Airplanes and Flying
Luke AFB Open House - 13Nov1999
It is amazing how heavy a 5 pound camcorder can feel after sitting out on the tarmac in the sun for a good 8-10 hours. But, with a good dose of sunblock and plenty of water, I got a solid four hours of videotape.
As I mentioned on the index page however, I had a hard time finding decent flight shots which didn't require a lot of context or a long series of sequential frames. I also got a few good static display shots, although the F-117 shot was difficult to get. I think the Air Force guys must have deliberately placed that aircraft in the worst possible location for taking pictures, as the sun was always on it at exactly the wrong angle throughout the day. Most of the still frames I grabbed had the plane blended into the shadows or other background to the point where it is difficult to see. In my excitement, I failed to get a good shot of the sign authorizing the use of deadly force should some poor schmuck manage to pierce the impenetrable double perimeter of yellow tape. It was vaguely amusing to see all of the oriental gentlemen very carefully taking pictures and video...
[Unfortunately, I also forgot to turn off the date/time recording feature, so there is a very irritating date-time group in the lower right corner of everything.]