Jake Peterson’s Blog

It’s spring time, finally, and that means all those lovely kids are out of the holes and the parents are working hard trying to make them happy. Boy they don’t have it easy do they; us picky kids, take this Prryhuloxia for example. The parent brings in the meal, a juicy grasshopper, and the kid starts squawking and then drops it when he gets it. Of course he makes the parent pick it up, then they fight over it. I love the whole thing, best part it’s green. Kids just hate eating green things. Such fun times, makes summer all worth while.

Images captured with D3, 600f4, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

One of our favorite pylons is number four because it has this terrific ridge that we can stand on to photograph the planes that come over it. This particular L39 Jet was flying low one afternoon and decided to fly a little to inside the course, it happens that’s what PRS is for getting used to the course, and went right over the road that marks the boundary. It’s great to see and even better to get a shot of but boy is it hard to get a good shot of. He came over that hill so fast that he was gone in seconds.

Then there are those truly great days when we get the clouds that make the planes shine. Without the clouds the planes just don’t look the same. They look like models against a blue wall. The great thing about June is we get some of those clouds. The pockets are the best part, seeing a plane come whizzing out of one or going into one. Just makes the whole day of standing out there worth while.

Images captured with D3, 200-400 VR, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

The biggest challenge has always been, and probably will always be the production of blurring the blades on prop planes. Since the only class that this doesn’t apply to is the jet class it is an important matter to consider. The easy part is being in Shutter priority and being under 1/250 of second to get the blur. But depending on the plane; the amount of RPM’s to the amount of blades, completely changes the shutter to get a full rotation blur. It is a really cool shot but is really hard to get. I keep trying but keep throwing away shots because of it. When you get it, o boy is it great.

Both of these were taken at 1/125 of a second and although they aren’t the full rotation they still produce enough rotation to get that blurred feeling that is desired. Another important aspect, as I’m sure is noticed is the angle of the plane. In some instances full rotation won’t be noticed even if achieved due to the angle of the plane to the shooter. More to play with and fun to be had, i can’t wait.

Images captured with D3, 200-400 VR, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

The races are over already but that doesn’t mean that the images are gone. Between the images, the planes and the great people the whole event was spectacular. The transition from Texas birds to metal planes was a huge switch but great practice, flying caracara’s isn’t quite the same as Mustang’s going 300mph. The T6′s are always a favorite just the straight lines and motion of the plane that makes them so alluring. For this particular plane and its partner 2 numbers 43 and 94 the matching paint jobs definitely made them stand out. It’s the checkers.

Jets this year were enormous. The amount of rookies that came in were huge compared to last year. In total for the event there was 29 rookies, and some of those flew the jets. It might be my imagination but it definitely felt like the best event so far that i have been to for jets, which isn’t saying much since i haven’t been too to many but is interesting.

Images capture with D3, 200-400 VR, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

What a week! From Texas to PRS and the transition has blown my mind. As I’m writing this i can hear the planes buzzing around the airfield outside. I can hear it right now, why am i not shooting the planes? Well after two days of shooting, no blogging and about 3000 unedited images to get through i figured i should get a little caught up. Plus seeing a kingbird yesterday made me want to write about seeing them down in Texas.

The funny things about the blinds is that everyone there was under the conception that we were shooting nothing but birds. It wasn’t until we went to Pondito blind, Steve named it, and a lull came that they began shooting the frogs. Great little frogs, the Leopard frogs, colorful and slow. They hold still and were close so we could play with them all day if so desired. It wasn’t, but the option was there.

Then there was this guy, he was a bit harder to deal with. The Curved-Billed Thrasher whose soul purpose in life is too dash in and out of the frame making it challenging for us photographers. Thankfully they are deemed common birds and seem to pop up a lot so we get a lot of opportunities with them. Got to love that bill and those great bright eyes. More to come but back to the planes!

Images captured with D3, 600f4, TC-14e on the birds, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

Day 2 arrives and the temperatures start heading in the direction we finally want them to go, up. Wait, did i say that! Yea believe it or not i did. The hotter it gets the better the shooting it gets. It means more birds at the water holes. Not great for us humans but that’s why it’s tough photography, and i love it. I’m enjoying every moment because you never know when you someone like this guy pops out. Nothing special just a Black Crested Titmouse, see them often. He is about the size of your thumb to finger, pretty small, and is very challenging to photograph. This bird hops around a lot. Getting a shot of it on a branch with a relatively clean background may sound easy but it can be quite frustrating and time consuming. It was one of those little joys getting that opportunity the other day.

Then there is this guy, probably saying o great another dove. Yea there are a lot down here. More than a lot, there seems to be an endless supply of them. That’s a good thing it apparently makes some of the other birds feel safe maybe that’s true maybe not hard to tell at the moment. This is a Common Ground Dove, a really cool one that i always liked mostly cause it has that red ring in it’s eye. Not much trick with shooting either of these two was in F8, minus a half exposure compensation in morning light. Let that morning glory do the rest.

