Up, Up And Away

I Feel The Need, The Need For Speed

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It was a very murky dusk when I shot this series of images of a US F/A-18 Hornet as part of a sequence at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon in March this year.

These are all uncropped images. Aviation photography can be very testing, because you seldom get a second chance for a shot. But in the top left-hand corner of the image below, you can see the slightest hint of a cloud wisp.


The bad light really tested me that evening, because the weather conditions deteriorated very quickly. The next day, however, it rained constantly, so I guess I was very lucky to get any shots at all!


For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.

J Is For Judgement

Never Let The Weather Deter You

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Weather is an all-important factor for any photographer. I'm okay with the notion of getting soaked outdoors for the sake of a good shot, but when you have to use your camera in extremely murky light, you really have to think outside the square.

In those conditions, there's no point using your camera just as you would in bright light and then shaking your head and scrapping every shot when the results are sub-standard. So you just take a different approach and try and shoot your subject with a different emphasis.

If this first shot (and the others that follow it) make you look twice, then I guess I achieved my goal. Simply by looking at the first frame, were you able to correctly identify what I've shot?

Just for the record, it's a US Air Force F-16 Falcon. But this is the story of why you should never despair in unfriendly weather.


Sometimes you have to make a snap decision. You make the judgement call and then you wonder whether you should have taken a different option instead. A couple of weeks ago, an extraneous factor got in the way of my plans to get to the 2009 Australian International Air Show.

I literally had a five-minute window of opportunity to decide whether I would go (chronically late) that evening, or whether I would hold off and go the next morning, giving myself plenty of leisure time at the show, shooting in perfect light.

Friday evening? Or Saturday morning? Friday? Saturday? The weather had changed rapidly on Friday evening and I knew it was going to be very cloudy and hazy by the time I made the long journey to Avalon airport. If I waited until the next day, I would have many hours to explore the show.

If I persisted on Friday, I ran the risk of arriving there at dusk, in unfriendly light. If I chose to postpone my plans and go on Saturday, I would be able to shoot several hundred images in daylight.


Let me put this into context for you. The show is only held every two years, so if for some reason I missed it, I would have to wait until 2011 for the next opportunity.

Accordingly, I made my decision and pressed on. Friday evening it had to be. I caught a V/Line train from Southern Cross station and during the train journey to Avalon, I watched with growing dismay as the quality of light started to deteriorate.

I reached into my camera bag to remove the 18-125mm all-purpose lens that I normally use. Off it came, to be swiftly replaced by my 70-300mm lens. As the last vestiges of blue sky vanished, to be replaced by 360-degree haze, I knew that I would have to rely on fairly tight compositions instead of wide, generous frames of expensive flying machines from every era.


So there I was at the show, in a light drizzle in the swiftly-gathering dusk, trying to shoot an sleek grey supersonic fighter under a glowering grey sky with very little variance in colour. No sunlight. No contrasts. No shadows. No easy answers. So I ducked around the back of the huge open-air enclosure and opted to embrace the fact that this fighter was basically the same colour as the sky.

I decided to shoot the tightest frames possible. And I opted to shoot each composition as a monochrome. As you know, I do not use filters, nor do I edit my photographs in any way. But because I embraced the challenge, I ended up with a set of half-a-dozen or so images that I'll always be proud of.

Oh, by the way, I'm glad I stuck out my neck and went on Friday. The long-awaited rain bucketed down on the weekend.


For the home of ABC Wednesday, go to Mrs Nesbitt's Place.

I Is For Incendiary

Looks Like Someone Just Dropped A Bombshell

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

On Friday night I was at the 2009 Australian International Air Show and things didn’t quite go according to schedule. I had planned to get to the Show by about 4pm or 4.30pm at the latest. I’d been monitoring the weather reports for a few days and I knew it was going to be a hot day, which in turn meant I would be able to shoot under a clear, cloudless sky.

And as the week progressed, the weather seemed to be tailor-made for what I wanted to do. There was a chance of a storm late in the evening, which meant after shooting several frames in clear, bright light, I would be able to shoot several sequences in cloudy conditions at dusk - which would have been perfect, given that most of my subjects would be metallic in nature, even though most are hi-tech alloys.


So it looked as if I’d get a couple of hours in bright light and at least an hour and a half in soft light. Just before darkness fell, I would pack up and head for home. But that was not quite as it turned out. A couple of unforeseen glitches meant that I only walked through the entrance to the show at about 6.45pm, with the light fairly murky in thick cloud.

This in turn meant that I stayed on longer than I had planned to - so I was treated to this display of high explosives in a great display of precision use of armament. The weather had been assessed very carefully because of the fog that rolled in with the heavy cloud, so for a while there was a real question mark over whether any night flying would be possible.

There is, as I was about to discover, a very interesting discipline in photography of this nature. It was stygian blackness all around, save for the runway lights, and I quickly computed what settings to use on my camera. I had opted for the 70-300mm lens, just for the need to shoot over people’s heads for a clear close-up.


