Bennygman
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Posts posted by Bennygman
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Some immense pictures there Steve! Unfortunately alot of my T'birds pics had the aircraft quite overexposed
Bloody Hell Dean - that is a thing of beauty! You get a huge
and for that one. Has to be just about the best shot I've seen from the weekend.Steve.
PS yep, I checked the histogram on some of my early ones and started underexposing slightly to cope with all that white. A lot of these are just luck of the draw though.
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70-200mm F2.8 L
Got me eye on one of them - have to spend some time topping up the piggybank first though
Nice shots - I like the Minnesota Herk.
Steve.
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More great shots Andy - love the Flanker
I was quite disappointed when they didn't taxi out past P&V West, then took off like rockets - oh well, next time.Those clouds were weird weren't they? I was looking at them while queuing Sunday morning.
I noticed that the Reds practice was disrupted by an intrusion on Friday too - when the singleton broke off from the main formation I hoped he was off to shoot the bugger down!
Steve.
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Great pics steve once again, you do forget how big the pave lows are I remember seeing one in guam 10 years ago, it's like a bus with a rotor attached simply massive.
Now for the silly question, what sort of plane is this and what does it do?? Is it maritime patrol or AWACs??
Thanks Steve - the Pave Low is one of those times when I wish I had a video camera. He was sitting about 20-30 feet away for near on ten minutes - the visuals are only about 30% of the total effect
. He then took off directly over our heads!Slightly dodgy pic - but you get the idea...
Well, the plane is the new Sentinel R1 (I think a conversion of one of the CLJ something-or-other regional jetliners). Someone else (Gary?) will have to confirm it's mission, but I think it's an Electronic Intelligence gatherer.
Steve.
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actually now I've got all 6 "T-birds" autograph's I've changed my opinion of the Thunderbirds.
Knew you'd come around mate
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I think that but I'd bet we are in the minority here!
peebeep
Yeah I agree, for what it's worth I think it was a great show and a lot of fun. Saturday I watched from the crowd-line as the light was better for the display, Sunday I camped out by the T-Birds pan and watched the whole thing from start-up to shut down (also got the B-1 doing (presumably) a botched approach and knife-edge pass directly over my head. Sadly the camera was in the bag as I watched him streaming vapour in what would have been the shot of the weekend :shithappens: ).
Sadly I also had to listen to a couple of 'experts' yelling at the ground crew to "stop F'ing about and get them in the air", as well a commenting on the female pilots' lack of flying skills. Needless to say this from two guys who could lose ten stone each and still not fit into an F-16. I was so tempted to ask how many fast jet formation hours their opinions were based on...but why spoil a great day out? The worst I could say about the ground routine is that it was quite funny in places, like when they march towards the planes with boarding ladders held in outstretched arms.
I've heard a lot of crap talked about them leading up to the weekend, "they won't fly in less than perfect conditions", "they take over the airfield and make everything else wait while they do the ground show", etc. All man-vegetables, frankly. They couldn't have been visual with the field at all times on Sunday, and most of the USAF displays took place during their ground run and taxi. That said, they were one of the few acts to do a rolling display on Sat', though Sun was understandable. Sunday's display may also have been shorter by a couple of passes, that was my impression but I could be wrong. At the end of the day they are a 'precision flight demonstration team', not an 'Aerobatic team'. What they did, they did very well I thought.
Oh, and the team photographer is a real babe
, but that has no bearing on my comments above (honest).Steve.
Love the pics steve damn these boys are close, awesome display of flying prowess
Number Six is a girl, Steve
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Well, somebody had to say it (make mine a cheese feast pizza with extra cheese).
If you're lucky this will be my last set from RIAT...
Steve.
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Anybody happen to catch the L side nose/cockpit area of 954?
'Fraid not Scott - damn. Are you looking for crew names etc? If so then I have about 60 shots of '951 / '701 (interestingly the latter didn't have any) that were at Waddington including crew details for '951.
If you're thinking 1/48 scale for the Hobby Boss kit I'll be your best friend for life
Yes - A Brit clamoring for 1/48 decals, whatever next .Edit - just remembered this one, it's a bit of a crop but you can see he wasn't carrying any either.
Edit 2 - so many pics, so little time - here's a better one (PM me for a bigger version).
(Apologies for posting pics in Phil's thread)
Steve.
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Wonder which psychopath designed the canopy like that with all those zig-zags on it. I wouldn't have thought it could possibly make it any more stealthy like that. Must be a bloody nightmare to actually have to make one at the Northrop factory.
Great shots by the way
Should be even more fun masking it in model form
Steve.
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Thanks guys, it was a great day especially after soggy Sunday.
Phil, help yourself mate, PM me if you'd like a bigger version or my A-10 walk around from Waddo (including the rear-end).
Gary, I like to think of P&V West as the 'gentleman's end' (so to speak). It's a lot less hectic than East. When I arrived at about 06:30 there were more queuing for East than I saw in West by mid-afternoon. The only downside as you say is that some of the flash buggers (RAF Typhoon, Mirages and Sadly the Indians) go off like rockets opposite the FRIAT stand (over to you Andy). Thankfully some of the others realise that low and fast is just as spectacular and you get a few wing-waves too.
What say we make a day of it next year?
Steve.
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One of my objectives for this years RIAT was to shoot the Nighthawk before it's imminent retirement. Thankfully the sun played ball on Saturday and a series of overshoots while they rigged the arrestor gear provided plenty of opportunities. We got multiple passes rather than the take-off, circuit and land that I've seen before.
Really quite chuffed with this set...
I think I have a new model project forming.
Steve.
