IrritableRabbit Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Well.... It seems that my 30 year break from making model aircraft was preceded by a slow returning interest to visit a few airshows. Something I haven't done much of since leaving the air cadets a zillion billion years ago. But even now, increasing demands on my diminishing funds and time means I'm not likely to travel too far from home so it looks like Duxford and Sywell airshows are going to continue to be the ones I attend. Also, I do that old photography thing, so going out for the day and just shooting what's appears in front of me, without worrying about the lighting set-up, the equipment, the styling and so on is a blessed relief because if I get home and want to delete the whole lot I can. No pressure at all. So partly a celebration for myself in coming back to the modelling fold, (and partly because I'm an attention seeker) here's a few random images from a few recent Duxford and Sywell shows. Nothing special, but I hope some enjoyment can be had from them as I had taking and processing them. Duxford2012-5 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr Duxford2012-12 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr Sywell2012 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr Duxford2012-20 by IrritableRabbit, on FlickrDuxford2012-43 by IrritableRabbit, on FlickrDuxford2012-14 by IrritableRabbit, on FlickrDuxford2012-29 by IrritableRabbit, on FlickrDuxford2012-42 by IrritableRabbit, on FlickrDuxford2012-11 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Wow! They're so crisp they look like box art work! Very nice. Can I recommend Little Gransden in August? Fabulous show with 200 old cars too. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonC Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 (edited) Those are great piccies. Easily as good as some I've seen in top end warbirds-type calendars. Would you mind saying what sort of kit you use? cheers, Jason Edited March 7, 2013 by JasonC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Welcome back to the fold IR. You appear to have a very "dynamic" approach to your post-editing, one that is most pleasing I would say. Those are some belters! I agree with Martin they could easily pass for box art. The pics of the Fury (?) and Frankie are just superb. Great job and thanks for sharing them. If you ever feel like divulging a few of your post processing tips I'm all ears. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanandjuanunited Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Nice pics Heading to yeovilton and legends this year. RIAT was my first proper show last year so bulding on that . My mission is to get to at least one per year from now on. Waddington provisionally marked for next yr but will see how I feel after yeovilton and legends 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Lovely shots. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caution Wake Turbulence Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Pictures to be proud of! Andrew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 (edited) Irritable Rabbit, Those are EXQUISITE, STUNNING, SHARP photos.. I think I am definitely gonna have to take a trip to DUXFORD. 'FEROCIOUS FRANKIE' is simply GORGEOUS ... Your eye for detail a d steady focus on taking and processing the photographs Are SUPERB. Edited March 7, 2013 by HOUSTON 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrritableRabbit Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 Irritable Rabbit, Those are EXQUISITE, STUNNING, SHARP photos.. I think I am definitely gonna have to take a trip to DUXFORD. 'FEROCIOUS FRANKIE' is simply GORGEOUS ... :heart: Your eye for detail a d steady focus on taking and processing the photographs Are SUPERB. Er.. Blimey. Loads of very welcome comments thank you, and some questions which I shall answer shortly, but I'll start with Houston's post first as it contains a huge amount of enthusiasm.. Thank you Houston. Of course, you give me too much credit, because at the >100% view level, you do start seeing some motion on the faster aircraft like the P-51. The slower aircraft are totally fine, but shooting at 1/250 the P-51 was a bit of a challenge. Onto all the other comments and questions in a moment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonR Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Awesome photos mate, love the chippie especially cheers Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrritableRabbit Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 Those are great piccies. Easily as good as some I've seen in top end warbirds-type calendars. Would you mind saying what sort of kit you use? cheers, Jason Thanks Jason. I've not seen any of these calendars myself, but I will take that as the highest compliment. As for the equipment, I'm using Canon EOS bodies and lenses. A mix of the 5D mark I, 1DMKIII and the 5D Mark III which permanently replaced my MK I last year. Lenses are the Canon 70-200 ef 2.8 IS, which was replaced last year with the newer MKII version, and the Canon 300 ef 2.8 IS mark I, which wont get replaced as the mark II is £6500 and there's no business justification for it. It's purely for