Things That Go Whoosh In The Night

Trust Me, It's A Flaming Difficult Task

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Here’s the equation. It’s very delicately balanced and even the slightest variation could tip the scales towards total mediocrity.

It’s dusk at the 2009 Australian International Air Show, the weather has closed in and the public address system has been telling us for the past half an hour that the night-flying segment might not take place.

By the time total darkness has fallen, the Super Constellation has revved its engines and begun its stately journey towards one end of the runway. It won’t be taking off. Instead, it will do a high-speed roll down the runway before braking, turning round and doing the same thing in the opposite direction.

Yes, I’m looking forward to this, because the flaming exhaust stubs will make a great image.

But in a different section, I can see some serious activity around an F-111 of the Royal Australian Air Force and a couple of F-16 Falcons of the USAF. Sure enough, a few minutes later, they are positioned down the northern end of the runway. It is several minutes before a decision is made. They will fly. A cheer goes up around me.

But the equation has been running through my head, unresolved, for quite a while. I’m not using a tripod (I never do). It’s completely dark. There is some peripheral light, but the F-111 and the F-16s are well away from the floodlights. What settings am I going to use on the camera?

I want to capture the glow from each afterburner as the fighters accelerate past me. Without a tripod, in the darkness, I don’t have a hope of capturing each jet in totality. All I’ll get is a blur, even if I can get a clear shot over the heads of the people in front of and beside me.

I know there will be no second chance for a while, because the next air show will be held in 2011. I have discarded my 18-125mm lens and screwed in the 70-300mm lens instead. Because of the darkness and the speed of the F-111 as it accelerates down the runway, I know I have to compose as tight a shot as possible, to combat the blur and to emphasise the afterburner instead.

The results are very, very far from perfect – but that is the true joy of experimentation.


For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.

Roo Awakening

The Best Time To Spot Animals Is Sunset

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

While I was at the 2009 Australian International Air Show on Friday evening, I was on my way to check out the historic warbirds when I saw this sight. The Royal Australian Air Force flag was flying proudly in a brisk breeze - and it was as if a switch immediately flipped in my brain (okay, so it doesn’t happen often!) prompting me to take the shot for Camera Critters.

It had been a hot afternoon with a warm breeze, but weather conditions can change very rapidly here in Melbourne. The breeze had just turned 180 degrees and was whipping in from the south. The temperature had dropped at least 10 degrees or more in a few minutes.

As the flag fluttered, I realised that the cloud cover had increased significantly and the setting sun was providing a golden haze in the west. Problem was, the sun was behind me and the flag was in front of me.

A bit of quick manoeuvring - never the easiest thing to do when you’re moving against a huge crowd - meant that I was able to line up the flag with the sunset. I had to pause patiently several seconds for this shot, because I was waiting for the flag to fly in a particular direction.

The first shot I took wasn’t quite what I had envisaged, but the second frame (the one I’ve published here - was about as close as I was ever going to get. The diffused sunlight through the clouds has actually rendered the fabric of the flag translucent in this shot, which is very apt .

I’ve always wanted to shoot an image of a kangaroo against the setting sun.

Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

Weighty Matters

Is This Another Battle Of The Bulge?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This week's theme is "Heavy", so I had to rack my brain as I reviewed some of my photo folders. This is one of the heavier objects I've photographed recently. Any idea what it is? If you're not sure, have a look at the objects reflected in the huge metal bulge.

Here's another view of it. As you can see, I was trying to get a really unusual angle of the object.

It's an F-111 of the Royal Australian Air Force. This series of photographs was shot at Australian International Air Show at Avalon Airport.

This angle (above) intrigued me for a couple of reasons. First, because grey is the over-riding colour across most of the frame. Second, because of the angle of the open twin canopies and their own reflection.

This shot (above) shows you some of the armament lined up on the tarmac in front of the F-111. This is the reflection you can see in the first frame. Another point of interest is this: the nose is painted matt black. It's not a paint with a glossy finish - and yet the reflection in the first frame suggests that the matt black paint has a sheen to it.

On another note, if you thought Steve Martin had an impossibly long nose in the film Roxanne (with Daryl Hannah) where he played a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac, think again. Ain't nuthin' got a longer nose than this flying machine.

VERSE & WORSE: Check out Looney Limerick Competition #3.

The Wild Grey Yonder

Say Goodbye To Gravity

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

There is nothing like outdoor photography to test your own boundaries. Indoors, you can control all the parameters. Outdoors, you are forced to use your own initiative to make the best of the existing weather conditions. When I saw this Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18A Hornet, I took a series of shots from the aircraft's nose, using a variety of unusual angles. I was walking away from the aircraft when I stopped on the tarmac, turned around to admire its clean lines - and saw another opportunity to frame the open cockpit canopy against a moody sky. Just goes to prove - even when you think you've got the best shots, there's still one you haven't captured.

Open, Sesame

Like R. Kelly, I Believe I Can Fly

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I guess I was looking for a different aviation image. I didn't want a stock-standard, side-on fuselage shot. The Royal Australian Air Force F-111 is a swing-wing fighter with updated avionics and this one was sitting on a tarmac under a lead-grey sky. The open canopy gave me something to work with and once I'd decided what I wanted, the shot composed itself. In all honesty, I don't think this frame would have worked so well under a clear blue sky.