufactured or not, but understand what others have said in this regard.
I wonder how #3 would look in B/W or sepia tone with reduced vibrance, sort of an old fashioned type processing application.
Nice efforts on a hot day!

Great minds think alike...I was thinking along the same line -- old plane, old cars, how can one go wrong with that kind of scene? 'Made a mistake of flipping the clouds though...one smart cookie noticed...LOL

Never really care much about increasing vibrance and saturation but I always lower down saturation in most cases. Thanks for the suggestion. I will try that...I like toned down sepia in most vintage stuffs...

'Apprecite your comments....and suggestions.

[marlunn]

Nice birds Izzie, from my past - what donks in them? early lycomings ?

oh and to get rid of wandering 'tourists' get a big stopper and tripod, iso 100 , f11 and a loooong exposure :-) that should do the trick.

[Ziggy]

Nice birds Izzie.

[IzzieK]

Nice birds Izzie, from my past - what donks in them? early lycomings ?

oh and to get rid of wandering 'tourists' get a big stopper and tripod, iso 100 , f11 and a loooong exposure :-) that should do the trick.

Both our airplane and the Buckaroo T35 shown here (#3 image) has the Continental II engine. The Saudi Buck (Image #4) has the Franklin engine. The FAA N# site has the details...I think.

Darn! I have the 2 to 8 stop variable ND plus 2 more separate ND, a two stop and three stop one. I totally forgot about it...I am going to Florida soon in a little bit over a week after my doctor's appointment, maybe just stay the weekend. I will practice with the ND filters. Who knows I might even enjoy the effect of milky waters and ghostly encounters...LOL

Thanks for passing by and commenting and suggestions and reminder about the ND filters...gotta try it soon before they put a hole in my backpack...hihihhihihi...

[IzzieK]

Nice birds Izzie.

Yup...didn't have any BIF though...too busy trying not to get sick and attending to a little 3 year old boy who wanted to fly in our Swift...thanks for commenting...

[rudi]

.... Sorry you were disappointed....

Oh, no no, I was not disappointed but pleasantly surprised