So picture this. You’re waiting in the darkness, not knowing which side of the runway the aircraft will approach. In addition, you have no idea where the armament will be dropped, so even if you were using a tripod (I never do) there is no knowing where to point your camera.

Flexibility is everything in this sort of situation. Because I’m so tall, I’m lucky enough to get a clear view over most people’s heads. And when the firewall began, I was quickly able to capture the pyrotechnics.

Someone who saw these images before they were published asked me if this sort of photography requires a lot of skill. My honest answer was, "Not really, but you do need a lot of patience and a certain degree of luck".

Sometimes it pays to be kept in the dark.


For the home of ABC Wednesday, go to Mrs Nesbitt's Place.

Roo Awakening

The Best Time To Spot Animals Is Sunset

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

While I was at the 2009 Australian International Air Show on Friday evening, I was on my way to check out the historic warbirds when I saw this sight. The Royal Australian Air Force flag was flying proudly in a brisk breeze - and it was as if a switch immediately flipped in my brain (okay, so it doesn’t happen often!) prompting me to take the shot for Camera Critters.

It had been a hot afternoon with a warm breeze, but weather conditions can change very rapidly here in Melbourne. The breeze had just turned 180 degrees and was whipping in from the south. The temperature had dropped at least 10 degrees or more in a few minutes.

As the flag fluttered, I realised that the cloud cover had increased significantly and the setting sun was providing a golden haze in the west. Problem was, the sun was behind me and the flag was in front of me.

A bit of quick manoeuvring - never the easiest thing to do when you’re moving against a huge crowd - meant that I was able to line up the flag with the sunset. I had to pause patiently several seconds for this shot, because I was waiting for the flag to fly in a particular direction.

The first shot I took wasn’t quite what I had envisaged, but the second frame (the one I’ve published here - was about as close as I was ever going to get. The diffused sunlight through the clouds has actually rendered the fabric of the flag translucent in this shot, which is very apt .

I’ve always wanted to shoot an image of a kangaroo against the setting sun.

Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

O Captain, My Captain

Boeing, Boeing, Gone

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This shot of a Qantas Boeing 737-800 was taken at the 2007 Australian International Air Show. Its unusual livery is the result of a Qantas corporate decision to feature Aboriginal artwork on selected jets in its fleet. The first was a Boeing 747 and this experiment proved so successful that a second jumbo was also painted in Aboriginal art.

The third jet was this 737, literally a flying piece of artwork called Yananyi Dreaming. It wasn't cordoned off at the show, so I was able to get some side-on shots as well as some from underneath the wings. This frame was just a one-off, taken as I walked past the nose of the aircraft.

To tell the truth, I didn't think much of the shot at the time. But I later realised that not many people get this upward-looking view straight up towards the cockpit from in front of the undercarriage - except pilots, airport staff, maintenance crews and baggage handlers.

And like they say, to fully appreciate any painting, you have to study it from every angle. That's exactly what I was doing.

(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who followed this link, commented and voted.)

For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.

Make A Quick Getaway

No, Not An Injection - I Clearly Said Ejection

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Yup, I know that they are called hatches or canopies, but since fighter pilots enter and exit through them to get in or out of a cockpit, they serve the same purpose as doors. Therefore, they can be included in this weekly pictorial theme, right?

This was shot at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon in 2007 and shows an unusual view of the open cockpit and the familiar ejection seat sign.

The biggest challenge at an air show or a motor show is to shoot a frame that does not include onlookers. Because most exhibits - in this case, multi-million dollar aircraft of all descriptions - are cordoned off and there are hundreds of people milling around, either you need to be first through the turnstiles or be able to find just the right angle and height.

But that's the adrenalin of the challenge.

For earlier posts in this series, check out The Doors Archive.

Weighty Matters

Is This Another Battle Of The Bulge?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This week's theme is "Heavy", so I had to rack my brain as I reviewed some of my photo folders. This is one of the heavier objects I've photographed recently. Any idea what it is? If you're not sure, have a look at the objects reflected in the huge metal bulge.

Here's another view of it. As you can see, I was trying to get a really unusual angle of the object.

It's an F-111 of the Royal Australian Air Force. This series of photographs was shot at Australian International Air Show at Avalon Airport.

This angle (above) intrigued me for a couple of reasons. First, because grey is the over-riding colour across most of the frame. Second, because of the angle of the open twin canopies and their own reflection.

This shot (above) shows you some of the armament lined up on the tarmac in front of the F-111. This is the reflection you can see in the first frame. Another point of interest is this: the nose is painted matt black. It's not a paint with a glossy finish - and yet the reflection in the first frame suggests that the matt black paint has a sheen to it.

On another note, if you thought Steve Martin had an impossibly long nose in the film Roxanne (with Daryl Hannah) where he played a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac, think again. Ain't nuthin' got a longer nose than this flying machine.

VERSE & WORSE: Check out Looney Limerick Competition #3.