ISnAP April 2016 by International Society of Aviation Photography, Inc.

Kevin Hong

WELCOME TO THE APRIL 2016 ISSUE OF ISNAP!

NAF El Centro Photo Call Brent Clark, Craig Swancy, Douglas Glover, Gary Stray, Jeff Krueger, Larry Grace, Nora Klein, Scott Germain, Steve Bigg Meet The Members Frank Grealish, Marc Schultz, Ozkan Uner, Ricardo Beccari, Steve Bigg , Nora Klein How I Got The Shot Phil Makanna Mystery Plane Silhouettes John Ford 2016 Demo Schedules FRONT COVER PHOTO: Larry Grace ISAP members Gary Stray, Steve Bigg and Jeff Krueger capture a USN T-45 landing during the spring NAF El Centro photo call. Camera: Nikon D800 Lens: Tamron 100-600mm Focal Length: 170mm Shutter Speed: 1/2000 Aperture: f/8 ISO: 400 Mode: Aperture Priority Format: RAW Process: Nikon CaptureNX2, Photoshop CC and with Aurora HD Pro. BACK COVER: Larry Grace Thank you to the sailors at NAF EL Centro for their assistance during our visit. From left to right: Acan Lancaster Adan Lisua AO2 Custodia AT3 Naughton

AOAN Foley ADAN Valenzuela AC3 Torregroza

Camera: Nikon D800 Lens: Tamron 100-600mm 5.6 Focal Length: 150mm Shutter Speed: 1/160 Aperture: f/11 ISO: 500 Mode: Shutter Priority Format: RAW Process: Nikon CaptureNX2, Photoshop CC and with Aurora HD Pro

ISAP’s goal is to bring together our members who share a love of aviation, and want to preserve its history through their images. Through our organization, members can seek to enhance their artistic quality, advance technical knowledge, and improve safety for all areas of aviation photography while fostering professionalism, high ethical standards, and camaraderie. ISAP continues to help our members to better their photography skills, workflow, and set up resources to help with business questions that our members have. Updates are being made to the ISAP website and member portfolio section, and we are showcasing ISAP members’ images and accomplishments on our social media pages. In this issue we are continuing to highlight ISAP members. I’m sure you will enjoy learning how your fellow ISAP members got started, as well as seeing some of their images and learning some tips. Remember that ISnAP is your publication to share your images, stories and tips with other members and the public. We look forward to each member sharing his or her stories with all of us. Enjoy this issue of ISnAP! Sincerely, Larry Grace, President Kevin Hong, ISnAP Editor International Society for Aviation Photography www.aviationphoto.org • www.facebook.com/ISAPorg isnap@aviationphoto.org

ISAP members at NAF El Centro Photo Call Left to Right: Scott Germain, Larry Grace, Steve Bigg, Douglas Glover, Nora Klein, Gary Stray, Craig Swancy, Brent Clark, Jeff Krueger

w e l c o m e

n e w

a n d

r e t u r n i n g

i s a p

m e m b e r s

Gregory Meland

John J Ringquist

Michael Manz

David Stubbington

Jan-Arie van der Linden

Simon Fitall

Herb Lingl

Frank Grealish

Dave Madden

Gary Edwards

Steven Bigg

Bob Beresh

Shawn Malone

Matt Rainey

Jeffrey Krueger

John Stanfield

Matthew Savage

Robert Moser

Mark Chiolis

Marc Schultz

Gary Daniels

Jim Sugar

Ozkan Uner

James Goggin

Christopher Ranney

Eureco Blair

The ISnAP is a periodic publication of the International Society for Aviation Photography and is used to communicate news, functions, convention information, and other information of interest on the local, regional, and national scenes. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and should not be construed as the views or opinions of the International Society for Aviation Photography.

By Douglas Glover 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 participate in the El Centro Photocall I had so often witnessed. Equipment 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. * I brought two bodies (Nikon D7200 and D7100), and only two lenses. * My bag was a MaxPedition Jumbo Versipack. It is a shoulder bag that I can sling across my body that also provides a secure attaching point for long lenses. 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. Planning So what was my plan? What was my purpose? It was simple and had 2 parts. 1. Document the ISAP participation in the photocall. 2. Nail the shots at the “Golden Hour”

Execution To capture the images of the ISAP photographers in action, I brought a Sigma 17-70 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. 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 other important thing I did during the time at the LSO shack is MOVE! There are photographers who “drop anchor” and try to grab that “one spot” that they think is best. 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. 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. 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. Read more about Doug’s trip to El Centro on his blog at http://fox3photo.blogspot.com

NAF El Centro Photo Call Opening Article by Douglas Glover

Nikon D7100 Sigma 17-70mm OS 17mm 1/1000 sec f14 ISO 640

Douglas Glover Douglas Glover

Nikon D7200 Nikon AF-S 80-400 VR 185mm 1/80sec f/11 ISO 100

Nikon D7100 Sigma 17-70mm OS 19mm 1/160 sec f/14 ISO 100

Douglas Glover Douglas Glover

Nikon D7100 Sigma 17-70mm OS 32mm 1/2000 sec f/8 ISO 400

Nikon D7100 Sigma 17-70mm OS 32mm 1/640 sec f/10 ISO 200

Nikon D7100 Sigma 17-70mm OS 70mm 1/125 sec f/10 ISO 400

Douglas Glover

By Brent Clark

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/11 1/1600 sec ISO 800 400mm

Brent Clark

Brent Clark Brent Clark

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/11 1/200 sec ISO 160 80 mm

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/20 1/1600 sec ISO 800 80 mm

Brent Clark Brent Clark

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/18 1/100 sec ISO 250 80 mm

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/11 1/640 sec ISO 800 230 mm

Brent Clark Brent Clark

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/8 1/800 sec ISO 320 210mm

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/13 1/400 sec ISO 250 110mm

Brent Clark Brent Clark

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/10 1/2500 sec ISO 1000 400mm

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/6.3 1/2000 sec ISO 500 400mm

Nikon D4s and Nikon 80-400mm AF-S VRII FX VR G ED N. f/10 1/1000 sec ISO 400 270mm

Brent Clark

By Gary Stray

As I stepped on the plane in Florida, the day before the shoot, I knew the 2 day turn around trip to the West Coast, was going to be a long one. However, the excitement of standing on the edge of NAF runway in El Centro whilst F18’s would be thundering into the air, totally overwhelmed that thought.

group. There was a buzz amongst the members, looking forward to what was in store for us the next day. We went to dinner as a group, and decided we would meet early next morning to watch the Blue Angels practice at 8.30am, to experience viewing from the famous hay bales at the end of the runway.

