Dear Tim,

First, and most important,, thought sand prayers will continue, keep us posted.

Second, you could not be more correct on the educated voting public, one that believes in some semblance of personal responsibility. I have no idea how you turn that around. Interesting times.

Tim, let me assure you we will pray for continued strength and healing.

On the Bengal Tiger questions, I shot that with the 70-200 series I and racked the zoom I believe. It's been a few years. He was watching me and doing that crouch down and stalk thing that kitties do, so I knew something was going to happen. There were seven or eight photographers flanking me, but after I clicked that shot I looked around and they had all all taken off running in the other direction. I was shooting through a fence obviously, but it was still a little intimidating.

Well, then, Jim: hats off to you. I love that shot even more, knowing you nailed it in camera. Slow shutter, rear curtain flash?

The B-17 Memphis Belle visited PDK Atlanta on March 23, 2013. The weather conditions were not ideal with bitter cold, wind, sleet and a bit of snow, but right before I left, the sky provided one last moment of dramatic light. This is my personal favorite of the shots I captured. 2013 Chris Buff

I had my first true A2A experience yesterday. I flew with the fine folks involved in the RedStar Pilots Association during their annual certification and training at Falcon Field (KZZF). I flew rear seat in a Beech T-34 Mentor and worked at photographing a 20 ship formation made up of a variety of T-6's, Nanchang's, Yaks, etc.

Gratefully, I was able to shoot with the canopy open; however, I learned quickly that is a double-edged sword. While I enjoyed not shooting through an imperfect canopy, I quickly had to adapt to maneuvering my back to one side of the cockpit to avoid the barrel of my 70-200L catching too much wind on the other side. I learned that lesson the hard way when I made a quick switch to shooting the formation from one side to another. The lens shade for my 70-200L now resides somewhere in the open desert east of Casa Grande.

Lots of other lessons learned. It was a bumpy ride with turbulence being the order of the day. Shooting at slower shutter speeds was difficult for this nimrod. A Kenyon stabilizer might have come in handy. If we had been shooting jets my keeper rate would have gone up dramatically. I also found it difficult shooting a 20 ship formation. I had gone with the expectation of flying in the formation and having the ability to shoot single/double aircraft at close range. The RedStar folks asked me to fly with their photo ship and shoot the entire formation, so I had to quickly change my mindset and be prepared to shoot with both my 24-70L and the 70-200L. Word of wisdom, close canopy to change lenses

Fun factor highlight of the flight is when my pilot (aerobatic/formation rated) performed a nice 1G power roll over the top of the formation while I shoot out the top of the open canopy. While it was tons of fun, it is not a photo position I recommend for capturing tack sharp and properly framed images - at least not for me

It was a great experience and I look forward to more opportunities in the future. Here are a couple of quick edits - more to come next week. Now off to church.

My photo platform and one shot of the formation forming-up west of the Superstition Mountains.

Nice work Jeff, sounds like you had a crash course in air to air. You learned a half dozen lessons that it takes most people several years to pick up. Lens shades are never a good deal air to air, the reasons can range from 50 bucks to several million.

Next time out you'll build on all the things you learned, and learn some more.

FlyingPhotog wrote:
Today definitely did not suck...
(A huge Thank You to Scott Slocum for allowing me to tag along)




Great shots Jay.. just need to make sure the GIB's are briefed that they can never take their eyes off the photo plane too

Chris

Chris that B17 sky was perfect for your shot. Nicely done.

Hi Zim,

No flash, no rear curtain, and only one chance to get it right. One shooter sacrificed a 70-200 lens hood a few minutes before my shot, in a Life of Pi kind of experience.

Hi Jeff:
What a cool thing to participate in. canopy open inverted flying is quite a rush too! Looking forward to seeing the rest of your take. Glad the lens hood blowing off didnt cause any trouble -

Glenn

Pretty cool Jeff ...... and your platform might of ID'ed a plane I got a quick shot of today while leaving Applebee.s !

Lessons learned everyday ..

Wonder how many years we could fund the Blues and T-birds with this giveaway...??

http://tinyurl.com/cvhvy74

Kerry says US releasing millions in aid to Egypt

By MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday rewarded Egypt for President Mohammed Morsi's pledges of political and economic reforms by releasing $250 million in American aid to support the country's "future as a democracy."

John

JWilsonphoto wrote:
Hi Zim,

No flash, no rear curtain, and only one chance to get it right. One shooter sacrificed a 70-200 lens hood a few minutes before my shot, in a Life of Pi kind of experience.

I can only applaud your ability to foresee the shot and the skills you brought to bear to carry it off, Jim. Oh, and your fortitude in standing your ground in the face of a charging big cat, fence or no.

Thanks for the tip Chris. Not my gig (arranged by Mr. Slocum), so I had to kind of plink where I could but I'll check my shots and see if she looked at us with that same background.

Chris Luvara wrote:
FlyingPhotog wrote:
Today definitely did not suck...
(A huge Thank You to Scott Slocum for allowing me to tag along)

... great pic ...

Great shots Jay.. just need to make sure the GIB's are briefed that they can never take their eyes off the photo plane too

Chris


Incredible backdrop Jay.
Also make sure the GIB is not doing the "Moose" ... Chris can explain. He probably has a photo of it.

Was flying back from Florida during the race, but I understand Sentimental Journey took over the fly over duties today as Luke AFB was told no. Bad for Luke, but I am glad to know to CAF is able to fill the void.

Any thoughts on the Texas race up there Jim?

FlyingPhotog wrote:
Thanks for the tip Chris. Not my gig (arranged by Mr. Slocum), so I had to kind of plink where I could but I'll check my shots and see if she looked at us with that same background.

I'm just giving you a hard time. They are great shots, you can't control that kind of stuff anyhow.


MustangsX2 wrote:
Chris Luvara wrote:
FlyingPhotog wrote:
Today definitely did not suck...
(A huge Thank You to Scott Slocum for allowing me to tag along)

... great pic ...

Great shots Jay.. just need to make sure the GIB's are briefed that they can never take their eyes off the photo plane too

Chris


Incredible backdrop Jay.
Also make sure the GIB is not doing the "Moose" ... Chris can explain. He probably has a photo of it.


Yes Curtis, it's bad when your backseater does this:

FlyingPhotog wrote:
Today definitely did not suck...
(A huge Thank You to Scott Slocum for allowing me to tag along)




Jay is that Matt Jackson??

I hate it when pilots and passengers are caught doing stupid things on an otherwise nice and sharp frame!