Trip Report

2016 Manassas Airshow /  by Todd Henson

Yak-52 Flyby. Pilot: Charlie "V+12" VandenBossche.  Camera settings: 400mm, 1/50 sec, f/29

This was my first trip to the Manassas Airshow held May 7 at the Manassas Regional Airport in Manassas, Virginia. My father and I arrived early to make parking easier and to have time to walk around all the static displays before the overhead air show began, which turned out to be around noon. This is a small airport and, consequently, a smaller air show than some venues, but they put on a great show with plenty of variety. The weather was a bit questionable in the beginning, with cloudy skies darkening right over the airport, but it never did rain, and the clouds made for some interesting photos. There were times I wished the sun would have come out a bit more, but at the same time, it beat a cloudless day with a blindingly bright sun. In general, I didn’t have to worry about blowing out highlights.

I haven’t been to many air shows with my camera, so I’m still learning how to photograph them. At my first show I set up the camera as I often do for wildlife, where I usually want the fastest shutter speed I can get with shallow depth of field. So I usually use aperture priority mode with the aperture close to wide open. This worked great with fast moving jets, but I learned it didn’t work well with propeller-based aircraft. Setting the shutter speed too fast freezes the propeller, which looks unnatural. When the aircraft is moving the propeller should be moving, as well.

This year I adjusted settings based on the aircraft overhead. For jets I used my normal aperture priority mode, but for propeller-based aircraft I switched to shutter priority and experimented with shutter speeds. I tried very slow speeds, around 1/50 to 1/60 of a second to try to capture a full rotation of the propeller. This resulted in lots of blurry photos as I had a difficult time panning smoothly enough to freeze the plane, but occasionally I would get a reasonably in focus aircraft with a nicely blurred propeller. Sometimes I increased the shutter speed to over 1/200 of a second. This helped me capture a few more aircraft in focus and usually still captured some propeller motion, though not a full rotation of the propeller. I really enjoyed the experimentation, and I look forward to future shows so I can get more practice.

One of the early performers was Charlie “V+12” VandenBossche flying his Yak-52, so right away I was practicing slower shutter speeds. I love when these planes turn on their smoke trails, it can really help make some dynamic photos.

Yak-52 Descent. Pilot: Charlie "V+12" VandenBossche. Camera settings: 360mm, 1/60 sec, f/45

Yak-52 in Flight. Pilot: Charlie "V+12" VandenBossche. Camera settings: 400mm, 1/80 sec, f/29

Next up was The Flying Circus, out of Bealeton, Virginia. They had a wing walker climbing all over the wings of the bi-plane. These guys were amazing. You can tell they do this all the time. Great stuff.

The Flying Circus Superhero. Pilot: Chuck Tippett. Wing Walker: Joe Bender. Camera settings: 400mm, 1/50 sec, f/29

Hanging On. Pilot: Chuck Tippett. Wing Walker: Joe Bender. Camera settings: 400mm, 1/80 sec, f/20

Scott Francis had some amazing moves in his MXS aircraft. It’s a beautiful little plane and he really knows how to push it. I increased the shutter speed here to freeze the aircraft. You can see the propeller is blurred but it doesn’t show a full rotation.

Scott Francis in his MXS. Camera settings: 400mm, 1/320 sec, f/5.6

A little later the Warrior Flight Team took to the air in a pair of L-39 Albatross. These two were great, performing a number of synchronized maneuvers.

A Pair of Albatross. The Warrior Flight Team. Camera settings: 165mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6

One of my favorite aircraft at the show was Greg Colyer’s T-33 Shooting Star, named Ace Maker II. There was just something about both the look and moves of this aircraft. Lots of fun to watch and photograph.

Top View of the Ace Maker II. Pilot: Grey Coyler. Camera settings: 370mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6

Ace Maker II Flyby. Pilot: Grey Coyler. Camera settings: 400mm, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3

Finally, the last aircraft I photographed was the Sea Harrier flown by Art Nalls. This is the first, and at present only, privately owned and flown Harrier, so it was great getting the opportunity to see it in action. I have seen Harriers at air shows before, and they are always a marvel to watch. It’s amazing how little runway is needed to get one of these off the ground. One of the popular moves is towards the end of the performance when they turn the aircraft facing the audience, hover in place, then slowly take a bow with the aircraft. Amazing control! And, of course, there is the vertical landing that only something like the Harrier can perform.

Harrier Bowing to Audience. Pilot: Art Nalls. Camera settings: 400mm, 1/2000 sec, f/6.3

Harrier Vertical Landing. Pilot: Art Nalls. Camera settings: 400mm, 1/1000 sec, f/6.3

The Manassas Airshow was a lot of fun. I’m happy my father and I were able to spend part of the day here. It was well worth it. If you’ve never been to an air show go check one out.

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Washington, D.C. Cherry Blossoms - 2016 /  by Todd Henson

Cherry trees along the tidal basin in Washington, D.C.

The Washington, D.C. tidal basin and surrounding areas are home to thousands of cherry trees that bloom each spring. During this time D.C. hosts the Cherry Blossom Festival, Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival, Blossom Kite Festival, and many other events with ties to Japanese culture. This time also draws large crowds of people to the tidal basin to see the cherry blossoms in bloom. It really is a beautiful sight and well worth the trip. For smaller crowds I prefer to visit on a week day, but sometimes the timing doesn’t work out and it has to be on a weekend. This year my brother and I visited on a Saturday very close to peak bloom, and as expected there were large crowds all around the tidal basin.