Landing in San Diego, at 1;22pm, I grabbed my hire car and headed down I-8 towards El Centro. It was a 2 hour trip, so if I have daylight, why not practice with some new bought winter equipment? As I neared El Centro, a four-ship of T-45 Goshawks screeched low overhead, for a run in to break and land; I knew I had arrived.

Morning came and we headed to the airbase. Upon arrival, a few of us decided to climb the hay bale and the effort was not unrewarded. The view of the runway was perfect. Excitement heightened, as we heard the GE F404 engines of the Blue Angels burst into life. Unfortunately, the three aircraft of the Blue Angels did not take off towards us as I had hoped, due to wind restraints. From a photography standpoint, all we got was a frame full of white smoke, as Cdr Ryan Bernacchi called the command of “smoke on”. We were also treated to departure from Fat Albert and Blue Angel 7, before Larry (aka “Dad”) called “his children” in from playtime. Larry then proceeded in taking us to two additional spots around the airbase, in order to photograph numerous aircraft, practicing touch and go’s. I knew that this was probably going to be the most opportune moment I was ever going to have for the “perfect” photo. I was not going to let this once in a lifetime opportunity go to

Arriving at the base, I drove around the perimeter fence, looking for a place to stop. I came across Ned Harris in his car, accompanied solely by his camera equipment. Ned proceeded to tell me of the photo call days he had previously experienced, which I found very helpful. After spending a few hours shooting, in which time I saw the Blue Angels practice, and an F-18 make an emergency landing, (taking the arrestor wire), I headed to the hotel to meet the rest of the ISAP

Canon 7D MKII 200-400mm ISO 100 400mm 0ev f/22 1/160 sec waste 10:30am approached and we loaded into the car, to congregate at 11am to enter the airbase. We boarded the buses and showed our credentials. Looking at my name on the list, that’s when it sunk in! A boy from Southampton, England, who started photographing aircraft at 8 years of age, with his mum’s instamatic camera, was entering a U.S. navy airbase! Long gone were the days of looking at unrecognizable dots on a paper photograph, I was actually going to be 50ft away from these beasts! The Navy’s hospitality was second to none, as they took us into a safety briefing, and fed us well. Next it was off to watch the Blue Angels demo team, who had even provided their team commentator for the 50 privilege photographers. As the team taxied by us, we were allowed out on the taxi way to shoot their departures. The excitement of the pilots was apparent as they fist pumped the air and waved. I was completely surprised how quickly the 6 hornets zoomed by me, even though their wheels had not left the ground yet! The Blues took off and performed our “private” display at close quarters, giving us endless photo opportunities. We then moved on to the active runway, which was what I was most anticipating, and I was not disappointed. Never have I been close enough to a F-18 Growler, where not only did I hear the power, but felt the power as it clawed

it’s way into the air, a few feet away from me, in full afterburner. We were treated all afternoon to F-18’s, T-45’s, a pair of C-2 Greyhounds and a lone 737, doing circuits, and leaving for missions right before our eyes. As the initial awe of my surroundings started to wear off ever so slightly, I started to feel more comfortable about my purpose of being there, which was taking photographs. I began using different body and lens combinations, but the dust and wind was an issue, so lens changing was kept to a minimum. As the sun set, on a day the light was ideal, the 3 horns signal ended our unforgettable day too soon, and it was time to board the buses for home. My day was memorable in part, due to the effort of Larry’s organization of the event, the other ISAP members that made me feel very welcome as a new member and of course the U.S Navy for their hospitality. As I drove into the desert night, I looked over my shoulder at the runway lights, hoping to be stood there again on another occasion.

Gary Stray Gary Stray

Canon EOS-1Dx Canon EF 200-400mm +1.4 ISO 200 560mm 0.67ev f/5.6 1/800 sec

Canon EOS-1DX 70-200mm ISO 200 70mm 0.67ev f/11 1/160 sec

Gary Stray GaryStray Stray Gary

Canon EOS-1Dx Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM ISO 200 160mm 0.67 ev f/11 1/160 sec

Canon EOS-1Dx Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM ISO 200 102 mm 0.67 ev f/8 1/640 sec

Gary Stray

Canon EOS-1Dx Canon EF 200-400mm +1.4 ISO 200 560 mm 0.67 ev f/6.3 1/800 sec

Gary Stray Canon 1DX 200-400mm ISO 400 280mm -0.33 f/22 1/200 sec

Gary Stray

Canon 7D MKII 200-400mm ISO 100 400mm 0ev f/7.1 1/160 sec

Gary Stray Canon 7DMKII 200-400mm ISO 100 400mm 0ev f/4 1/1000 sec

By Jeff Krueger Being a hobbyist and not a professional aviation photographer, I was surprised and excited when I was chosen to join the ISAP contingent for the NAF El Centro photo call. We met up at the Fairfield Inn and quickly got to know each other. Thursday morning found us shooting from the hay bales at the top of one of the NAF runways just outside the base fence. Several of us made the climb to the top of a hay bale mountain and although the morning was overcast, hazy and windy, we had a good vantage point as three of the Blue Angels taxied to our end and took off right in front of us for a short practice flight. Fat Albert then took his turn taking off for parts unknown. From there, we met up with the PAO and had lunch at the Chief’s mess and our safety briefing. The base XO also gave a brief talk. All told there were about 50 photographers from several different organizations, most of which were pretty seasoned regulars. We were bussed out to the tarmac where we were front and center for the roll out of the Blue Angels and had a fantastic vantage point to shoot their takeoff and entire show practice run. While I have seen the “Blues” before, not quite so up close and personal!

Once the Blue Angels finished their practice and landed, normal base operations resumed and we were bussed up to the flight line on the active runway. We were positioned at the top of the runway near the LSO shack and let loose (behind the white chalk line) to shoot for the remainder of the afternoon, all the way through the “golden” hour. We watched and photographed formation takeoffs, touch and go landings by a variety of aircraft, and even an interesting looking 737 arrive and depart. On the technical side, my primary camera was a Canon 7D Mkll using a Canon 100-400mm L lens. On this camera I used my Canon 1.4 III converter (for the first time) as well. My secondary camera was a Canon 5D MkIII. On this camera I alternated a Canon 70-200mm f/2 L series lens and a Canon 24-105mm L lens. For jets, I tended to use TV at 1/1200 and for prop aircraft I shot TV at 1/125 to get a nice prop blur. Generally I shot at ISO 100 but experimented with ISO settings between 200 and 500. As the sun set, we boarded the buses back to the parking lot. After leaving the base, our ISAP group debriefed at the El Centro Burgers and Beer, as did several of the other groups we shot with during the

day. Once home and able to download and view my work from the photo call using Adobe Lightroom CC, I was happy with some of my work, and not so much on some, but I learned a lot and met some really great photographers. During both shooting at the hay bales as well as on the tarmac, I had an opportunity to talk with a number of photographers and got some good pointers to help me improve on my aviation photography. Overall I found everyone I talked to, especially my ISAP group, were open and happy to talk and answer questions.

