A RARE AIRCRAFT - B-29 SUPERFORTRESS

B-29 Superfortress , part of the ”AirPower History Tour” by the Commemorative Air Force, Dubuque Regional Airport, 7/28/2024

The biggest attraction for most people that came to the Dubuque Airport last weekend was the B-29 Superfortress ”FIFI”. It is one of only two aircrafts that are still airworthy. The B-29 played an essential role in WWII in the Pacific to end the war with Japan.

”FIFI” underwent a restoration between 2006 and 2010 and has now four custom built hybrid engines.

Weather conditions prevented the morning flight on Sunday but finally mid afternoon I was able to watch a takeoff and later the safe landing of the aircraft. I shot from the same location as already a week ago, just outside the fence that surrounds the airfield and next to the terminal building. The biggest challenge was to keep the fence out of the frame whenever possible. I brought a little foldable stepping stool and used it for most of the pictures.

While taxiing between the ramp and the runway only the two inner engines are used and the outer props are at a standstill.

Having a once in a lifetime experience and flying with the B-29 is not a small expense. The “bombardier seat”, the one the gentleman in the white shirt is in, can be booked for $1,995. The CAF is a non-profit organization and the money is used to keep these historical airplanes flying. https://www.airpowersquadron.org/b-29-superfortress

OPPORTUNITY FOR PRACTICE

Of course, I had to go back to the Dubuque Regional Airport. The weather conditions were good, a little hazy but nice puffy clouds made for a more interesting background. This year I found a new spot where the airplanes came by pretty close when they taxied back to their parking area in front of the hangars. I took a little stepping stool to stand on, so the fence that surrounds the airfield was not always in the picture. The runway wasn’t too far away either but a little crop was applied for the photos of the T6’s that show starts or landings because 600 mm focal length wasn’t enough to fill the frame.

I shot the whole time in shutter priority mode with 1/125 s and set the camera to Auto ISO. To get a full circle of the prop it needs about 1/60 s but this was beyond my current handholding capabilities due to the lack of practice.

There are two reasons why going back to the airport almost every year in July is important to me. First, I enjoy watching historic prop airplanes and when they train the weekend before the AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the airshows, it’s a great opportunity to see so many of them. And second, I use it as a practice for my wildlife photography, and in particular for birds in flight. Panning with a heavy long lens is not an easy task, but doing it right is the only way to get a sharp image when a slow shutter speed is required.

I hope you enjoy the little selection in the blog today. As always, a click on the photo delivers a larger image, at least if you read this on a computer screen…😊

P-51 MUSTANGS

Tomorrow starts the big AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and the pilots with their aircrafts that spent part of last week here at the Dubuque Regional Airport have left today. I was out a couple more times this weekend to watch starts and landings and of course, for photography. Today I like to share a few images of some gorgeous looking P-51 Mustang that trained here for the airshow. The P-51 Mustang is a long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts.

AIRSHOW PREPARATIONS

T-6 Texan,   @600 mm, 1/250s, f/13, ISO100

The sound of propeller engines filled the air early in the morning during the last couple days, reminding us that the world’s largest airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is coming up next week. As every year a number of historic airplanes are at the Dubuque Airport the week before, with the pilots training for the big event.

T-6 Texan,   @600 mm, 1/60s, f/20, ISO100

I went out in the afternoon and the weather conditions were just great for some aviation photography. Some big puffy clouds made for a nice background. As every year, there were a number T-6 Texans and some other airplanes parked but a few did still their practice at my arrival. The runway they used for starts and landing today is not far from the observation deck and I tried my luck with the planes coming in for landing out of the southeast.

T-6 Texan,   @600 mm, 1/50s, f/20, ISO100

There were two things I tried to accomplish. First it is nice to have a little bit of blue sky in the frame, not just the white and gray of the clouds. That of course was not always in my control. And second the props of the planes had to be blurred for a realistic sense of motion. To get there the shutter speed should be between 1/40s and 1/250s. The last was almost too fast for some pictures because the speed of the propeller plays also a role here. I can tell, my panning technique with the long lens was not superior today, I had a lot of misses. I definitely need more practice…

