First Pics of Udvar-Hazy Visit

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
Very interesting facility and well worth visiting.

Isn't it cool, Jay? Our flight there last year will always be a
highlight of our lives.

What can one say when standing face to face with such history. It's
definately a work in progress but I imagine when they eventually incorporate
the Garber facility / Research Library and can seamlessly move back and
forth between restoration/preservation and display area, they'll be able to
have a little more cohesion in each genre. It's just a little bit "asses
and elbows" right now. I did try to picture your family with Atlas out on
the ramp doing the "meet and greet" ... that just must have been a gas.

From a photographic perspective, the lighting and layout make it very
challenging.

Agreed. Almost none of the pictures I took there were worth a damn. The
scale of the place is just way beyond regular flash photography -- and
it's really too dark for anything else.

Reminded me greatly of the USAF Museum at Dayton, OH.

I have to admit I'm pleasantly suprised with the results I managed to
achieve at ISO 400, no flash and a monopod. My 24-105mm lens is an IS
(Image Stablizer) lens and I think it really made a difference. Out of
approx 100-ish images shot, I didn't end up with too many technical
"clunkers" but some suffer from a lack of planning within the frame.
Sometimes I forget to look beyond my subject and make sure the background is
what I want as well.

Next time, I think I'll try a wider-angle lens so I can physically get
closer in order to further isolate specific aircraft and/or aircraft parts.
The thing you have to be careful of with going really wide is the forced
perspective which can make wings and tails look cartoonishly long.

(Envy Mode On...) Of course, in the book that they sell, the photos are all
perfect because the staff shooters had at their disposal a closed museum and
megawatts worth of flash power! (Envy Mode Off...)

Glad you liked the shots.

--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In article oUU7g.1147$KB.147@fed1read08, says...



(Envy Mode On...) Of course, in the book that they sell, the photos are all
perfect because the staff shooters had at their disposal a closed museum and
megawatts worth of flash power! (Envy Mode Off...)


They probably had 8x10" Sinar view cameras, tripods as heavy as you or me, and
used two-minute exposures!

Your shots are nice for the conditions - you're being too modest.
I like the 707 - I don't know if it's an artefact of the photographic
conditions, but the paint job, even if it's the "original" scheme doesn't look
much like a plane from that period to me - the high-gloss looks rather
"American Chopper"...

GF

Jay Beckman wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...

Very interesting facility and well worth visiting.

Isn't it cool, Jay? Our flight there last year will always be a
highlight of our lives.


What can one say when standing face to face with such history. It's
definately a work in progress but I imagine when they eventually incorporate
the Garber facility / Research Library and can seamlessly move back and
forth between restoration/preservation and display area, they'll be able to
have a little more cohesion in each genre. It's just a little bit "asses
and elbows" right now. I did try to picture your family with Atlas out on
the ramp doing the "meet and greet" ... that just must have been a gas.


From a photographic perspective, the lighting and layout make it very
challenging.


Agreed. Almost none of the pictures I took there were worth a damn. The
scale of the place is just way beyond regular flash photography -- and
it's really too dark for anything else.


Reminded me greatly of the USAF Museum at Dayton, OH.

I have to admit I'm pleasantly suprised with the results I managed to
achieve at ISO 400, no flash and a monopod. My 24-105mm lens is an IS
(Image Stablizer) lens and I think it really made a difference. Out of
approx 100-ish images shot, I didn't end up with too many technical
"clunkers" but some suffer from a lack of planning within the frame.
Sometimes I forget to look beyond my subject and make sure the background is
what I want as well.

Next time, I think I'll try a wider-angle lens so I can physically get
closer in order to further isolate specific aircraft and/or aircraft parts.
The thing you have to be careful of with going really wide is the forced
perspective which can make wings and tails look cartoonishly long.

(Envy Mode On...) Of course, in the book that they sell, the photos are all
perfect because the staff shooters had at their disposal a closed museum and
megawatts worth of flash power! (Envy Mode Off...)

Glad you liked the shots.


--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"




Yeah, our photographer is also really good. With the new energy
policies in place it's really dark.

Margy

Margy Natalie wrote:


(Envy Mode On...) Of course, in the book that they sell, the photos
are all perfect because the staff shooters had at their disposal a
closed museum and megawatts worth of flash power! (Envy Mode Off...)

Actually they don't always use a closed museum...it's easily to lose
a few thousand people in Hazy it's so big. What they do have is
lots of slaved flash. It's a little disconcerting to be walking on
the catwalks and some flash there fires off when the photographer
is halfway across the hall.

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
m...
Margy Natalie wrote:


(Envy Mode On...) Of course, in the book that they sell, the photos are
all perfect because the staff shooters had at their disposal a closed
museum and megawatts worth of flash power! (Envy Mode Off...)

Actually they don't always use a closed museum...it's easily to lose
a few thousand people in Hazy it's so big. What they do have is
lots of slaved flash. It's a little disconcerting to be walking on
the catwalks and some flash there fires off when the photographer
is halfway across the hall.

You can also make people "disappear" in existing light with a very long
shutter speed. Blur thier motion enough and they will cease to exsist.

Jay B