Jeff Krueger

The hospitality shown and access given us by the NAFEC personnel was outstanding. For me, this was a great experience that I hope will be the first of many.

Jeff Krueger

By Nora Klein When my name came up as one of the photographers selected by ISAP to shoot the “photo call” for the Blue Angels at the Naval Base in El Centro I was “giddy”. No other word describes it better. The first thing that came to mind was a memory of a seven-year-old girl seeing the Blue Angels for the first time. Wide eyed staring into space and looking for them in awe of their flying skills. A memory that never left me. A sense of pride of being American and part of what these amazing pilots represented. Wondering what the speed would feel like and what the earth looked like inverted going that fast. Envisioning the images and wonderfully how awesome it would be to capture those images in art. Yes, at that age, that is what I wanted to do and now was getting to do it. The story had come full circle and I was actually invited to photograph the Blue Angels Flight Team from just fifty feet away then tell the story. A story so personal to me. Well the story began at age seven…and has not changed. It is a story of culture, pride, tradition and excellence. Lessons in dedication and discipline. Sensations of sounds that you do not only hear but they vibrate through you. Fumes, speed, colors, heat energy waves, contrast between earth and sky and back again…inverted. It is team work and incredible trust. As an aviation photographer the experience was a testimony of the vibrant link between flying, engineering, photography and art. Disciplines so far removed from each other yet with so much commonality. It is like expressing the same thought in two different languages. My day started with a drive to El Centro to meet up with other ISAP photographers…all exceptional photographers with a passion that is so evident to see. It was an honor to be in this group. All I kept

thinking was “we share the same kind of crazy”. A humbling experience for me as a new photographer in aviation photography eager to learn photographic skills from each one of them. However, the true challenge for me was capturing the emotions that the Blue Angels instill in the American public through my lens. That was my goal and inspired by a Flight Team like the Blue Angel and the group I was shooting with, the bar was high. I agreed to write an article about the day because I had to in order to get there. However, I believe my strengths are not as a journalist but as an artist. If we do our job, our images will evoke the emotions of the day in ways that words would never express. My thanks to El Centro Naval Base for their hospitality and attention to everyone’s safety; to the ISAP members that attended for sharing their knowledge base with me and to ISAP for allowing me the opportunity to take this one off my bucket list.

Nora Klein

By Scott Germain

After seeing postings on social media from previous ISAP photo calls, I was highly interested to get in on the next one. I don’t necessarily shoot a lot of airshows or military subjects, so when the notice went out regarding the NAF El Centro Photo Call, I had my reply in a few minutes after Larry sent it out. This would be a great opportunity to capture a Blue Angel practice as well as some pattern operations by various military aircraft. I drove to El Centro from the Los Angeles basin the morning of the shoot, leaving the rain and low clouds of the valley for the partly cloudy skies of the desert. A high overcast was present upon arrival, but that didn’t stop us early birds from shooting outside the fence before our muster and base entry. After a brief by the base PAO, we were bussed out to show center for the Blue’s afternoon practice session. The high overcast layer began to move off, and we were treated to some decent light during portions of their flight. One thing I really look forward to at ISAP events is the ability to meet new people, learn some new skills, try different techniques, and make new friends. I reconnected with some old friends and made plenty of

new ones. Some of us only know each other over social media, so putting a voice and a handshake to the name was awesome. Once around the group, I like to perk up the ears and listen. You never know what you might overhear; a new technique, a great new piece of kit, a workflow addition, or business opportunity. As a professional photographer, ‘always learning’ is one aspect of this endeavor I hope I never lose. One thing I learned wasn’t on the photography side of my house – it was on the pilot side. As I watched the Blues fly their show, it was clear there were some issues with their routine and getting the team up to speed. One jet broke and landed during the flight, two had funky smoke systems, and planes were out of position at times. They had about three weeks before their first show of the season, so thing might have not been looking that good for them. I think non-pilots come to expect perfection from organizations like the Blue Angels all the time. Why? Because they look pretty damn good at their shows, so we come to think of that as normal. It is not. At this event, we happened to get a behind-the-scenes peak at the hard work, small failures, and persistence that allows the team to overcome these issues and take their show on the road. Their type of flying is hard, and we lose sight of that much of the time.

400mm f/13 1/125 sec After the Blues did their thing, we hopped back on the vans, only to find my group’s trusty steed wouldn’t start. As the other groups began shooting the jets in the pattern, we sat – dejected, sad, and lonely - as our young Navy escort tried to get the vehicle jump-started. That’s when Larry Grace, our intrepid leader, sauntered into action and offered his expert assistance. The Navy folk had what appeared to be an automatic external defibrillator, only for a car. The portable battery and cables were put to use to try and shock the engine into life. Unfortunately, Larry was the first to get shock-started. I happened to be shooting this comical (from our point of view) trainwreck, but of course, his arm was in the way. All I captured was an open mouth – no facial expression registering the immediate application of volts and amps to a human body. Fortunately, there were no apparent injuries to Larry. We pressed on. Once at the side of the El Centro’s runway, we found The White Line of Death, our limiting mark for proximity to the runway. I heard some grumbles from the peanut gallery during the brief; apparently last time the photographers were allowed on the fringe of the runway. Quite frankly, our 55 foot safety distance subtracted nothing from being able to capture the images we wanted, and being anywhere near the edge of the runway – while fun and exhilarating – actually

does effect our safety. Even at our distance, a blown tire, directional malfunction, or arresting wire failure would not have given us much time to react, let alone make any difference. It remains something to consider as a photographer: access versus safety has to be weighed at times. The rest of our afternoon was spent mashing shutter releases, chatting with our new friends, and taking in the opportunity. Our subjects included F-18s, T-45s, C-2s, and one Boeing 737 in civilian paint – but no N number. I was hoping for some helo and V-22 ops, but that didn’t materialize. I didn’t leave anywhere near disappointed - far from it. We had opportunities to shoot from a 1,000+ foot long line, which was next to the LSO shack and the portable Optical Landing System for the carrier boys (and girls). We could also shoot from the edge of the runup area. One could easily shoot the last part of final, the touchdown, and the takeoff from several locations and capture several different scenes. Juxtaposing the photographers against the aircraft added another dimension to our possibilities.