1966 BEECH V35 Bonanza, 1/250s, f/13, ISO100

ANOTHER ROUND OF PRACTICE

Vaught F4U Corsair and P-51 Mustang shortly after takeoff

Yes indeed, I went back to the Dubuque Airport this morning again and practiced handholding again with the Nikon Z6II and Sigma 150-600 attached. The pilots as well went out for some more rounds of practice for the 2022 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which will start on Monday. The humidity had increased and it seemed a little more hazy than the evening before, but unfortunately there were very few clouds to the west that would make for a little drama in the background. I tried to make up for this and included a bit of the horizon line behind the runway for this photo.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,     @ 600 mm, 1/160 s, f/16, ISO 100, image slightly cropped

T-6 TEXANS IN TOWN

Two T-6 Texans after takeoff at the Dubuque Regional Airport

The engine noise of T-6 Texans, P-51 Mustangs, and other historical planes filled the air during the last few days and reminded us that the world’s biggest air show starts next week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. A number of these aircrafts come every year to the Dubuque Regional Airport to train prior to the show. I tried my luck and went out to the observation deck at the airport this evening. At the end I had really just one good opportunity to bring a few Texans into the viewfinder of the camera and it was only this shot, with some great clouds in the background, that I liked. My panning technique is not up to par and the keeper rate was accordingly low. Maybe I should go back tomorrow if it is not too hazy…?

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,     @ 400 mm, 1/160 s, f/18, ISO 100

CLOUDS AGAIN

Clouds, Dubuque Regional Airport, Iowa, Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4,   @95 mm, 1/500 s, f/10, ISO100

After a busy day with no time to get behind the camera this evening I thought I can share another image from last week, when great clouds set the stage at the Dubuque Regional Airport. I love the line the winding road takes between the surrounding hills and I tried to incorporate it into the arrangement of elements in the photo. The road leads the eye to the puffy storm cloud in the back, but it doesn’t stop there and the view goes up to the clouds above. I saw this image in black and white in my mind when I framed it in the viewfinder. Some very bright traffic signs and a power line were removed in Photoshop. Oh yeah, “men made clutter” doesn’t help a picture like this one…

3X CLOUDS

Observation point at Dubuque Regional Airport, view to the southeast, at 35 mm focal length, slight crop

I have been on the road the last couple days and have seen some remarkable cloud formations. Driving mostly on interstate and state highways I had to let pass many good opportunities to take out the camera. Finally, on the way home a stop was made at the observation point of the Dubuque Regional Airport this evening. I like this place for cloud photography for two reasons. You have a 360 degree view and no cables or wires obstruct the view. While not a friend of the humidity that comes with the hot temperatures of summer here in the Midwest, I love the clouds that often come with it. All three photos were made within five minutes and in each direction light and clouds were different.

View to the northeast, at 95 mm, slight crop

View to the southwest, at 32 mm, slight crop

LIGHT PAINTING ON THE PRAIRIE

Prairie at night, Mines of Spain Recreation Area, Dubuque, Iowa

Last night the Dubuque Camera Club had its “end of the season” meeting. Quite a few members were brave enough to defy the heat and came out for some night shooting to the  picknick shelter at the Butler trail. This part of the Mines of Spain Recreation Area is mostly open prairie and allowed for good social distancing. I had fun with some light painting on the prairie grass and trees. 

Despite some light pollution from the city of Dubuque, the stars were visible and as I framed one of the shots an airplane approached the DBQ Airport with full lights on. Photography friend Pamela Brandt assisted with a second light source (thank you again Pam!) and at the end some pictures were on the memory card that I liked.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head, Vello cable release,   @16 mm, 30 s, f/4, ISO200, Manual mode

THE SOUND OF PROP PLANES (PART 2)

Yesterday was the better day for shooting the T6’s at the Dubuque Airport. A little storm that went trough our area brought some clouds and that made for a much more interesting background. The wind had shifted to the west and the second runway, closer to the observation deck, was used for landing the planes. My keeper rate was much better and I hope I can attribute that to my practice of panning with the long lens the day before. Today I didn’t go out but we had a great air show right here at home. When the noise of plane engines filled the air we knew they all took finally off for the Air Venture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. What a display! I counted 27, flying all together in formations of four, as they had practiced during the last few days. Today’s photos are all from Saturday afternoon at the airport. I hope you enjoy!

