I’ve seen all kinds of critters in my backyard over the years but this is the first time I’ve ever seen what looks to be a Turkey Vulture:
Wings of Freedom 2009
September 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I spent a few hours at Waterbury-Oxford airport this afternoon photographing the Betty Jane, a World War II era TP-51C Mustang. The “Betty Jane” is touring the country along with the B-17G “Nine-O-Nine” and the B-24J “Witchcraft” as of the Collings Foundation’s annual Wings of Freedom tour.
I’ve photographed both the Nine O Nine and the Witchcraft extensively over the last few years so main focus today was the Betty Jane (a full set of photos is available in the Gallery.) but I did snap a few photos of the other aircraft and exhibits:
The "Witchcraft" a World War II era B-24J Liberator.
The "Nine O Nine" a WWII era Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress.
The "Nine O Nine" a WWII era Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress.
A close-up of the Witchcraft's nose.
A close-up of the Witchcraft's nose.
A close-up of the Nine O Nine's nose.
A close-up of the Nine O Nine's tail.
A close-up of the Witchcraft's tail.
The "Betty Jane" a World War II era North American TP-15C Mustang.
A Jeep and Trailer from the Military Museum of Southern New England.
Say It Ain’t So: Kodak to Discontinue Kodachrome
June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment
From the Associated Press:
Sorry, Paul Simon, Kodak is taking your Kodachrome away.
The Eastman Kodak Co. (EK, News) announced Monday it’s retiring its oldest film stock because of declining customer demand in an increasingly digital age.
The world’s first commercially successful color film, immortalized in song by Simon, spent 74 years in Kodak’s portfolio. It enjoyed its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s but in recent years has nudged closer to obscurity: Sales of Kodachrome are now just a fraction of 1 percent of the company’s total sales of still-picture films, and only one commercial lab in the world still processes it.
Those numbers and the unique materials needed to make it convinced Kodak to call its most recent manufacturing run the last, said Mary Jane Hellyar, the outgoing president of Kodak’s Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group.
Mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away! I’ll confess that I haven’t shot with Kodachrome in several years but I’ve taken hundreds of photos with it over the years, everything from still life to nudes and I’m sad to see it go.
A Quick & Dirty Camera Review
December 27, 2008 By 2 Comments
I mentioned yesterday that I’d bought a Nikon Coolpix P80 digital camera. As general rule I’m not a fan of “point and shoot” cameras but I’ve always kept one handy for family get-togethers or other times when trotting out a full size SLR isn’t convenient or practical… If you’ve ever been crawling around the inside of a vintage aircraft like B-17 or B-24 you know what I mean.
Anyway on with the review… I promise I’m not going to bore you with specs or long winded analysis.
The P80 is what’s called a bridge camera by that I mean it’s designed to fill that niche between full sized digital SLR and basic “point and shot” cameras. It’s quite a bit bulkier than it’s pocket sized cousins but it’s smaller than and SLR. The P80 has a a relatively fast f/2.8 to f/4.5 18x optical zoom lens that’s equivalent to a 27mm to 486mm zoom lens on 35mm camera.
The P80 has all the automatic point and click simplicity of it’s smaller cousins and adds the Aperture priority, Shutter priority and manual exposure modes you’ll find on a digital SLR. I didn’t spend a lot of time testing the manual exposure mode… It’s a little awkward to use but I suspect with practice I could get comfortable with it.
Overall I’m quite happy with the P80 it has the flexibility I want without the bulk of an SLR my only complaint is that it doesn’t support RAW.
I posted a few sample pictures yesterday and I’ll add a few more here:
Exposure Info: Normal Program, f/4.5 @ 1/147 sec. ISO: 64 Focal length in 35mm film: 486mm
Exposure Info: Normal Program, f/4.5 @ 1/60 sec. ISO: 205 Focal length in 35mm film: 155mm
Exposure Info: Normal Program, f/4 @ 1/60 sec. ISO: 64 Focal length in 35mm film: 93mm
First Photos From My New Camera
December 26, 2008 By 1 Comment
I picked up a new camera this morning, a Nikon Coolpix P80. So far I’m impressed… Here’s a few test shots.
A photograph of a birdhouse taken with a Nikon Coolpix P80. There's a little more noise in the image than I'd like but it was shot through a window on a slightly hazy, overcast day... Not a bad result all things considered. Exposure Info: Aperture Priority, f/5 @ 1/123 sec. ISO: 373 Focal length in 35mm film: 486mm
A close-up photograph of a flower taken with a Nikon Coolpix P80 digital Camera. Exposure Info: Normal Program, f/4.5 @ 1/125 sec. ISO: 64 Focal length in 35mm film: 486mm
A photograph of a wind chime taken with a Nikon Coolpix P80. Exposure Info: Aperture Priority, f/4.5 @ 1/58 sec. ISO: 94 Focal length in 35mm film: 244mm
Gallery Update…
September 5, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I just finished uploading a little over 100 new photos of World War II era aircraft to the gallery. They were shot September 4 & 5, 2008 at Waterbury-Oxford airport.
The "Betty Jane" a World War II era North American TP-15C Mustang taxiing.
Wings of Freedom
September 4, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I spent a couple of hours at the Waterbury-Oxford Airport this afternoon photographing four vintage aircraft operated as flying museums by the Collings Fondation. I’ll post a complete set of pictures in the Gallery this weekend. In the mean time here’s a few teaser pics.
The "Betty Jane" a World War II era TP-51C Mustang fighter.
The “Nine O Nine” a WWII era Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress.
The "Witchcraft" a World War II era B-24J Liberator.
The "Tondelayo" a World War II era B-25J Mitchell medium bomber.
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