the right tool for the job……..

I got into Reno at 11:30 p.m., east coast time, so I was too killed to blog last night and then this morning it was straight to the airport and press center to get set up. About noon everything was finished and I had a few minute to walk around the tarmac. Now to make great images you need, a great subject, (no problem there), great light, (real problem there), and the right tools to work with, (did this stuff with the new P7100 – so no sweat), lastly you have to know how to approach that great subject, (you can be the judge of that?).

So here is the result of my walk around at noon.

O.K., the results may or may not be all that hot, but at least we know you can shoot under not so great light, and if you’re careful you can at least do passable stuff. From top to bottom; just happened to see the open toolbox and the wrenches and that shot alone made the walk around worthwhile. The next plane down is the Hawker Sea Fury, September Fury, owned and flown by Robert “Hoot” Gibson. The Sea Fury was a British WWII vintage fighter that came out too late to see much action in WWII, however got heavy use in he Korean conflict, having shot down a jet.
The next wonderful nose art is on Rod Lewis’ F7F Tiger Cat, this plane was formerly called the
“Big Boss Man” this translates to the “Boss Lady”.

Midnight Express is one of four T-6 Texans owned by Dennis Buehn. One of the favorites at the Races is the “Rare Bear” owned by Lewis Racing. The Rare Bear is a F8F Bearcat. Below that shot is a kiddy peddle version of the Rare Bear. Next is another Dennis Buehn T-6 Texan named Midnight Miss III, which I’ve had the great pleasure of flying in with Dennis a couple of years ago.

A stop for a cold pop led to the next attempt at art. I think the ice cold Pepsi was better than my shot. My next shot was inspired by an article by fellow tech rep Sam Garcia. Sam loves to shoot pavement and capture the textures and patterns. In his article on the Nikon website link below he showed a shot that caused me to stop in my tracks when I looked down while walking an saw this
drain grate. Like I’ve said many times, it doesn’t take much to entertain me. Tami Buehn’s, Dennis’
bride’s T-6 Texan, Midnight Rendezvous. Finally Wayne Cartwright’s T-6 Texan, Six Shooter 44.

When shooting under high contrast light, try to crop tight, and eliminate distractions that will really stand out, then go for rich colors that will benefit from the strong light. Also work hard at angles that eliminate as many hot reflections as possible.

In the morning I will be out for a sunrise and some, hopefully, great light. We will see the difference in tomorrows blog entry.

God bless,

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: All images made with the Nikon Coolpix P7100.

Black and White Conversion using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.0.