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S

NATURE CLICKS #432 - HORNED LARK

Male Horned Lark

I haven’t seen and photographed a Horned Lark here in eastern Iowa since more than four years. Before 2015 I never had problems finding them, especially in early spring. The bird is listed as a common bird in steep decline, which underlines my own observations. To my surprise I found a male Horned Lark yesterday and today again on the observation hill at the Dubuque Regional Airport. I saw this bird several times with insects in its bill, and as the second photo shows, they take the bigger ones too. It nurtures my hope that there is a nest somewhere around.

Due to the fact that I was at the airport for making some clicks of the historical airplanes that practice for the big air venture in Oshkosh, WI next week, I didn’t have the tripod out. It helped to stabilize the lens on one of the posts that support the sunroof on the observation deck. The gravel of the parking lot is not really attractive but that’s where the Horned Lark foraged for insects. Although I shot very many pictures of the planes and only a few of the bird, these wildlife photos are important to me and made me very happy.

THE SOUND OF PROP PLANES

During the last couples days the sound of propeller driven airplanes over the house made me aware that it is the time of the year again when pilots with their historical planes get ready and practice for the big airshow next week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This evening I went out to the Dubuque Regional Airport and tried to make some clicks. I have done this before during other years and although I’m not really into aviation photography I enjoy these airplanes and take this opportunity for practice of handholding skills with the heavy long lens attached to camera. My keeper rate wasn’t very good today and I hate to come up with tons of excuses, but it was pretty much the lack of practice of my handholding capabilities.

As mentioned in other blog posts over the years before, I like to tell the story of motion with these airplanes and aim for a blurred prop. The only way to get this kind of shot is to stick with a slow shutter speed, means between 1/60 s and 1/200 s. The T6’s flew in formations of four and this was my favorite shot of this evening. But wait, there was some bird present at the observation deck of the airport that I haven’t seen in a long time. But hey, this is for another blog post… 😉

LATE POST, SPINNING PROPS

AT-6, ready for takeoff

The Air Venture 2018 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is already over since yesterday and I’m still posting photos from the practice that took place a week earlier at the Dubuque Regional Airport… Business travel and other circumstances prevented me to work on my pictures last week, but hey, here are still a few shots! I’m not really deep into aviation photography but historic aircrafts have an appeal to me and I admire the people that keep them flying. You may ask, why didn’t you post more pictures of flying planes this time? As already mentioned in my post from July 22nd, we had an ugly gray overcast on Sunday. This was OK for shooting the aircrafts on the ground because of the soft light, but when you have gray clouds without any texture the same rule as in wildlife photography applies, never photograph a bird in flight…

P-51D Mustang

Slow shutter speed is key for having all props spinning

PRACTICE FOR THE 2018 AIR VENTURE IN OSHKOSH

Next week is the 2018 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, the world’s greatest aviation celebration with more than 10,000 aircrafts arriving and 500,000+ people attending. As every year, numerous airplanes practice for the airshow at the Dubuque Regional Airport the week before. This year the 80th anniversary of the T-6 Texan will be celebrated. This aircraft first flew on Sept. 18, 1938. Usually there are about 50 T-6 at the show but this year 80 of this historic aircrafts are expected. This airshow will feature a 28-ship T-6 formation to create a large “80” and other formations over Oshkosh.

Well, everybody who took the time to go to the Dubuque Airport during the last couple days had a chance to see how this all will unfold in Oshkosh. Both days it was a great excitement to see how the T-6s were lined up with spinning props, getting ready for take-off, two at a time.

Both days the airplanes came back in different formations, including the “80”. Today we had a strong gray overcast and all ground to air pictures just sucked. Hence the blue sky is from yesterday’s shooting while the pilots flew over the airfield.

T-6 #217 of the Royal Canadian Air Force

I positioned myself at the southern end of the runway, just outside of the fence, and it was an unbelievable spectacle when all planes arrived back at the airport.

This N134SM/44005/HM-05 Beech T-34B Mentor (BG-312) flew above the T-6 formation and seemed to direct and lead the whole show.

ADDING SOME SCALE

Another photo from yesterday’s shooting at the Dubuque Airport. This little helicopter flew by several times at the new observation deck. As already mentioned, I was there for the clouds, but having a flying object in the frame may change the subject. Well, the picture is still about the clouds for me, the helicopter just adds scale to the image. Other than that, shooting aircrafts is always a great exercise for birds-in-flight-photography.