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Nice shooting Andy - and thanks for confirming that was Bruce in the Bulldog. I thought it was, but at my age the eyes sometimes play tricks
Steve.
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What a superb selection - so many different finishes and all nicely reproduced. Favorite for me has to be the 'Stang though.
Steve.
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Nice catch on the Frecce Mike - did you hear their commentator? "and here they go; up into-ah the sky!"
One of the truly great teams.
Steve.
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Wow! you guys have been busy with the photo posts, while I was stuck at Sunny/Rainy Fairford
I won't duplicate the fine static coverage, and I haven't looked at my cards from the show days, so here's a few from Monday in P&V West...What a monster...
Great seeing this powering up in front of me ...
Some exotic visitors...
I do like a head-on taxi shot...
Always think this might be my last chance to photograph a 'Spook' ...
Awesome (Sorry, been reading the Thunderbird's brochure) sight and sound from the Pave-low
Now, if you were driving the truck, wouldn't you be just a teeny bit nervous?
This was one of those "he isn't is he? oh sh*t, yes he is!" moments ...
A good day for big choppers ...
RAF's new toy...
The day's second best departure - fast and low by the Italians...
And the best, low, slow and with multiple wing-overs by the boys from th 81st. Have to say these guys are the most crowd-friendly aircrew I've come across. They've been a credit to the USAF during their summer in the UK... (note the 'hang loose' gesture by the pilot)...
All in all, a cracking day, and at £16 still the best value for money to be had over the Fairford weekend.
Hopefully I can sort out a few from the show days tomorrow.
Steve.
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Ah yes, I was behind the portacabin you describe. I had a guy on a ladder doing the same thing - just amazes me really.
You did well under the circumstances.
Steve.
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Some nice pics there Ted, you can't have been positioned too far away from me judging by those approach shots. I'm a bit jealous of the wildcat pics - for some reason I get the wobbles whenever that comes past, I haven't got a decent shot of it in the air in about twelve attempts now
Steve.
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Thanks Guys.
Kyrre, the P-51 was taken at 1/60th. I have one at 1/50th where the prop was actually a complete circle, but unfortunately it was badly blurred by camera shake. I have a particular problem with that and without the Image Stabilization there's no way I could hand-hold at those speeds.
Just packing for Fairford now - see you in a few days.
Steve.
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I use a Canon EOS1D Mk 2
Then you sir, are a jammy git!
(my dream kit, but no way I could justify the cost to myself, never mind the girlfriend).
Steve.
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Superb picture Bob, suggest trying + 1 stop exposure compensation for backlit stuff like planes in the sky, ie open up say from F11 to F8 etc,
Yep, but bear in mind that the over exposure will again apply to the whole image so you could completley blow out the sky depending on the light conditions (the plane will generally come out better though). I have several shots of nicely exposed planes on an almost pure white background.
Gundy, would I be right in saying that the method described only applies with the camera in manual? In any of the semi-Automatic modes the camera will have decided what the exposure is going to be, so adjusting the aperture will cause an automatic change in shutter speed to compensate. The only difference with going from F11 to F8 should be a small decrease in depth of field. In manual mode an aperture change will indeed have the effect you describe, but in semi-auto (eg Shutter or Aperture priority) you would need to use the exposure compensation button to override the camera's decision(on the Canon at least).
Fair point? or am I talking cobblers ?
Steve.
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Nice pic Bob -like it.
Just to add to what's been said above. The danger of using shadow/highlight is that it effects the whole picture and can radically alter the colour of the background too if you're not careful. What I've begun doing is to use the lassoo / selection tool to select an area (eg the underside of the plane in this shot) and apply the shadow adjustment (or better still a levels adjustment) to just that area. Can't honestly say I always do it that way, but I think it's the best option. I sometimes find its worth adding a touch of contrast after adjusting shadows as otherwise you can get a bit of a washed out look.
The most important bit is in your title though - you're pleased with it, so that makes it a good shot in my book.
Re the prop blur. I personally don't think it's too much of a problem from directly side on like this, though the point is definitely valid. The amount of blur visible varies with the viewing angle. From directly in front you get a lot, but from the side, not so much so the lack of it here is less of a problem than head on where you'd see what would look like a stationary prop. All down to personal preference though, in this case the speed used has guaranteed a nice sharp plane. For reference, I use 1/250 for airborne props as I find that gives a good compromise between a bit of prop blur and not having to bin loads of unsharp pics (slower on the ground - I found that 1/50 gave me an almost full arc on a taxiing P-51, but it's a bugger to hold steady).
Steve.
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This weekend (RIAT Sunday) will mostly using a Nikon D80 and an 18-200VR and another lens depending what's on the shelf in the shop.
If you're going Sunday it might be worth checking the shelves for a waterproof housing too. Hopefully that'll change in the next few days though.
Steve.
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there's no science behind it, I just "fiddle" until I'm happy with the outcome.
I'm very well acquainted with that technique myself
. Bugger about the cancellations, but I must get down one year if only to see the commando assault.Steve.
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Nice, were these shot on digital? Some (like the hunter) have a very 'filmy' look about them as if they've been scanned. if they're digital then it's a neat trick
I considered Yeovilton this year but it clashed with Legends. At one point I had the crazy plan of flying down with Classic wings from Coventry, but in a rare moment of common sense I abandoned the idea. Did the Greek A-7s make it down?
Steve.
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for that one. Has to be just about the best shot I've seen from the weekend.
. He then took off directly over our heads!
, but that has no bearing on my comments above (honest).
damn these boys are close, awesome display of flying prowess 
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Canberra TT18
in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft
Posted
Lovely job Darius - All the more so for being brush painted
Steve.