Since the Photo Call wasn’t a paying client gig, I took the opportunity to experiment and work on my low shutter-speed panning skills (what little there are...) as the C-2s flew carrier approaches. Even at 1/125th, we were capturing nice prop blur and arc, but I ruined several billion pixels trying 1/60th and 1/45th, even with Canon’s superb IS... There were a few keepers in there, so I was happy. I also changed my usual camera setup with some changes to exposure compensation, different autofocus settings, and some other custom setting so I could expand my horizons. And why not? We had hours to shoot and try different things we normally wouldn’t. I’m shooting a Canon EOS-1Dx, which is about nine-months new to me. I’m still expanding my experience and knowledge with the platform and seeing what it can do. As the light got low, the colors on the horizon started popping; orange and yellow skies, purple mountains, and high contrast really set off the mood. I started upping my ISO to previously unused, stupid-high settings. The result was outstanding. You gotta love technology. By the time the sun was about to hit the western mountains, I think most of us had been standing for four-plus hours and were pretty much done shooting. After tallying 164 gigs of collected pixels, I wondered what

the total was for the entire group. (50 photographers, lets say 160 gigs each, equals 8,200 gig of photographic data.) God bless RAW format, fast write speeds, 128 gig CF cards, and cheap portable hard drives! I wasn’t able to join our ISAP group for the evening dinner and lie telling debriefing since I had to get back to LA. I was bummed about this, because I had such a great time with everyone. Nora, Jeff, Craig and the others were a great group of folks, and it was an honor to shoot with them. Fencecheck and Arizona Aviation Photographers were also present, and probably one or two other groups. I’m bummed I missed the chance to chat with everyone and solidify my newly found friends. Next time! For those considering the next ISAP Photo Call, I highly recommend it! If it’s El Centro, plan ahead with how you want to pack your camera bag. You’ll have to have all the equipment you’ll need, plus some basic survival gear that will make your day a lot easier. Bring plenty of water, sunscreen, head/neck covering, sunglasses, hand-wipes, and effective hearing protection. For some of our chronologically experienced members, strapping a small folding seat to your camera bag would not be a bad call. (Hell, I’m 47 and had a bum leg – I wished I’d brought a folding

400mm f/6.7 1/1500 sec seat!) Other than that, the entire group had been warned, warned again, re-warned, threated, harassed and intimidated by the PAO and Sheriff Grace when it came to FOD and the prevention of it. They are drop-dead serious about the subject, and for good reason. The ISAPers did their usual impeccable job of acting professionally.

All images: Scott Germain â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Images of Light and Lift Canon EOS-1Dx / 100-400 IS/USM. Import via Lightroom CC, along with initial artistic work. I use many of the tools; Exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, etc... Export in TIFF. Final sizing, any dust spots/ imperfections removed or fixed, and sharpening done in Photoshop CC.

Thanks also goes to Larry Grace and ISAP for putting the Call together. I had an absolute great time, and really enjoyed shooting subjects different from my norm.

Scott Germain

Overall, there was nothing to complain about when it came to the event, planning for it, or how it was executed. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to extend a big thanks to all the sailors at NAF El Centro, and especially the PAO and his staff. They were courteous, professional, and they went out of their way to provide us with the access we all crave. Our relationship with them is mutually beneficial; we get access and photos, and they get a great selection of our shots to use when promoting the base and the United States Navy in general.

Scott Germain Scott Germain

400mm f/5.6 1/2000 sec

190mm f/6.7 1/500 sec

Scott Germain 400mm f/5.6 1/2000 sec

Scott Germain Scott Germain

100mm f/6.7 1/2000 sec

330mm f/6.7 1/2000 sec

Scott Germain Scott Germain

400mm f/6.7 1/2000 sec

100mm f/6.7 1/2000 sec

By Steve Bigg

There is quite simply nothing else like it. The sights and sensations of military aviation are a privilege to experience up close. The chest rattling sensation that only comes from standing next to a runway while the engines of a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet spool up into afterburner producing 44,000 lbs of thrust. The warmth of used jet fuel washing over you as T-45 Goshawk training aircraft pass by doing circuits of take offs and landings. The smell of burnt rubber as a C-2 Greyhound’s tires go from zero to 130 mph the instant they touch the ground. These are just some of the completely unique experiences involved in photographing military aircraft operations while standing less than 50 feet from the edge of an active runway. And every single time I find myself in the privileged position of being on a military airfield shooting aircraft operations, lyrics from the Taking Heads “Once In A Lifetime” come to mind: “Well... How did I get here?” When I consider the opportunities I’ve had that have resulted in the privilege of participating in a photo shoot of military aircraft next to an active runway on a military base, the Photo Call held at Naval Air Facility El Centro (NAFEC) in sunny Southern California on February 18th, 2016 was unique. My first opportunity came when a friend in the RCAF offered to escort me around 4 Wing Cold Lake for a couple days to shoot at the multinational Maple Flag exercise being held in June of 2010. By the time I left Cold Lake I felt like I had had a once in a lifetime

unforgettable experience and if I never had the chance to do it again I’d be happy. As time passed the euphoria of my first shoot began to wear off and I realized it had only taken one hit to get me addicted. I needed a fix and started looking for another opportunity. Over time I realized I couldn’t rely on friendship alone to feed my new found addiction and I made the leap to submitting story requests to magazines in the hope of gaining access to shoot and tell the stories of military aviation. It seemed like a Hail Mary pass as I had no press credentials but to my surprise I was successful at getting my images and stories published first in an online magazine and later in print publications. The NAFEC opportunity however didn’t involve a letter of intent to publish to gain access to a shoot, it came up in a different way: through my membership in ISAP. I’ve been a member of ISAP for three years and have seen several opportunities to apply to join a group of ISAP members on a Photo Call. I had submitted requests for some but the NAFEC event was the first time I’d been contacted to discuss my participation. After a frank conversation with ISAP President Larry Grace about my involvement with ISAP (or more honestly, my lack of involvement) it was agreed that if I would get my member portfolio completed for the website and provide a “Meet The Member” article for ISnAP in a timely fashion, I could join the group at NAFEC. I felt both tasks were little to ask of a member

and the conversation gave me the push to do what I’d put off and get them done. The conversation made me realize that being a member of ISAP wasn’t meant to be a passive experience. Getting involved and contributing was the way to get the most out of being a member and my latest fix in El Centro was proof. A patch was made for the February Photo Call at NAFEC and it included the phase “Closer than you ought to be?”. Looking up and down the bright white “NO GO” line painted on the ground parallel to the edge of Runway 26, it was a question that seemed worthy of some thought. We’d been very clearly instructed by the NAFEC Public Affairs Officer (PAO) not cross the white line unless we were interested in an immediate, personally escorted, trip off of the base property with a bonus invitation not to come back. Looking at how close the line was to the edge of the active runway I did wonder if any of the roughly 50 photographers participating in the photo call would actually want to get closer. As much as I love being next to fighter jets as they fly touch and go’s, there’s a limit to how close I’d like to get and I think the white line at El Centro was it. Walking up and down the line and trying shots from different positions, including backing away from the line, gave a nearly unlimited number of different angels to shoot from. The ISAP group shared the line with other clubs, groups and individuals

Canon EOS 70D f/8 1/1000 sec ISO 200 400mm and everyone seemed to play well in the sandbox together respecting each other’s chance to shoot. Besides everyone’s good nature and professionalism the success of the day can be largely attributed to the way the shoot was organized and run by the PAO and his staff. The initial briefing given to the group before heading out onto the field covered the ground rules clearly and the rules were more than reasonable. They struck a perfect balance between everyone’s opportunity to “get the shot” while still achieving the number one goal for the day: the safety of both the photographers and the people and aircraft we were there to shoot. When the horn blew to indicate the day was over and it was time to pack up, the sun was casting a warm orange glow on the airfield. I looked forward to meeting with the ISAP group that evening to discuss the day together. I was eager to start reviewing my shots for my catch of the day when the power of my addiction surfaced again. It left me wondering when I would find myself on a base next with camera in hand. I didn’t know the answer yet but I knew I would certainly be pleased if the next opportunity to shoot would be with ISAP.

Steve Bigg Canon EOS REBEL T3i f/8 1/3200 sec ISO 400 24mm

Steve Bigg Steve Bigg

Canon EOS 70D f/8 1/400 sec ISO 200 176mm

Canon EOS 70D f/8 1/2000 sec ISO 400 400mm

Steve Bigg Steve Bigg

Canon EOS 70D f/8 1/200 sec ISO 100 100mm

Canon EOS REBEL T3i f/8 1/2000 sec ISO 400 35mm

Steve Bigg Steve Bigg

Canon EOS 70D f/8 1/2000 sec ISO 400 100 mm

Canon EOS REBEL T3i f/6.3 1/250 sec ISO 100 135 mm

Steve Bigg Steve Bigg

Canon EOS 70D f/8 1/4000 sec ISO 400 400mm

Canon EOS 70D f/7.1 1/200 sec ISO 100 100mm

By Craig Swancy

Nikon D800 ISO 320 500mm f/8 1/500 sec

What a great experience to shoot on the Spring Photo Call at El Centro NAF. The brief by PAO Kris Haugh was short and sweet and exactly to the point. All ISAP personnel are around aircraft and we tend to be FOD conscious and trained to keep an eye out for such. So complying with the No. 1 concern of the base was automatic. When taken to the tarmac we found shooting from inside the “Box” to be fun and not an issue. This applied to both the Blue Angels and the NAF boxes. Great sight and shooting angles abound at both locations an made for a fun day. Must mention that the “Golden Hour” time was a bit longer than the Fall Shoot and many great captures came from that last hour.

Would I do this again? Certainly. Would I recommend this to other ISAP members? Yes. Final thought. Burgers and Beer is a great location for food and a few beers as you wind down to discuss the days opportunities. All of my images were taken with the Nikon D 800 and their new Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 lens. The new lens from Nikon is a great “Air Show” lens. I find that it has a faster focus, and clearly shaper images from the 95mm front glass. Yes it is 25% larger than the old Nikkor 80-400mm and weighs a bit more as well. But the performance is well worth it when attached to a nice padded sling type strap.

Craig Swancy

Nikon D800 ISO 320 410mm f/9 1/500

By Larry Grace

Welcome to the spring photo call at NAF El Centro. Twice a year the PAO Kris Haugh and the men and women of NAF El Centro invite photographers to a photo call of naval air operation. This opportunity allows photographers to capture images of flight ops up close and personal. Several aviation photography groups are invite to these photo calls and ISAP members had been invited and this is our fourth visit to the annual photo calls. The announcement was sent out for this photo call and ISAP members submit their names via email for the opportunity to be selected. On this photo call ISAP members were selected and have not previously attended a NAFEC photo call in the past. Members selected were asked to submit images and a write up of their visit. This issue of ISnAP showcase their words and images for you to get a feel of their visit to NAF El Centro. Enjoy not only the outstanding images but their stories on the visit. Each person shared their personal viewpoint of the trip and what they learned from each other and from the other photographers attending the photo call. This photo call allowed me the opportunity to not only spend time with ISAP members but to have discussions with other photographers and photo groups along with looking at future visits to NAF El Centro and San Diego for ISAP members.

I was prepared to shoot with two Nikon bodies, a D800 and D610 but elected to go with one body and lens for the day. I went with the Nikon D800 and Tamron 150-600mm combo. As a Nikon shooter Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m looking forward to trying out the new Nikon D500 and their 200-500mm lens combo in the near future for my aviation photography. I shot with the Tamron 150-600mm lens for a report in a past ISnAP issue, but wanted to give it another try this time with military aircraft and what it would be like to shoot during an airshow. The price point on this lens is worth looking into for aviation photography. I found the lens was good to handhold when shooting ground to air. The images were sharp while I worked on them in post processing. On behalf of the ISAP membership I would like to send our sincere thanks to The Blue Angels Demonstration Team, the men and women of NAF El Centro. The pilots and flight crews of the T-45 Goshawks, F-18 E/F SuperHornets, EA-18G Growlers and C2A Greyhoundsâ&#x20AC;Śmay our images show off your hard work and dedication to keeping America strong. To NAFEC PAO Kris Haugh and his staff in accommodating the photographers attending this photo call and giving us the experience of capturing naval air power in action.

Nikon D800 w/Tamron 150-600mm 600mm f/29 1/125 sec ISO 1000

Larry Grace Larry Grace

Nikon D800 w/Tamron 150-600mm 240mm f/18 1/125 sec -0.33 ISO 500

Nikon D800 w/Tamron 150-600mm 150mm f/8 1/1000 sec ISO 800

Larry Grace Larry Grace

Nikon D800 w/Tamron 150-600mm 200mm f/8 1/1600 sec -0.33 ISO 320

Nikon D800 w/Tamron 150-600mm 150mm f/8 1/1125 sec -0.33 ISO 250

Larry Grace Larry Grace

Nikon D800 w Tamron 150-600 mm 450mm f/8 1/1250 sec ISO 640

Nikon D800 w Tamron 150-600mm 460mm f/8 1/2000 sec ISO 640

Larry Grace Larry Grace

Nikon D800 w Tamron 150-600 mm 600mm f/11 1/160 sec ISO 500

Nikon D800 w Tamron 150-600mm 450mm f/8 1/1250 sec ISO 640

Larry Grace Nikon D800 w Tamron 150-600mm 360mm f/8 1/1600 ISO 640

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MEET OUR MEMBERS

MEET OUR MEMBER Two tips I’d share for a new aviation photographer: 1) Keep practicing, even if the subject is just a Cessna at your local flying club or airfield, 2) Look for feedback from experienced photographers, take any comments on board and learn from them, don’t take it personally.

