(Air) Tankers and Talons and Takeoffs, Oh My!

[FlyingPhotog]

An interesting day of shooting. Spent some time at Phoenix-Gateway (former Williams AFB .. aka "Willie") and a little time at the local muni as well...

161st ARW KC-135R
http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v12/p59142872-4.jpg

NASA T-38
http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v12/p29147901-4.jpg

http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v11/p212064521-4.jpg

A jet takes off and you're stuck in "Prop Mode" so what do you do?
Pan with the big white sucker! :D
http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v7/p113381209-4.jpg

Cessna Citation XLS+
http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v11/p49656644-4.jpg

Beech Baron (At Chandler Muni)
http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v9/p849677378-4.jpg

Sabena Flight Academy Archer III
http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v12/p981539396-4.jpg

All shot with either a 1DMkIII or a 40D + 500mm f/4L IS
Jets: 1/1000 @ f/4.5
Props: 1/125 @ f/11-ish
(And the Allegiant DC-9 as well...)

[Aviation Junkie]

Great shots as always. I'm going through Citation 7 initial and one of our instructors also teaches the XLS and kept making cracks about how much better the III/650/VIIs are than the XLS. It sure is a pretty airplane though.

[Desertraptor]

More great shots
Nice Jay

[rjevang24]

Great photos as usual. In pic 3, I got a kick out of the big sign on the mountain pointing out which way Phoenix is.:lol:

[srxrocket]

Good job! Very well done.
Jeff

[Dave Jr]

Very nice. Number 3 ftw.

[TTurrill]

Awesome work!! #3 works for me.....

[LA Smith]

#3 is an excellent shot!

[jdando]

Good stuff Jay! I like the T-38! Good to hear that I am not the only one that gets stuck in "prop" mode. Unfortunately my results were not as good as yours in that mode.

[SMBPhotography]

Love the Beech Baron shot.

[FlyingPhotog]

Thanks All Very Much! :D

(This fell so far, so fast I lost track of it...Sorry) :oops:

[gkarris]

Perfect T-38 #1 shot - the exhaust is a great capture!

[ty wonon]

Most Awesome! As usual.

[FlyingPhotog]

Thanks! :D

[PhotosGuy]

Excellent series! A jet takes off and you're stuck in "Prop Mode" so what do you do? Good save!
While I usually only shoot on manual, there have been a few times that I accidentally bump the mode dial & don't notice it. So, for anyone interested, I take precautions at events like air shows when I might be shooting a jet on M & a prop job comes by unexpectedly. So I've also set a slow shutter speed on Tv & a wide open aperture on Av, along with the Exposure Compensation (EC) that I think will work at the time I set it up. Then it's just a quick change of the dial to get something usable.

[FlyingPhotog]

Excellent series!

Thanks Frank

Good save!

While I usually only shoot on manual, there have been a few times that I accidentally bump the mode dial & don't notice it. So, for anyone interested, I take precautions at events like air shows when I might be shooting a jet on M & a prop job comes by unexpectedly. So I've also set a slow shutter speed on Tv & a wide open aperture on Av, along with the Exposure Compensation (EC) that I think will work at the time I set it up. Then it's just a quick change of the dial to get something usable.

Oh I was in Manual...

To me:
- "Prop Mode" is 1/125 @ f/13
- "Jet Mode" is 1/1000 @ f/4.5

I generally don't even bother setting up Tv @ 1/1000 and Av @ f/4.5. I suppose I could do a custom, one-button setup that would jump from say Jet in Manual to Prop in Custom and register it on some button but call me lazy I guess. ;)

I had just shot a couple frames of some generic Cessna 172 when the Allegient flight took off so rather than fiddle with the settings, I just panned with it and it worked.

[SMBPhotography]

http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v11/p212064521-4.jpg



Oh look road signs for pilots. Which way is Phoenix?

Great shots. How was panning with the 500?

[FlyingPhotog]

Oh look road signs for pilots. Which way is Phoenix?

Great shots. How was panning with the 500?

Thanks...

The 500 is suprisingly easy to work with provided you have a little elbow room. Need to be aggressive to get it started swinging (start early) but its own mass helps keep it moving smoothly. You need to pan fully through the sequence though. Anticipating where you'll stop panning means you'll decelerate too soon.

Just about all the sequences I've shot from this location have two or more frames worth of tree branches at the end of them where I kept shooting beyond where viz is lost at camera left. ;)

[Rivman]

. . . get the chain saw, - nice captures Jay ! ;)

[FlyingPhotog]

. . . get the chain saw, - nice captures Jay ! ;)

:lol: Good Idea... However, I don't think they'd appreciate me taking down the lamp post and gazebo roof that's also at about that same azimuth. The tree branches merely serve as a reminder that you're about to get some truly useless stuff in the frame... ;)

Thanks! :D

[Rivman]

Oh no, he's into the trees ! :eek:
. . . just so yah knows your not the only one who does that. :rolleyes:

[FlyingPhotog]

Oh no, he's into the trees ! :eek:
. . . just so yah knows your not the only one who does that. :rolleyes:

Ah, starting in the weeds...

Nice! :D

[aviography]

Amazing prop blur with the Baron!

[FlyingPhotog]

Amazing prop blur with the Baron!

Thank You.

I admit I don't nail every frame but I like to think that when I do, I do so as well as anyone.

Appreciate your taking the time to comment.

[jollyroger99]

Excellent series! Good save!
While I usually only shoot on manual, there have been a few times that I accidentally bump the mode dial & don't notice it. So, for anyone interested, I take precautions at events like air shows when I might be shooting a jet on M & a prop job comes by unexpectedly. So I've also set a slow shutter speed on Tv & a wide open aperture on Av, along with the Exposure Compensation (EC) that I think will work at the time I set it up. Then it's just a quick change of the dial to get something usable.

Excellent idea, thanks for the heads up, have done the same myself, the unexpected moving dial that is.

Love the NASA shots Jay.

[FlyingPhotog]

Thanks Roger...

[jollyroger99]

Jay, I should add, I'm jealous of your prop blurring capabilities, mine are usually the blurred plane instead.

[FlyingPhotog]

Jay, I should add, I'm jealous of your prop blurring capbilities, mine are usually the blurred plane instead.

Well Thank You Roger...

I've seen your work though so forgive me if I disagree with your self-critique! ;)

(Don't let him fool you boys and girls... Roger is one of the best out there!)

[jollyroger99]

Well Thank You Roger...

I've seen your work though so forgive me if I disagree with your self-critique! ;)

(Don't let him fool you boys and girls... Roger is one of the best out there!)

I wish, but thanks for the pat.

[Apexer]

Love the T-38 shot with PHOENIX on the hillside. Nice !

[FlyingPhotog]

Love the T-38 shot with PHOENIX on the hillside. Nice !

Thanks...

It's been a visual navigation aid since roughly the days of Lindberg and Erhart.