Overall this was an easy setup considering I have not been to this location previously. Above all, I want to thank the LLS team for their help in loading in the gear. Following the load in, setting up three flashes in the conference room was easy. While there, I was able to make photos of all the candidates there for the kick off.
The Man and Woman of the Year Candidates are embarking on a philanthropic competition to support blood cancer research. Indeed, I have contributed to their mission by making these headshots. When they have their gala dinner to announce the winner of the competition, they display these portraits throughout the venue.
During our daily walk, I wanted to test water long exposure images since we have a large creek in the neighborhood. In addition to practicing, this more casual photography helps my planning and pre-visualizing skills. When I made some images low to a running creek, I started planning on another shoot with different gear and conditions.
In the light of this first example, I knew that I was there at the wrong time. Now that there was some strong sunlight coming through the trees, it would be difficult to get a long exposure of the flowing water. To get what I needed I would have to come back on a different day. Specifically, I would need a time when the light was not as strong. With this in mind, I waited until an overcast / rainy day to try again.
Subsequently, I brought out the tripod and planned to set it with longer exposures in mind. For what I was planning hand-holding the camera would not be an option. For these, I think it was successful. However, I already have some ideas to make them even better. Just waiting for another rainy day!
Earlier this month, the America Strong flyovers started over the East Coast of the US. With attention to saluting first responders, hospital workers, who are on the front line of this disease, these planes flew to lift spirits. Moreover this was another reminder that working together is the only way we will get through this difficult time.
Since I had a few days notice, I scouted a few different places to see the teams flyover. The teams released flyover maps, so in general I had an idea where they would be overhead. When I was looking for a spot, some were nice, but had large powerlines. Some, I thought had trees that were very tall. In summary, there are obstacles, that I never saw while casually traveling through the neighborhood.
In this case, I decided that just going across the street would be the best place to catch the flyover. As for camera gear, I put my iPhone on a tripod to get video and sound of the flyover while I had two still cameras ready. One had a longer 70-200mm telephoto lens, and one a normal 24-70mm zoom lens.
America Strong Flyover
Reviewing the video, this flyover lasted only a few seconds! While the teams were over downtown Washington, DC, and Arlington, VA, I could hear them approaching. Even though I had three cameras available, I only had time to use the telephoto lens. Knowing that there would only be one pass, I got as many photos as they were overhead. Although 200mm was the longest lens I had, it was still a bit short without large cropping in the final images.
By all means, this was not the best photos from this flyover. Similar to other photo shoots, it is important to review afterwards to see how things could have been done better. I hope I would get better results with a different shooting position, and a longer focal length. I hope all of you are staying safe, and I look forward to getting out and seeing you in person soon!