Frank Grealish

I live in Galway, Ireland, and I guess I can be best described as semi-pro. I have never studied photography, nor have I received any formal training; trial and error, experimentation and learning new techniques as I go along are how I developed my photography skills. I don’t know how I got interested in photography; I always had an interest I guess. As for the aviation part of the hobby, I first discovered aviation when I saw an Irish Air Corps three ship Fouga Magister flypast at the opening ceremony of a Scout Jamboree in Ireland in 1985.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV 24-105mm lens ISO 320 f/11 1/320 sec 60mm

A few years later I went to an air show where I discovered that you could mix photography AND aviation, the rest, as they say, is history. I use all Canon equipment, I have a pair of EOS 1D Mark IV’s bodies, my usual set up is one body with an EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens, the other body with an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, both cameras have had their straps removed and I instead use the Black Rapid RS-DR2 dual sling strap. I also have an EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens and 1.4x converter in the bag in case I need to go wide or get more reach. I shoot both RAW and JPG as the 1D has the capability to record RAW to the CF card, and JPG to the SD card. I travel as light as possible so I don’t travel with a laptop, instead, my SD cards are Wi-Fi cards and I can transfer JPG’s that are time critical directly to my phone and email them where they need to be, or upload them to Twitter or Facebook.

Canon EOS-40D 24-105mm lens ISO 100 f/8 1/250 sec 93mm

Aside from a few photo groups on Facebook, the only photography organization I belong to is ISAP. I met Larry Grace at the Minnesota Air Spectacular at Mankato in 2015, he suggested I join up and a few months down the line here I am! I’ll always share tips whenever asked, recently I’ve been asked to give some presentations on aviation photography, at the time of writing one is complete and one more is imminent. The first presentation was with the local camera club (which I keep threatening to join but still haven’t gotten around to doing), while the upcoming one is for a group that strives to introduce women to aviation. Canon EOS-30D 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens ISO 200 f/2.8 1/1000 sec 200mm

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV 24-105mm lens ISO 320 f/8 1/1000 sec 32mm

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV 24-105mm lens ISO 200 f/8 30sec 24mm

Canon EOS-40D 10-22mm EF-S lens ISO 200 f/18 1/100 sec 10mm

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV 100-400mm MkII lens ISO 160 f/5.6 1/800 sec 400mm

Canon EOS-40D 100-400mm lens ISO 400 f/10 1/250 sec 225mm

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV 24-105mm lens ISO 400 f/5.6 1/1000 sec 105mm

Canon EOS-40D 24-105mm lens ISO 400 f/8 1/2500 sec 65mm

MEET OUR MEMBER Knowledge should be shared so I started to give some lectures on tone-mapping techniques to a couple of friends. My advice for all those new in aviation: * Get close! * Shoot RAW, always! * Sensor dust is evil, keep your camera clean!

Marc Schultz

I was born in February 1962, just a week before John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth in Mercury Atlas 6. The place of my birth is a town called Wuppertal, rather close to Düsseldorf in the mid-western part of Germany. I was different: while other boys liked their toy cars or their electric railways I always preferred things with wings. Consequently I started flying gliders at the age of 14. A Private Pilot License followed at 17 and I had been active as a pilot until 2006, logging some 1.000 hours in a variety of Light Aircraft. In 1979 I had been selected as a member of the German “International Air Cadet Exchange” Team and was send to the United States for a couple of weeks. That visit also marked the start for my interest in military aviation as well as in photography. Aircraft are highly photogenic, especially those in the military. I took several thousand aviation since those early days, some of them have been published in newspapers and in calendars. I did not have any professional training so far and consider myself as an advanced amateur with an autodidactic background.

NIKON D300S Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm 1:4G ED VR ISO 250

My current equipment covers a NIKON D300S, a NIKON D7000 and a Sony Alpha 6000. I use a Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4,55,6G VR zoom lens on the Nikons and a Sony 70 – 200mm SEL 70200G on the Alpha 6000. For static shots I prefer wide angle lenses like the Sigma 10-20mm / F 3,5 EX DC HSM and the Walimex Pro 12mm / F 1:2,0. There is no option rather than to shoot in RAW. Why? RAW supports the complete range of post production processes. Why should we limit our potentials by using JPG? I organize my picture processing with three software components: Lightroom, Photoshop and Perfect Photo Suite 9. Since the Adobe modules must be considered as standard operating tools the PPS-9 provides some very interesting filter presets that help to manage a rather lean workflow.

NIKON D300S Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 1:4G ED VR at 220mm ISO 800

Some time ago I read an article about Jessica Ambats and her stunning Air-to-Air photography. Doing some research on her work I learned about ISAP and the idea behind it. I strongly share ISAP’s philosophy to support communication, education and friendship amongst the “aviation minded” community so it was only logical to become a part of it. I joined in November 2015.

NIKON 1 V1 1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm at 50mm ISO 400

Camera: NIKON 1 V1 1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm at 32mm ISO 400

NIKON D300S Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 1:4G ED VR at 68mm ISO 250

NIKON D200 Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm 1:4G ED VR at 38mm ISO 800

NIKON D70 Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 1:4G ED VR at 200mm ISO 250

NIKON D300S Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 1:4G ED VR at 120mm ISO 400

NIKON 1 V1 1 Nikkor VR 10-30mm at 30mm ISO 100

NIKON 1 V1 Lens: 1 Nikkor VR 10-30mm at 10mm ISO 100

MEET OUR MEMBER to help everyone who enjoys photography and want to improve it. First thing I can advice to a photographer who is new to aviation is: go to the airports and aviation cafe’s around, where you can meet pilots and other aviation lovers in your area. Create a portfolio digital or printed, and introduce yourself and your works to others. Know your limits and improve yourself, but don’t forget security is the first step of aviation photography. You may miss some photos because of the rules not letting you to reach them, but every rule at aviation industry is written with blood of others, so they have reasons, obey them.