Swan boat in the tidal basin, Washington, D.C., cherry blossoms in the background

From a photographic perspective, I find myself most inspired when alone or in smaller groups. I have a more difficult time making images around large crowds of people, so this trip was a challenge for me. One thing I often don’t do much of, but would like to try more in the future, is incorporating the crowds of people into more photos. I most often look for quieter scenes, waiting for a clearing in the people, but sometimes the people can really add to the shot.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial from a distance, surrounded by cherry blossoms.

Kayaker, and photographer, in Potomac River just outside tidal basin, cherry tree in the background.

One of the newer additions to the tidal basin is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. In previous years I had tried to capture the main portion of the memorial by itself, but this year I tried to incorporate other elements, such as the cherry blossoms. While walking around the memorial I noticed you can line it up with the Washington Monument, which was nice. I would like to try this again with different weather. The day we were there the sun was very bright and the sky cloudless. This creates very high contrast scenes, which can sometimes be nice, but I’d also like to try making some images in softer light.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial surrounded by cherry blossoms.

Black and white photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and Washington Monument.

Further along the tidal basin is the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which is full of statues, murals, waterfalls, and carvings. There’s a lot to see in this memorial. It’s well laid out, with various sections separated by walls with walkways between them. It can feel like walking through a museum of memorials.

Black and white photo of statue in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

Black and white photo of statue of Eleanor Roosevelt in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

Black and white photo of statue of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his dog in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

It’s not uncommon to stumble across photo shoots of various sorts, from portraits to weddings, and sometimes people dressed in more traditional Japanese fashion. Some of the photo shoots can be bigger productions with multiple people, light stands and reflectors, whereas others are just a single photographer and a single model.

Woman posing for a photo shoot at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

Woman posing for a photo beside the Japanese Pagoda.

People also love to pose in front of the various monuments, memorials and statues. It’s fun to stand back and watch as one person after another poses in the same spot.

Black and white photo of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Another very popular spot along the tidal basin is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. It’s a beautiful building that stands right along the tidal basin, with steps leading up to the memorial. People gather on the steps in large numbers. Sometimes tents are set up for events along the water, but not this day. I’ve always enjoyed making images of the statue of Jefferson in silhouette. Sometimes I can get just the statue, other times it’s full of people.

And, of course, there are the cherry blossoms, themselves. Japan gifted thousands of cherry trees to D.C. in 1912, which eventually led to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival and all the other fascinating events surrounding it. Over the years I’ve enjoyed traveling to D.C. to see the cherry trees. Some years we’re early and see mostly buds, other years we’re late and see mostly falling petals. This year we visited very close to peak bloom. I look forward to seeing what next year brings.

Cherry blossoms along the tidal basin in Washington, D.C.

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Conowingo Bald Eagles 2015 /  by Todd Henson

Bald Eagle searching for fish in the Susquehanna River

Every year my brother and I try to make our way to Conowingo Dam in the November to December timeframe. Conowingo Dam is on the Susquehanna River in Maryland, close to the border with Pennsylvania. Route 1 crosses over top the dam. Large numbers of bald eagles congregate here each year to fish in the river. The most active times are when the dam turbines are on. This stirs up the water and stuns some of the fish making them easier meals for the eagles. In addition to the eagles there are cormorants, various gulls, great blue herons, and black vultures. Conowingo has become a very popular site this time of year, so if you go arrive early to assure you find a parking space and viewing location.

Bald Eagle searching for fish in the Susquehanna River

Personally, I’ve found Conowingo to be very hit or miss the times I’ve been there. Several times we’ve arrived by 6:30 or 7 in the morning only to find the entire river completely covered in a thick layer of fog that didn’t clear up till around 10:30. That’s a lot of time standing around with very little to photograph. Sometimes the fog will begin to clear only to fog over again. One day I’ll change to a shorter focal length lens and make some images of the fisherman or other photographers in the fog.

Bald Eagle at an interesting angle as it scans the river below

Below is a sequence of images of a young adult bald eagle catching a fish. I say young adult because its dark feathers are still coming in, notice the occasional white patches. It’s fascinating to watch as they approach the water, spread their wings to slow their descent, reach their talons forward then plunge them into the water and, hopefully, grab hold of a good sized fish. Often they come up empty. When they do catch a fish they are sometimes pursued by other eagles eager to steal their catch.

This year a juvenile bald eagle came very close to us, allowing a great view. The juveniles are mottled brown and white, not yet having white head or tail feathers. I’ve read that juveniles can actually be larger than the adults, and eagles are large birds. Below are two photos of the juvenile as it was flying over the river, veering towards the water having its sights on a fish just under the surface. Further below is a longer sequence of the juvenile catching the fish and flying off. Unfortunately, I didn’t capture the actual moment it brought the fish out of the water, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

Juvenile Bald Eagle veering towards the river, it's eye focused on a fish just under the surface

Juvenile Bald Eagle angling down towards a fish in the river

Below is a sequence of the juvenile bald eagle catching a fish and flying away with it. Click on an image to cycle through them all.

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