Inflight

I was trying some different PS effects and felt this might work for

the subject. Any ideas to make it appear old? Thanks!

Dan, first off, you're starting with a terrific composition. Wow.

 

Thinking about WWII-era photos I've seen, I don't think you needed to dial up the grain this much. B&W films at that time often had a nice tight grain structure, and frequently were taken on larger than 35mm format cameras anyway, so obtrusive grain is not really that common a feature of those images. What they did have was a lot more contrast than modern images. In this pic there is perhaps more subtlety in the tones than I would expect of a wartime image. Take a look at the P-51 in Norman Perkel's B&W gallery at http://www.photo.net/photos/F1-Fanatic; he's done a good job using contrast to create a period feel there.

 

Assuming this started as a color picture, you might also experiment with different methods of converting it to greyscale to mimic the characteristics of wartime films. At the extreme, you could even seek to simulate "ortho" (as opposed to panchromatic) film, which would make the reds in the roundels look darker than the blue. Even short of this, different tweaks might give you different looks that you could play with.

 

August, thank you so much for your help. To tell the truth I was using the grain to hide some canopy reflections thinking it might just make it look older, but you're right, its too much. I played around a little more, but I think I should go through some of my dad's books to do a better job of what you're talking about. It's been awhile and I'm not sure just how much contrast, color, etc is actually in a picture from the era. I'm attaching a recent attempt and would really appreciate your ideas on where to go from here. Thanks again for your help!

The new retouch is a good try but perhaps a little dark; the left wing disappears into the terrain. Would have been fine if the bird happened to be above the horizon. Maybe you dialed up the contrast a little high, too. A little goes a long way with these adjustments. I feel sure that if you look at a lot of WWII photos you'll see there's not just one "look" to them. Some pics from those days are so nice that they could have been taken yesterday with the latest equipment.

 

Frankly the main thing that makes it difficult to make this image look like a period photo is that the composition is too pretty! Except for a few geniuses like Charles E. Brown, wartime photos tended to be snapshots, much less artfully arranged than this.

August, I've looked at quite a few different photos and tried to copy aspects. I'm still not sure if I got it this time...it actually might be a little too grainy again. I messed around with it for quite some time, maybe its worse than the original...ah! Anyway, this is what I came up with. Also, take a look at my portfolio if you have time...I'm adding another P-40 shot that turned out looking more like the style I was going for with this...just not the same composition. Thanks again for your help and suggestions!

I think that you are really getting the hang of this, especially in the pic you posted for critique today. These pics are really starting to capture that period feel, and I think could easily pass for wartime photos, at least among viewers who are not very familiar with the subject aircraft. I add that last caveat because a buff is likely to notice from the configuration of the cockpit and certain inaccuracies in the paint scheme that this is a restored warbird and not a wartime P-40. Not much you can do about that without major retouching.

 

Yeah, the jump seat in this P-40 was added. It also never flew in combat. From what I'm told there aren't any flying right now which flew in combat...but that's another topic. Thanks again for helping to steer me in the right direction. I was checking out your work on webshots...you should really put some more of that here on PN. cheers

Yes, most of the airworthy P-40s including both your subject and your camera ship spent the war guarding the west coast of Canada. I've photographed most of the surviving P-40s over the years but haven't encountered these two yet. I'm hoping to attend the Chino airshow this May and hope to see them there (they were both there last year).

 

I'll dribble a few more of my own photos onto photo.net but I am mainly here to learn from the work of others. I have probably 10,000 airplane pics taken over 25 years so I can always dive into the pile and find something new to scan and post when the urge grabs me.

 

Wow! You have a lot of experience and knowledge! John Curtiss was flying the P-40 I'm in, and Johnny Maloney (sp?), who flies the aircraft at the Planes of Fame Museum at Chino, is flying the subject P-40 here. My dad actually moved his business from Chino airport about 2 1/2 years ago to Heber City, UT. He just missed the chance to get the only known P-40 with documentation of combat experience in the war. It was in New Zealand. That's what he does though...restores these aircraft. With as many airplanes that I've been in and seen in my life it's sad that I only have these P-40 pictures. I'll dig around at my parent's home...see if some of my photos are there, because I know I've taken tons. Thanks again for sharing your comments! BTW, I miss hanging out at Chino...lucky you!

Not so lucky any more. I hung out at Chino a lot until 1993, but then left the L.A. area and can only drop in once every few years. This year I have business on the west coast which should allow me to get to the show, but it may fall through yet.

 

I did sit down for a chat once or twice with John's father Ed, a fine gentleman to whose vision we buffs all owe a big debt.

 

I never caught up with your dad's P-40 when he owned it, but now that it lives on Long Island close to me, I'm sure I will see it soon. Mr Baranaskas has booked it at some local airshows this season but I'm not sure it will be repaired from its forced landing in January.

 

You are pretty lucky yourself, and I suggest that you take the opportunities that you have to shoot these airplanes before career and family start to crowd them out. Before you know it, 25 years will have elapsed and you will have a trove of images that could well be irreplaceable. These wonderful machines are fragile as we are tragically reminded all too often.

 

I'm confused. My dad never owned a P-40. Did you mean the P-40 from New Zealand that he and his investors almost got? That one still has to be restored, so I'm guessing that's not it.

Sorry, my error, I confused your dad with Dick Hansen of Batavia, IL.

 

close...my dad is Dave Hansen, from Heber City, UT...and from Chino, CA for about 13 years before that :)

This is very nice..makes me also think about gun camera footage/photos of WW2.

 

Thanks Timo. That is sort of what gave me the idea for this shot...the whole gun camera/ old looking war photo. August was a big help with this too...offering good critique to get me sighted in. Glad you seem to like it Timo!