United States - California - Travis Air Expo 2008 - Travis AFB, Fairfield - 08/30/08

[Steve K]

Wow Eddie -- great shots! I notice your shutter speed is much lower than mine, and many other shots I see around here, and your pics are incredibly sharp at what you say are close crops -- is that a function of the 2.8 lens -- being able to shoot the fast movers at lower shutter speeds (generally I thought 1/1000 was the sweet spot). Naturally I'm also assuming your panning technique is much smoother than mine, too  Great work -- love the shot with all the stuff in it too!

[Midnight Storm]

I've always shot at a slower speed. I don't yet know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I know for one thing you gotta drop into the 125-60th of a sec range for props. At Riverside I was down in the 1/16th range, but the planes were closer. See here: Riverside

For the jets I like the 480-600th range for most jets and on the faster passes I bump up to 800th. It might just be my style but that's where I like it. One day I need to try the higher speed and see what happens. I've just been afraid to go over 1000.    You loose the background and the sky.

I must add I have a super smooth pan and I don't use IS. Practice makes perfect... go out and shoot cars on the freeway and try the slower speeds. You'll find a rythim and a sweet spot of your own. 

[Keith Breazeal]

That one looks pretty good to me. The 40D is a nice body and collects more info then the XTI. You'll be very happy with it. It took myself about 3 years to learn and fully understand how digital works.

 Where were you, that we didn't run into each other on Friday?

I was where the Media platform was put.  Friday I only did stills, Sunday video and stills. 

Here's what I look like from the back side.  The vest now has Flight Video Magazine embroidered on it.
This was shot at Mather 2007 when I did the F-22 special with Max.  See airshowbuzz.com video page and look for the "most popular" and most "viewed video"- it's the one I produced and the photo is from the interview portion.

[Steve K]

Thanks for the detailed reply! I've got lots to learn and am %100 self-taught so I don't want to let bad habits become permanent habits. I've probably shot about 5 shows over three years, somewhat seriously now -- got a long, long way to go but have at least seen some modest improvement with each one. I do think it's a bit of a pipe dream for me to drop below 1000 with the jets with my current lens (I did try shooting in AP mode at F8 for a bit on Sunday which dropped my shutter below 800 for most shots and they were all REALLY soft for the most part). But I do need to practice more. Luckily the local airport here in petaluma is great for that. My panning is far from polished. I've tried the highway thing a bit but the problem is they cars won't fly over my head   I don't seem to have a big problem with straight and level panning, it's when I have to follow a 600+ mph jet that's going over my head at an angle that things fall apart for me in a hurry  

That P-51 shot is   Amazing that you can get it that sharp, that "slow" and hand-held! Nice. (and no IS too!) I don't have IS in my 300, which is my longest lens at the moment. It was a cheapie -- $160 or so, sunk my $ into the body and an all around general purpose lens first, and am now saving for a better lens for shows.

I've probably rambled enough now -- thanks again!

[Midnight Storm]

I'm also 100% self-taught and I've got alot to learn. Glad to help if I can... that only means I'm getting better.  

Back to the photos.

[Midnight Storm]

I was where the Media platform was put.  Friday I only did stills, Sunday video and stills. 

Here's what I look like from the back side.  The vest now has Flight Video Magazine embroidered on it.
This was shot at Mather 2007 when I did the F-22 special with Max.  See airshowbuzz.com video page and look for the "most popular" and most "viewed video"- it's the one I produced and the photo is from the interview portion.

Keith,

I've seen your work before and it is first class all the way. 

[Keith Breazeal]

Thanks Eddie   I'm trying to get a good balance of photos and videos on my web site.  I find a lot of folks come to the site for just photos, so I am trying to get better quality photos up.  I shot a mountain bike race since my son was racing, but wound up being hounded for photos.  I sold digital downloads to them.  The very first use of the new camera was a custom motorcycle show- a whole story in itself.  Some of the models I got "stuck" shooting are on my site.

[Midnight Storm]

[Midnight Storm]

[Midnight Storm]

I just wanted to add that I lost battery power on my XTI right when the T-birds started rolling for their demo and I shot all my T-birds photos with my back up Rebel XT. Shooting raw it would let me take one or two photos in a row and download for 30-40 seconds. So every photo I posted is the ONE photo I took in each pass. Talk about making them all count! If you don't believe me ask Todd as my eye witness. It was like shooting ASA 64 Slides all over again. 

[Keith Breazeal]

Teo Torres from KCRA NBC 3 in Sacramento shows off the empty Barf Bag after a 45 minute thrill ride on Friday.

[Keith Breazeal]

[Jake Gibson]

great photos everyone! This looked like one good show.

[Meeces]

First post as a new member.  Wanted to try it out, see if I could get a picture to actually post.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3151/2819345784_c2f2215ff6_b.jpg

[Keith Breazeal]

Use the "insert Image"  thats below the underline function.  U

here's your photo: