Flightless Birds

Apologies to 'bird' lovers! I could not think of a more appropriate

category. It is the school summer holidays again so it is time for

the museum visits - in this case the Duxford Air Museum. I've called

this 'Flightless Birds' as all the planes in the shot used to fly but

are now museum exhibits.

 

For aircraft enthusiasts :

 

From nearest

 

- Shackleton (Maritime Reconnaissance and Rescue - descrbed by its

crew as 10,000 rivets flying in close formation)

 

- Victor (Cold War Nuclear Bomber - retired - thank goodness)

 

- Britannia (1960's 4 turboprop commercial airliner)

 

- VC10 (1970's jet airliner)

 

All comments welcome!

The very ominous sky lends itself well to these retired birds. Actually, I was able to know the subject of retired without reading the text. It works well. I remember doing some contract work on Britannia in the late 70s. Horrible airplane!

Beautiful light, moody and well done. I like it very much.

Ken, Andrzej, thanks. Glad you picked up the idea and I hope the memories of the Britannia were not too painful!

Careful compostion to arrange the contrasting shapes of the rudders and tailplanes so nicely. Was the light fall off from the lens or added pp? - I really like the way it adds to the moodiness and focus on the shackleton rudder. Works well B&W, I wonder how did it look in colour? Rgds Colin

Colin, I salute you for the angle taken! and the sky, well the sky is not completely your fault... but the composition, for sure is yours, great! and the compatible title... I hope you have realy uploaded it in the bird's category....Pnina

Did you write down the names of those airplanes, or do you merely recognize them, even from as far away as the last one? ;-)

 

What a great sky, by the way ... when I went to a recent airshow here, it was really hot, and not a cloud to be seen. The lighting and your contrasts are great. I also like seeing the tails of the planes all lined up.

Colin - that sky makes all the difference imo. Gives such a great atmosphere.

Thanks everyone!

 

Colin, I have uploaded the colour version for comparison. I will be doing a series taken at Duxford all in b&w and wasn't that keen on the mixture of colours anyway. The moodiness is mostly a result of taking the shot against the light. The darkened corners are partly due to my not using the slim polariser (as it costs ???) so I get vignetting which I normally remove in PS. And I have played around with the sky in PS. So a bit of both.

 

Pnina, thanks - and yes I did upload it in the 'birds' category!

 

Lou Ann, Matt and I walked past the row of planes here and I had a chance to check up on the names from the information given on each plane. It was the tails lining up that gave me the idea for the shot. I have always found air ahows etc difficult places to get anything other than the usual plane shots so I was looking for something a bit different.

 

Amar, yes a nice cloudy sky does wonders for a shot like this!

Colin Fantastic perspective,how there are lined up and the promising sky, what is their world, ready for the adventure.The greys in greys very attractive.

Very cool shot. Love the perspective.

Ah, I wondering about the vigetting. Didn't think you'd added it because it looks uneven, but at the same time it actually seems to add to the composition, possibly because of the direction of the clouds and the lighter middle. Really suits the atmosphere.

 

The toppled steps together with the cloud direction pulling me towards the center, gives this a slight apocolyptic feel, like there's a black hole hiding behind that fin.

Fantastic angle! The sky and the vignetting creates a dramatic feeling. Maybe it's the end of the world? The ladder on the ground... people were unable to get away in the airplanes. It's the kind of photo that makes one able to make up a story!

And the B&W works better for this image than the colour.

Thanks everyone!

 

Alix, I'm pleased you understand that feeling.

 

Stephen, you can see I have accentuated the light bits of the sky behind the tail fins to help the composition so maybe the darkening was to the same end.

 

Camilla, nice story! :-) I could see the tails all lining up and thought - ah! a photo!

 

Amar, yes I wasn't keen on the mix of colours.

Definitely b&w works best! Makes you concentrate on shapes and that interesting sky!

Again, terrific use of super-wide, Colin! The monochrome version is definitely best. ^_^

I agree with everyone that the sky makes this dramatic, and the wide angle makes it ominous...full of portent.

Thanks Kim, Wilson and Linda. B&W wins on this occasion!

Both of your versions work Colin, but I like your choice and toning with the B&W. I particularly like the luminosity bouncing off the fuselage. As everyone has noted this sky certainly adds drama and mood to this rather fine image. Also interesting composition and choice of perspective.

Excellent shot - when I was in the air cadets over 15 yrs ago, I was part of the restoration team that used to work on the repair, cleaning and maintenance of many of the exhibits. I still go to DX regularly for the airshows, but this shot brings back many happy memories, as the B&W hides the fact that paint on many (esp the Victor) is faded and flaking. Thanks. Alex.

B&W suits it well, good shot.

Thanks David, Alex and Hans.

 

Alex, thanks for your comment. I find the 'Restoration and Repair' hangar at Duxford fascinating - and enough to put me off flying for ever! You are right about some of the exhibits looking rather weather-beaten now. I suppose they are out in all weathers. Let's hope the new hangars allow them to be kept in better conditions.

Colin, I love the title, nice angle to shoot the ole birds. Good work. Sondra

Oh, yes, the VC10. I've fond memories of that one, wingin me away to far out destinations. Cheers, Sam.