I was worried, very worried before we went to the air show.  I had become dependent on HSC mode using the D2X.  I knew that with the D3 I wouldn’t have as much reach as in prior years.  I don’t own a handholdable lens that was long enough for the show.  I was ready to buy a 80-400 to cover things but eventually talked myself out of it.  Without the lens I was forced to work smarter or at least differently.  Incorporating more surroundings is a change of style for me.  Funny thing is that I like what I see.  Who says the plane has to fill the frame?  If you were describing an airplane, would you talk about rivets or touching clouds?

I’ve been in some weird processing phase the last few months.  I think I need to head to a car show and see if the phase has passed.

The air show this year was great!  We had a mix of everything from clear skies to overcast conditions.   I should have plenty of images to share.  Here’s the AT-6 Trainer “War Dog.”  I spent a lot of time playing with slow shutter speeds and panning because it has been so long since I last practiced.  I like the way the panning technique helped to clean up this background a bit.

Well well, a sunny day.  It was a bright day and the game was scheduled for noon.  What right-minded person would schedule a game for the middle of the day?  Certainly not a photographer.  I’ve heard some old advice.  Put the sun to your back and point your shadow at the subject.  No thanks, not for me.  It doesn’t matter how interesting the action may be, the light doesn’t move me.  This is what I don’t want.

This is a little bit better.  This is the same day, same game, just a different end of the field.  I went looking for some shadows and found them.  If my background would cooperate and allow me to shoot from ground level, I would be able to reduce the amount of brightly lit grass.  I’d also get a low key background.  I’ve not shot soccer with my belly in the soaking wet grass while trying to track action with a 600mm … yet.

I’m either totally nuts or a photographer.  Is there a difference?

My first day of shooting with a remote camera was a good lesson in what not to do.  I don’t have a single image to show for my efforts.  I’ve learned that I need to make plenty of mistakes before I am allowed to succeed.  I can practice in the “lab” and then apply what I’ve learned at the game this week.

A few weeks ago I made the decision to use remote cameras for baseball season this fall.  I decided to pick up a few D200 bodies - remember those old dinosaurs?  They are inexpensive, rugged, and fast.  What better way to test their fitness than by shooting baseball?  Combined with my new favorite lens, the 70-300VR, the D200 makes a great setup for ball games.

Sometimes I will think and study a subject before shooting. At other times my eye and finger are linked and completely bypass my brain. It’s all for fun anyway.

I spend a lot of time processing images. I justify the time and effort by considering it training. In order to be able to process an image to my vision, I need to understand what’s possible. I am constantly trying to figure out what I like to see, and how I like to see it.

I can’t break free to travel to a special location as often as I’d like. Instead I’ve decided to look for subjects close to home that I can shoot when the time becomes available. Living in LA means there are dozens of car shows every week. If I don’t have anything scheduled, I can just drop in at a show and spend some time with the old cars.

I was just playing around combining two elements within a single photograph.