Images captured with D3, 600f4, Tc-14e, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

After the first day here in Texas Base Camp we have had a one heck of a great time and some great shooting, i know cause I’m already having a hard time keeping up with blogging and image processing but at least I’m not alone. On the first day out Dad and I are never quite sure what to expect even after being told what is here and what is not. Well one bird that we know is here and can be a problem is the Northern Mockingbird. This one bird is rather large in size, very aggressive and is dominant over the watering hole. It also is cool to photograph, even with all the seemingly lack of color it certainly lacks no character.

Image captured with D3, 600f4, Tc-14e on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

Seeing that F86E just whiz across the sky was amazing. Getting up close and seeing all the details is great but the true enjoyment isn’t there until it’s up in the air. Now Dad had mentioned that most of the older folks here were flying these aircraft when they were my age or younger. These grandpa’s were reminiscing about the days when they were in flight school, the plane was new and everyone wanted to fly it. They were sharing it with their families and even a few got up on stage and spoke about their experiences. I got to thinking, always scary, of how those generations were passing their knowledge on to their kids and what my folks were passing on to me.

2 years ago i was blessed to get one of my favorite lenses, the 600f4. I have shot more with that lens than i can recall and now i have been given a new lens in my arsenal the 200-400f4 AF-S VR. I have shot with this lens a little bit back at the Reno Air Races but since then not much. Now i don’t get new gear that often but when i do i always seem to do a double take, because it’s like what did i do to deserve this awesome gift. Well Dad got the new 200-400VR-II and that brought on another hand me down, gotta love those. You can see just some of what he has done so far and I’m sure there will be more to come from the both of us. All that actually brought me to my point of passing on to the next generation and the influences it can have it.

As the F86E Sabre Jet flew across the sky with the back panels expanded, making figure eights over the runway watching it i could see the past being relived herein the present. This beautifully restored aircraft was zipping by too fast. The sun glared off the wing tips just as it glared off the lens barrel as it was pointed up at the Sabre, and i knew how fortunate i was to get these opportunities and to say thanks to all those that make it possible, gear and all.

Images captured with D3, 200-400f4 AF-S VR, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

For the last year i have been fortunate enough to be included in my my Dad’s adventures in aviation photography. This past weekend we took a trip to Chino, California to a place were the planes fly high and still shine like new, the Planes of Fame Museum. It was a whole new experience. The amount of flying restored aircraft was enormous compared to most places which was quite impressive. One of the highlights of going when we did was seeing the F86 Sabre Jet in flight. Which when not in flight is parked in this hanger with a number of other jets, including another sabre, a Mig 17, a D-558 Skyrocket and numerous other jets. Shooting in a hanger is not real hard with the D3, just set the iso to 800, -5 exposure comp and your good.

One of the things i liked best about that hanger besides the jets, was the inside of this engine. I think this is the inside of the Skyrocket but I’m not sure. It was just awesome to see all the metal shears inside this thing designed for wind flow and then to picture that moving, spinning around, just too freakin cool. To think someone had to go around and check each of those little shears to make sure none were bent or starting to break, that would suck.

One of my favorite planes there, also one of the most hidden and tucked away, was the P38 Lightning. This twin boom fork tailed plane design by Lockheed during WWII was a successful plane in the Pacific theater. A truly beautiful aircraft that is definitely on my list to shoot, but that’s not what caught my attention. It was the artwork on the nose. This image of “23 Skidoo”. I’ve looked for the origins of this phrase but have turned up little only thing i could find was that it meant “Get Away Quick!”, needless to say it made me laugh when i saw it on the nose. It reminded me of those cartoon planes. Somehow fitting for the P38, got in got out. It was good seeing all these classic vintage planes restored to there former glory, just too much history too lose.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital FIlm

Incoming! Playing with these gulls brings back such fond memories of my childhood and getting dive bombed while doing the egg count out on the island. Nothing worse then a torpedo on a lense barrel. That stuff just stinks. Well here we are playing with the gulls and a lot of questions come to mind that need to be addressed and now is a great time to think about them. It’s why Dad and I are here anyways. Everything from positioning of the birds in the frame, cropping of the birds wings by zooming in too tightly and is it acceptable, light, front lit versus back lit and the difference it creates on the birds, all these elements that come in to play when making the photographs.

Believe it it or not, one of the last elements i was concerned about was sharpness. Not because i get every image sharp, i don’t, but because it’s the easiest one to fix. All it takes is more practice at the lake hand holding the 200-400 AF-S VR or if your like Dad maybe something else. It’s remembering to get all these other elements right in the frame at the moment of capture that’s hardest for me, but it is that challenge that drives me to continue.

Images captured with D3, 200-400 AF-S VR, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film