It's Not Just About the Aircraft

Approach Lights and Inner Marker Array with US Capitol (Canon XSi).

Tonight I organized the 220 photos that are immediate candidates for my SoFoBoMo book.  For once I actually used keywords in iPhoto, which made organizing the photos very easy.  Tag each photo and then sort them.  Easy!  At present I have two groups, one for the north end (Gravelly Point) and one for the south (Daingerfield Island), with 160 and 60 photos, respectively.

The photo I attached today was taken from Gravelly Point, looking back toward the Instrument Landing System (ILS) inner marker array and the approach light.  The US Capitol is in the background.

At the moment I patiently await further response from the facilities people at National Airport regarding taking photos in the terminal on Saturday.  If it doesn't happen on Saturday, I still have some time before the end of my month, June 12, 2009.  Should it not happen at all for whatever reason, I have enough photos to make a respectable book.

One Departing, One Arriving (Canon XSi).

Saturday evening I went through all 2,500 photos for the second time, flagging the good ones of which there were roughly 220.  It isn't the definitive set for the book, as I know there are some in the large group I may use, but it's a starting point.  This smaller group is simply the photos that I really like.

The photo for this post is an Air Canada Jazz flight departing to the north, with another flight arriving behind it.  A part of me wishes I had as good access to Dulles as I do to National.  Dulles handles large aircraft, including 747-400s.  My guess is it could handle the new Airbus A380.  That's okay.  The smaller aircraft at National, such as this one, are just as beautiful.

UPDATE May 26:  I edited the photo.  It needed to be straightened.

Organizing the Book

Takeoff (Canon XSi).

Between last night and today I have begun organizing my book for my SoFoBoMo project. The challenge is all of the photos to consider. I'm pleased that I have many good ones from which to choose. The photo for today's post is one I just think is pretty.

It seemed funny not to be shooting photos today. I had to be in the office all day, which because of my schedule turned out to be 11 hours. It's no matter, I like my work. Next week hopefully I'll take the final photos in the airport terminal and then I'll create my book. I expect I'll have the book done around the end of the month.

I think I'll have the book printed. It will be my ninth, I think. While there are options other than Apple, I'll likely have it done by Apple through iPhoto. They do a very nice job. I've always been pleased with their work.

Session 4, Outside Principle Photography Complete

Jewel in the Sky (Canon XSi).

I completed principle outside photography today for my SoFoBoMo project. The weather was fantastic. Winds were 10 knots from the south, so DCA ran north arrivals and south departures. The above photo was from the Washington Sailing Marina. It was one of over 1,000 photos taken this morning in about an hour and a half. On Monday, Memorial Day, I'll take a camera to the airport and take photos inside the terminal itself. That will complete all principle photography for the book. For awhile today I thought I might not take photos inside, but changed my mind. If not for the passengers, none of this would be happening.

UPDATE: I am currently working on getting formal permission to take photos inside the airport terminal. I am hoping to take photos inside the terminal on Saturday May 30.

Last night I started playing with creating the project book with iPhoto. I've made many books, so it isn't difficult. There will be some challenges however, the greatest one being that somehow I need to manage the creation of a book starting with over 2,500 photos. No matter, it's a challenge that should be lots of fun. I expect I'll have over the minimum 35 photos for the completed book. ^_^ My goal is to tell a story, and I'll use just enough to do that.

Later!

Something Different, Session 3

U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter (Canon XSi).

Today, Tuesday May 19, I shot with both the G9 and the XSi.  I realized how quickly I'd adapted to the XSi.  I love a viewfinder that I can use.  While I was a bit anxious over returning to a viewfinder after having used an LCD monitor for a few years, today I found the LCD wanting.  Regardless, the 7 photos I took with the G9 are just fine.  The 800 I took in an hour and a half with my XSi make me shake my head.  I love my little XSi.

The photo for this entry is of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.  I took this from Daingerfield Island, home of the Washington Sailing Marina.  It was a lucky shot.  They had flown over the marina building five minutes earlier and I'd gotten a few good shots.  On their second pass, they came right overhead.  Thank you guys!!!!!!

There are tendrils of a story that are evolving for my project, and the dominant one is that this is a busy airport.  Today I spoke with a former air traffic controller who used to work in Washington Center (ZDC) in Leesburg.  He confirmed that indeed DCA is a very busy airport, though a bit less chaotic post 9-11 as general aviation aircraft are no longer allowed entry.

Two shooting sessions are planned for tomorrow, one before work and one after.  Next week I'll take one final session inside the airport itself.  It's part of the story.  There may be other sessions, but time will tell.  The TAF, terminal area forecast, for DCA is for winds from the south.  Visibility is 6+ miles, and no significant weather is forecast.  This means I'll have arrivals from the north and departures to the south.  It's perfect.

Second Day of SoFoBoMo

Airbus A319 Take-off (Canon XSi).

Today, Monday May 18, I took the second set of photographs for my SoFoBoMo project.  The weather was somewhat windy from the north, so the airport ran the same runway configuration as last Tuesday.  I brought my XSi to try it.

The XSi is a nice little camera.  I really appreciate how well the G9 works, but the XSi just blows it away.  I'll still use the G9 for many of the photos, but the XSi will figure prominently in the project.  I found myself switching from fully manual to program mode, as well as manual focus to autofocus.  Continuous shooting is very nice.  In an hour and a half I shot just over 500 photos.  In addition to photos of aircraft, I have some of the environs, though I also did that the other day with the G9.  Also, today I took photos of some really neat cloud formations.  Those images may serve as backdrops for a couple of the pages in the final book.

After going through the photos, I find I will need to learn how to keep the XSi level while shooting quickly.  This is something I experienced with the G9 and previously with my wife's Sony DSC-T5, a nice little camera in its own right.  I also find it is very easy to take lots of photos with the XSi.  In part, this is because being an SLR I can easily keep tracking aircraft while photographing them.  Though I took more than with the G9, the images were generally better because I could work the camera better.

I'll be out again over the next two mornings, as well as Wednesday evening.  All three sessions I expect will be outside.  I figure I'll have one more session inside the airport terminal itself, and that will likely be next week.  After that, the principle photography for the project will be complete.  The task of making the book will follow.

Rush Hour

Rush Hour at National Airport (Canon G9).

Here's another from Tuesday night.  The thumbnail shows one aircraft taking off and one landing.  If you click on it and look at the larger image, you'll see another in the arrival queue.  I figured departures to the north at Gravelly Point would be boring.  Right.

This is fun.  Enjoy!  ^_^