Any one familiar with Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, AK? I am going to Fairbanks Monday and will be there several days. Thought I might check the AFB out. Any vantage points to get some shots there? Any advice appreciated.
Yes, I lived in the area for over 16 years. If you have wheels you can take a drive out to Eielson. The richardson highway goes right past the main runway at Eielson and it is okay, at least it was 16 years ago, can't speak to today, to park on the shoulder of the highway. Go about a half mile south of the Main Gate and wait. Sometimes the wait can be quite long.
Don't know what kind of "pull" you have with the Air Force, but if possible for you, you could ask the guys at the gate about any incoming/outgoing flights.
bobl wrote: Any one familiar with Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, AK? I am going to Fairbanks Monday and will be there several days. Thought I might check the AFB out. Any vantage points to get some shots there? Any advice appreciated.
Yes, I lived in the area for over 16 years. If you have wheels you can take a drive out to Eielson. The richardson highway goes right past the main runway at Eielson and it is okay, at least it was 16 years ago, can't speak to today, to park on the shoulder of the highway. Go about a half mile south of the Main Gate and wait. Sometimes the wait can be quite long.
Don't know what kind of "pull" you have with the Air Force, but if possible for you, you could ask the guys at the gate about any incoming/outgoing flights....Show more →
Thanks for the info - I have no pull - anywhere! But I do have a rental, so I'll drive past and check it out.
Thanks!
Jan-Arie wrote:
Chuck why do you say your 7D2 will be obsolete and useless when the 7D3 arrives?
The 7D2 will still be a great camera and you will still be able to make great photo's with it.
I have a couple of friend's who also own a 7D2 and they will still use them after the 7D3 arrives.
...
So I say Chuck keep on making those photo's
Jan-Arie
Thank You for your thoughts and comments. You are, of course, totally correct. And I'll heed your advice to keep shooting --- although frankly it would be a lucky shot if I nailed one anywhere near the great work you do!
All the Best
Chuck
TOPP (Edited)
Taken in a boat in Lake Crescent with 20 mph winds and three foot waves --- this guy drove down to grab a dying shiner (bait fish) ---
It wasn't ever going to be a good shot, just too good not to shoot
Littlefield wrote:
All the images I have posted have been with my worthless old 7D.
Don
Don
7D was good to me too.
I went to the II expecting it would be my last full size DSLR. My thinking was the crop sensor with Florida's good light and f/8 center point would make a perfect combination for the 100-400 II and 1.4 III. For once I got it right ...
I know what you mean, Charles, my Nikon D3, D300s, and D700 are the newest cameras in my stable, but they are obsolete too, but they keep on working. So does the other gear I acquired while I could. A D850 and D500 are on my wishlist, but it will definitely be many years before I see those bodies. In the meantime, the old gear keeps working. Manual focus lenses don't have motors to break down, so as long as I'm careful....
These all shot with MF lenses
unclechuck wrote:
The other day I heard the unmistakable radial of a twin WWII warplane and sure enough it was a B-25 at about 1,000' slipping just below the trees on the horizon. A brief glimpse of the tail and it was gone.
Jim's posts of old image files got me thinking about the progression of gear. Most of us have had that 'rainy day' experience of finding gems in the old archive and being surprised just how good they really were / are.
In my case the 7D II is my last remaining full size DSLR and does a great job in our well lit Florida skies where clouds diffuse and enhance the light.
But all good things must end, and apparently the 7D III is due in a few months. Sadly with its release the II will be obsolete and totally useless. Perhaps marginally functional but the images will become little more than Kodak moments.
Ah, progress ...
Anyway, I wish it was the B-25 but here's a winter visitor to the South --- a Gray Catbird cropped but unedited except for RAW conversion --- in a couple months this shot may be little more than a gray smudge.
bobl wrote:
Yes, I lived in the area for over 16 years. If you have wheels you can take a drive out to Eielson. The richardson highway goes right past the main runway at Eielson and it is okay, at least it was 16 years ago, can't speak to today, to park on the shoulder of the highway. Go about a half mile south of the Main Gate and wait. Sometimes the wait can be quite long.
Don't know what kind of "pull" you have with the Air Force, but if possible for you, you could ask the guys at the gate about any incoming/outgoing flights....Show more →
Bob! Hello stranger! How are you and the family these days?
Don’t know if it’s been mentioned before but there is a decent show on Netflix about the last flight of the Vulcan bomber. Nice inside looks at the cockpit, maintenance, etc and some air to air. Not a fan of Guy Martin, but a nice 57 min.
Here's one for the books --- someone already posted my first reaction: Would have been much stronger if they had joined the horizontal stabilizers. (deleted)
Chuck
The stabilizer probably isn't one piece, to allow clearance for the cargo rockets vertical stabilizer to pass through. Either when the cargo rocket is being attached, or most probably in the first couple seconds after it is dropped before it falls away a significant distance to fire it's engines and head to space. I would imagine a collision between the horizontal stabilizer of the launch vehicle, with the vertical stabilizer of the orbiter would be disastrous for both vehicles, and their crews.
kwbarnes wrote:
The stabilizer probably isn't one piece, to allow clearance for the cargo rockets vertical stabilizer to pass through. Either when the cargo rocket is being attached, or most probably in the first couple seconds after it is dropped before it falls away a significant distance to fire it's engines and head to space. I would imagine a collision between the horizontal stabilizer of the launch vehicle, with the vertical stabilizer of the orbiter would be disastrous for both vehicles, and their crews.
I was out of town last week and read with great sadness that the 7D MKII was soon to be obsolete tonight. I must admit it took me a second beer to get over the shock and even continue processing photos tonight from my week with College students on an SAE design series where they have spent the last year designing cleaner, quieter and more fuel efficient snowmobiles. The shock of learning that I had even tried to capture parts of that event with the 7D MKI; an OLD, DECREPIT, ANTIQUE, and clearly DINOSAUR of a camera body.
Seriously I am still please with the camera in decent light. It works way better than anything film based that I had shot previously.
A few teasers from the weekend. Apologizes for the poor photo quality from that old body...............
And one of my most favorite photo's from the event ever! Shot last year again with the OLD and DECREPIT 7D MKI.
I will continue to shoot this body and the 6D original for some time to come. As someone pointed out there is lots of life left in these older models. Besides, need a new band-saw for my wood shop!
What got me started on the 7D II becoming 'obsolete' was reading excited chatter about 7D III and how superior it would be to the 'old' model' and all the issues it would correct:
I thought
Your shot's are a perfect illustration of good gear in capable hands. Thanks Again!
Ran across an article this morning in my newsfeed about the photo helicopter crash in NYC. I thought I would post a link to it here because many of us that are not professionals would jump at the chance for a photo flight.
As Jim (and others) have said things can go bad in the air very quickly, and photo flights can be dangerous. I'm hoping that reading the article will cause the "professionals" to review their safety procedures, and the "once in a a lifetime" amateurs to pay attention to the safety briefing, and make sure that they understand everything said during that possibly short discussion, when that "once in a lifetime" opportunity presents itself.