Ozkan Uner

I am located in Istanbul, Turkey. A city where Europe meets Asia. I am a professional photographer. I do study photography while I was in university for my Architecture degree. With that base education I improve myself with lots of research, reading and following photographers, books and websites. I do get Air to Air photography education at Eric Coeckelberghs Air2Air Academy in Belgium, both in 2010 and 2012. My desire for aviation lies since I was 7 years old, i remember i was interested anything that flies that years, birds, model planes etc. So being also interested in photography, making aviation photography is not a surprise for me. I use Canon 35mm SLR cameras. Before it was film camera as EOS 1N, and digital ones so on. Now I own EOS 1Ds Mk2 & EOS 5D Mk3 cameras. I have a selection of lenses from 17 mm to 500mm range. There is no exact combination while shooting airshows but generally a 200mm f:2.8 lens works quite well if I am in general crowd. In some cases I do prefer 300mm f:2.8 or 500mm f:4 lenses. Still I have the desire to use my 28-70mm lens while i am around static displays or doing reportage style photos around the planes. I prefer to shoot RAW + small jpg files. Small jpg files help me to choose which photos to edit fast way. RAW files gives me the chance to play with them without loosing details. Also small jpg’s are handy when you need to share some photos during or right after shooting. I use Canon Digital Photo Professional to convert RAW files into TIF files. After that I use Adobe Photoshop CC to edit them like selective area brightness, contrast, saturation, also creating new frames by cropping and rotating the image. I have joined ISAP two years ago, while I was searching if there is international organizations for aviation photography. In my country we don’t have such organization yet, but we have some photographer groups. So to learn about whats going on outside and hoping to join events to improve my photography in future, also to show what I can do and possibilities in my country to foreign photographers I applied to ISAP. I am not belonging to any other photography associations. I’m giving lectures on photography at Turkish Air Force Academy at the moment, also have monthly classes for Real Estate Agents on how to take Architectural Photos. In past I teach about “Wildlife Bird Photography” at IFSAK (Istanbul Photography Art Amateurs Association), I give lectures at Yeditepe University on Basic Photography & Advertising Photography. Beside this formal classes I also like

MEET OUR MEMBER Very simple, I made great friends in the USA, I learned from one of these friends. Here in Brazil, I am affiliated with the journalists’ union of São Paulo; I am Journalist.

Ricardo Beccari

I started one Photographing in 1982, the flame of Photography appeared when I was only 9 years old, I made my first picture with a good old Olympus TRIP 35 I was school holidays in Argentina, the photo was in a in a square in the city Buenos Aires, my parents were leaning against a tree when I saw the result charmed me thought, I even did it?

Yes I help, I explain everything I know, and I do not know; I will ask help. First, if it is to be a professional, charge to do the job, remember that the camera needs constant care and you need to eat. If flying ask for pilots their skills and they can fly at graduation, before any flight is important to know what will be done, write down all the steps, when you talk about what you want to say clearly, look fly in places with beautiful landscapes and without much interference, do not let the flirting pilot with sun in the face, it can be blinded momentarily, if photograph shows, try to wear comfortable clothes and sunscreen, make patience not shoot strafing, unless you go to shoot a plane cutting a track for example? Do not waste images look right into the display and frame the scene, as you want! If you’re on a show with acrobatic planes and not a nice Canon lens of 600mm, allow the aircraft to be lower, it will bring you ground references, and the image will impact more!

I live in São Paulo the largest city in Brazil, with more than 12 million people, not counting the suburbs, live professional photography full time, I started my course in the FOCUS school, one of the most reputable of Brazil, and learned to shooting advertising as an assistant to a very famous Brazilian photographer named Dimitri Lee, with him learned to use large format, 4x5 and 8x10 inches. I entered the aircraft photography by my Father was a pilot and started flying since 1956, and he took us fly too early, always piloted, tell me and my brother Samuel, nowadays he is Master of A330 TAM. My father wanted me to be a professional pilot, but knew that the commercial aviation has nothing glorious, I prefer to fly for pleasure. I’m Canon since I started; my first was an F1, strong, a great camera. Today I have four cameras that do not leave my photography bag, a Canon 1DX 5D Mark III, an old more very good EOS 1D and G11 I love these last two my wife is who else uses, just carry! I have five lenses, one 70|200 2.8L IS, 24|105L IS, 17|40L, Macro 100 L IS and an old 28|200 and two tele-converts, 1.4 and 2 times, and a Canon flash, but I rarely use; for pictures cabin use continuous lights. I do very little air show, my business is facing the air to air, this mode use very wide angle and the 70|200 2.8L IS, when I use the 70|200 shows with converter 2x on Canon 1DX which is much faster and wide angle in the 5D Mark III, nothing special, I take when planes are flying lower to fill the frame, very high I no use, it is best to use a 600 mm most part of my air shows are here in the USA. RAW, my cameras not know JPEG. RAW I use for his characteristic curve, allows the user greater flexibility, JPEG is good for Internet. About the Photoshop, when I was photographing in 4x5 inches in my studio retouched much film and did a lot of fusion, and was introduced by a friend to Photoshop, he taught me some steps and realized that the program is nothing more than my old lab, only digital and more easy and clean, I am a fan of Photoshop.

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 24-105mm 4L 40mm f/20 1/160 sec

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 70 - 200mm 2.8L 155mm f/20 1/60 sec

Canon EOS 5D Mark III 70-200mm 2.8L 105mm f/6.3 1/500 sec

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 70-200mm 2.8L 78mm f/8 1/400 sec

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III Lens 17-40mm 4L 21mm f/22 1/20 sec

Canon EOS 30D 70-200mm 2.8L 80mm f/14 1/250 sec

Canon EOS 10D 70-200mm 2.8L 170mm f/13 1/180 sec

Canon EOS 5D 70-200mm 2.8L 200mm f/5.6 1/10 sec

Canon EOS 10D 70-200mm 2.8L 170mm f/5.6 1/500 sec

Canon EOS 10D 24-105mm 4L 35mm f/4 1/4000 sec

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 24-105mm 4L 32mm f/8 1/640 sec

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 24-105mm 4L 24mm f/11 1/170 sec

MEET OUR MEMBER

Steve Bigg

In 2004 I opened Air Combat Zone, a fighter jet flight simulation center that gives the general public an opportunity to experience modern air combat in F/A-18 Hornet flight simulators near Toronto Ontario. Air shows were an obvious marketing venue for the business and I quickly developed a relationship with the local air show community. That led to lots of great photo ops and I made the shift from simply being a camera owner to having a much higher interest in aviation photography as a hobby. I soon found myself in a group of like-minded aviation photographers and between picking their brains for more knowledge and combing the internet for information I developed a photography skills base that began producing some very satisfying results. In 2010 I had my first taste of truly unique access to an aviation photo opportunity. A friend invited me to the RCAF’s 4 Wing in Cold Lake Alberta to experience and shoot at a Maple Flag multinational air combat exercise. He arranged a photo pass for me and we stood next to the runway, on the ramp, and up on the tower and watched as fighter jets, transports, tankers and helo’s launched and recovered for their missions each day. I was only there for three days, but that experience sunk the hooks of aviation photography deep into me and I started a yearning to move my interest in photography beyond being a hobby. I have since had the privilege to cover military aviation at exercises from Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean to Sicily during combat operations over Libya. From Cold Lake Alberta in Northern Canada to Natal Brazil for CRUZEX. Seeking ways to monetize a quickly growing library of images I began self publishing prints, books, calendars and other products resulting in the creation of the Locked On Photography web store. To further justify my growing photog habit I began submitting articles to magazines. While it’s not yet my full time profession, I would now list aviation photojournalism as my greatest passion. Along the road from hobby to passion I discovered ISAP while surfing online. After what was probably more time than I should have spent (like always) viewing and analyzing the images on www. aviationphoto.org, I discovered how affordable membership was. I frankly didn’t have a specific goal in mind when I joined. I just felt that it was a no brainer to join a group of people who were so skilled at my new found passion. Despite my best intentions when I joined, haven’t made the time to take advantage of my membership. I’m now working to change that going forward.