fun stuff and plenty sharp as it is. Wow! They're so crisp they look like box art work! Very nice. Can I recommend Little Gransden in August? Fabulous show with 200 old cars too. Martin Thank you. I sometimes can't help but add a tiny little bit of an illustrative edge to some of my photos so I'm happy that comes across. Little Gransden - only down the road which is good. I wont need to save up too long for petrol. Welcome back to the fold IR. You appear to have a very "dynamic" approach to your post-editing, one that is most pleasing I would say. Those are some belters! I agree with Martin they could easily pass for box art. The pics of the Fury (?) and Frankie are just superb. Great job and thanks for sharing them. If you ever feel like divulging a few of your post processing tips I'm all ears. Thank you as well. I was showing off a bit on the day with Frankie and that Fury.. I wondered if I could pan successfully with the camera held at 45 degrees. As for the processing I can give some general hints as it depends on the tools used. Start with RAW. Lens corrections, general exposure/highlight adjustments and capture sharpening. For images like these I'm not too worried about subtlety, other than avoiding obvious sharpening halos and psychedelic colours. So, I'm generally pushing the mid-tone contrast. In Photoshop I could do that with a low amount hi radius unsharp mask filter. Also, because the images are of mechanical objects rather than people, I'm quite happy to push the sharpening with a mix of hi-pass filter and post sharpening, and use some different blend modes (which also effects contrast). General contrast is pushed a bit, and vibrance adjustments are used for the colours as it's not so heavy handed as saturation. Similar can be done in lightroom by juggling the contrast, highlights, shadows, white and black sliders, then monkeying with the clarity and vibrance settings. Depending on individual images there'll be a few other minor adjustments if deemed necessary. Er.. Certainly doesn't take me as long to do as my other 'stuff'. And to everyone: A thank you for your time and kind comments. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Welcome back, stunning work indeed. You must all consider yourselves very lucky to have so many airshows to attend. I'm stuck down on th eGarden Route near George in South Africa, so we don't get too many decent airshows. Although I have a couple of friends attend AAD at Waterkloof AFB near Pretoria and the Weapons Meet at Bredarsdorp (the Micro-brewery in Napier could be an added draw card!) near Cape Town, which I may see if I can scrounge a pass for. Port Elizabeth is the closest but a 31/2 hour drive doesn't thrill me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Wow, they are stunning, fantastic clarity. Thankyou for sharing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCinLA Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 (edited) I've been doing aviation photography professionally for 40 years, and the shots of the Nimrod, the Chipmunk, and the P-51 Ferocious Frankie are as good as anything I've ever hoped for (my "avatar" here is a shot of the P-40C restored in 1998 at Fighter Rebuilders, now in Paul Allen's collection, taken out the open tail of their B-25 "Photo Fanny"). You have an "eye," which can't be taught, and the ability to know what you're looking for. Those are marvelous shots. Edited April 5, 2013 by TCinLA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrritableRabbit Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 I've been doing aviation photography professionally for 40 years, and the shots of the Nimrod, the Chipmunk, and the P-51 Ferocious Frankie are as good as anything I've ever hoped for (my "avatar" here is a shot of the P-40C restored in 1998 at Fighter Rebuilders, now in Paul Allen's collection, taken out the open tail of their B-25 "Photo Fanny"). You have an "eye," which can't be taught, and the ability to know what you're looking for. Those are marvelous shots. Er... Blimey. Praise indeed. Thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnobiz Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Fantastic pictures. I especially love the effect of the first one: Did you digitally retouch it? How? Thanks for sharing, Arnaud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrritableRabbit Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 Did you digitally retouch it? How? Thanks for sharing, Arnaud Hi Arnaud. I didn't do anything particularly special with them. Well.. Not with what I might normally do. But if you scroll back up to my post on the 7th of March there's a few details there regarding my workflow. Thanks for the comments! Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 The images of the Chipmunk and Fury are my favorites of the series. I like the background of the sunlit clouds as they inspire more of "atmosphere" compared to a completely clear sky. I like the dynamic lighting and pose of the Chipmunk as if the plane were "eager" to get airborne. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Gorgeous gorgeous work, everyone is a keeper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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