Some of my own favorite images have been shot with a point and shoot camera or my cell phone which just proves equipment isn’t everything. But once I unleashed the capability of a DSLR my work of course improved markedly. I chose to shoot with Canon (why?, it was on sale...) . I started with a Rebel 3Ti and now also have a 70D. At air shows and during base visits I tend to shoot with a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens on the 70D and the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, which performs unbelievably for a kit lens, on the Rebel. The combination gives me coverage from 18-400mm so I don’t usually end up too close or too far for my lenses. I don’t yet own the 100-400mm lens but I’m a huge fan of renting lenses as required. Not having a constant need for the lens, renting is an affordable way to shoot with the best when opportunities arise and when I don’t need the extra range I use my Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM. I do also own a Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM which I consider my secret weapon on the ramp and indoors. While I completely understand the technically superior aspects of the RAW format, I simply find that increased quality of RAW over JPEG isn’t warranted by the additional time it takes me to work with the format and the space it takes to store (i.e. added cost). I like to do my initial vetting/ rating of images in Windows Photo Viewer due to the rapid zoom available with my mouse’s scroll wheel. Once vetted, I process my work with Lightroom 5 occasionally using the Google Nik Collection of filters for the occasional shot that warrants the added attention. Even though I don’t have any formal photographic training, I’m always happy to share what I have learned along the way. It’s always a pleasure when someone likes my work. Some times people want to chat about the content of an image but often the discussion is more about how an image was caught and processed and I’m always happy discussing any aspect of my work. As part of hosting the VIP area for the Canadian International Air Show I started giving a brief presentation to interested guests titled “Air Show Photography 101”. There’s lots we learn along the way that can be shared with others who are new to aviation photography but the number one rule for me is simple: show up. Get out to shows, go and spot responsibly at your local airport, strive for the opportunity of access to military aviation. Whatever your interest is in aviation, chase it and have your camera ready to take away a special memory of your love for aircraft and the people that fly them. The future of improving our photographic skills starts by taking a picture, so my suggestion would be go take it.

Canon EOS 70D Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM 70mm f/8 1/2000 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS 70D Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM 200mm f/8 1/2000 sec ISO 200

Canon EOS 70D Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM 35mm f/8 5 sec ISO 200

Canon EOS Rebel T3i Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM 65mm f/9 1/500 sec ISO 200

Canon EOS Rebel T3i Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM 400mm f/8 1/640 sec ISO 250

Canon EOS Rebel T3i EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM 200mm f/5.6 1/250 sec ISO 100

Fuji FinePix HS10 Fixed 24-720mm 5mm f/3.2 1/180 sec ISO 100

Canon EOS 70D Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM 400mm f/6.3 1/250 sec ISO 100

Canon EOS 70D Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM 147mm f/8 1/800 sec ISO 200

Canon EOS Rebel T3i Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS USM 160mm f/8 1/400 sec ISO 100

Fuji FinePix HS10 Fixed 24-72mm 20mm f/6.4 1/550 sec ISO 100

MEET OUR MEMBER

Nora Klein

The feeling of being born with a camera in my hand and a lens that I think is somehow connected to my soul is familiar to me. My goal in my photography is to capture the history, thrill, romance and feel of flight for all to experience even if they have never flown. My preference is natural lighting and my camera and lens of choice are a Sony full frame a850, 70200mm, a 150600mm, a 20mm 2.8. I prefer to shoot in RAW at higher shutter speeds for airshows to prevent motion blur. However, I like to see a little motion blur in the props or energy stream on jets. It gives a sense of movement. The key, to capture the emotion in my opinion, is the crop ratios and time of day. I prefer early morning or after three depending of the time of year. I taught myself photography on “you tube”, studying the work of my favorite artists and reading. I continue to learn every day from the many great photographers that share this passion with me, however my instinct is to rely on feeling and impulse. No matter how much I learn I will revert to that. My formal education is from the University of Maryland, European Division, but my life experience is global. I have lived, worked and traveled abroad and have appreciated war birds and classic planes from every country and era. My passion for aviation commenced as merely a birth right. I grew up at the tarmac looking up at the bottom of these huge flying machines waiting for my father to come home or sitting on his lap in the cockpit on approach in far away places. Thought all girls grew up like that till I was much older. I was lucky to feel the thrill of flight and visit the best museums in the world before I could even grasp the meaning of it. Later on in life, I had the privilege to live next to one of the best collections of war birds in the world, The Planes of Fame Museum, at CNO. There I got my first chance to expose my work, was inspired to start my gallery ( www.DanoraAviart.com ), pursue my private pilots license and join the 99’s. An international organization of women in aviation established in 1928. In the process of all of this, I researched aviation photography associations in a quest to meet others that shared my passion internationally... and was thrilled to find ISAP. I was impressed by the diversity and level of expertise in the field of aviation photography. Excited about being in the company of all of you.. and hopefully looking forward to meeting someday.

T O H S E H T

T O G I W HO a

akann

il M By Ph

I shot this Hurricane in April of 2006 with a NIKON F5 using Fuji Velvia film. I’ll guess that I was using a NIKKOR 24-120. This is Sir Tim Wallace’s HAWKER “HURRICANE” Mk. IIa, ZK-TPA, over Glendu Bay near the Matukituki Valley, Wanaka, New Zealand. Stu Goldspink flew the Hurricane. It’s late fall in April, down under. It had snowed on the Southern Alps the night before. I do remember that it was very cold.

MYSTERY PLANE

SILHOUETTES By John Ford

Name the plane silhouettes. Answers are on bottom of the Kenyon Ad Gyro page

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MYSTERY PLANE

SILHOUETTES Answers

1 2 3 4

Avian 2 180B Gyroplane-Canada-MAH FMA IA 63 Pampa Sukhoi Su 37 Supermarine Spitfire Mk-IX Floatplane