Mar 8, 2023 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Daily Image 2023, Nikon D3x, Piper J-3 Cub
Potpourri Galore | Piper Cub on Skis Taxiing Ski Plane Weekend is always fun and usually very cold. To see the entire story, go to Ski Plane Weekend | a 7 Image Story. Of course, the difficulty to capturing good airplane images in the winter with snow, is to keep the shutter speed low enough to blur the prop and pan well enough to keep the wings and fuselage in sharp focus while dealing with bright, hard mid-day light. A 1/125s shutter speed is about as high as I like for a click like this one. Note: I post an image most days at hankconrad.com.
Mar 19, 2022 | AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, Cessna 185, Daily Image 2022, Nikon D300, Nubbins
Nubbins | C-185 Frozen Lake Takeoff The day after new years day can be a great time for a ski plane party on the lake. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
| 1/02/2010 | C-185 Takeoff from frozen & snow covered Pleasant Lake |
| Gear | Nikon D300 with a AF-S DX 12-24mm f4G IF ED lens |
Exposure
| 80mm (120mm) f/4.5 1/400s 0ev 200iso |
Oct 18, 2021 | AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, Nikon D300, Nikon D300 Salad, Piper PA-25 Pawnee
Nikon D300 Salad | Piper PA-25 Pawnee The PA-25 Pawnee is an agricultural airplane manufactured by Piper Aircraft from 1959 to 1981. Pawnees are used for all kinds of crop dusting as well as towing gliders and banners. This Piper PA-25 Pawnee is spraying chemical on a corn field.
The Back Story This image was anything but a simple click. I had to chase down the Pawnee over the country roads to position myself on a small hill just to the south of his flight path. After a pass or two it flew right over my position. I stayed next to my vehicle with the door open shooting until the last moment, then quickly hopped inside and closed the door just before getting showered with chemical from the plane. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details….
| Event | Photo Opportunity |
| Location | Northern Illinois |
| Date/Time | 7/20/2010 4:25pm Local Time |
| Weather | Fair Skies | 82°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Quick click before chemical shower… |
| Gear | Nikon D300 with an AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR lens |
Exposure
| 230mm (345mm) f/13 1/200s 0ev 200iso |
| Post | Sharpened the prop a bit. |
Oct 8, 2021 | AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, Cessna 185, Nikon D300, Nikon D300 Salad
Nikon D300 Salad | Cessna 185 on Skis Not many folks hold a lake party in the middle of the winter. However, as part of a day after New Years Day party, this Cessna 185 was giving ski plane rides on Pleasant Lake. The lake is pretty small so good piloting technique is necessary. For more information and images, go to Ski Plane Weekend | a 7 Image Story.
The Back Story To complicate matters, the mid-teen temperatures made waiting on the frozen lake for the next landing a bit chilly. The snow kicked up by the propeller and skis add to the drama. Except for the cold weather, it was a simple click. Sure, I was lucky to get some prop blur with a 1/400s shutter speed. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details….
| Event | Day after New Years Party |
| Location | Pleasant Lake, Michigan |
| Date/Time | 1/02/2010 4:23pm Local Time |
| Weather | Cloudy | 11°F | Moderate Winds |
| Method | Simple click. |
| Gear | Nikon D300 with an AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR lens |
Exposure
| 80mm (120mm) f/4.5 1/400s 0ev 200iso |
| Post | |
Sep 16, 2021 | AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, Nikon D200, Nikon D200 Soup, Piper PA-18 Super Cub
Nikon D200 Soup | Float Plane Weekend This Piper Super Cub is taking off by trying to lift one float up first then the other. A PA-18 Piper Super Cub on floats can take-off from relatively small lakes. Northern Michigan provides some beautiful lake front backgrounds when capturing floatplane images. Wonder how the Super Cub got such a distinctive N number. See Floatplane Weekend | a 7 Image Story for more floatplane images.
The Back Story This image came from a burst of clicks from a boat while panning. Another reason why good panning skills and recent practice are necessary to capture certain types of images. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | Float Plane Weekend |
| Location | Lake Cadillac in Cadillac, MI |
| Date/Time | 8/01/2008 3:38pm Local Time |
| Weather | Mostly Cloudy | 82°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Burst of clicks from a boat while panning. |
| Gear | Nikon D200 with an AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR lens |
Exposure
| 200mm (300mm) f/14 1/90s 0ev 100iso |
| Post | Smoothed clouds a bit. |
Aug 8, 2021 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon 1 V3 Hodgepodge, Piper J-3 Cub, Piper PA-18 Super Cub
Nikon 1 V3 Hodgepodge | Cub & Super Cub Two iconic airplanes flying from nice snow make for memorable images. This image is one of my favorite aviation images. To see the entire story with all seven images, go to Ski Plane Weekend | a 7 Image Story.
The Back Story Of course, the difficulty to capturing good airplane images in the winter with snow, is to keep the shutter speed low enough to blur the prop and pan well enough to keep the wings and fuselage in sharp focus while dealing with bright, hard mid-day light. A 1/125s shutter speed is about as high as I like for a click like this one. Luckily this day had bright overcast in between snow showers and I was able to get down to 1/60s. Getting just the right spacing of the two Cubs with just the right blowing snow while the camera and I were freezing meant several hundred burst mode images. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | Sky Plane Weekend |
| Location | KCAD Wexford County Airport |
| Date/Time | 2/13/2016 10:16pm Local Time |
| Weather | Light Snow | 0°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Waited for Super Cub to taxis into position under the Cub’s wing, then clicks with 1/60s to blur prop. |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with a 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 lens |
Exposure
| 61.6mm (166mm) f/16 1/60s -0.67ev 160iso |
| Post | |
Jul 31, 2021 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Nikon 1 V1, Nikon 1 V1 Potpourri, Piper PA-18 Super Cub
Nikon 1 V1 Potpourri | Super Cub Farewell Yep, it’s yours truly trying to act like a bush pilot. The Piper Super Cub, Alaska’s favorite bush plane, makes for great fun flying, particularly for us Midwest flatlanders. It’s a great performing seaplane on straight or amphibious floats.
The Back Story On the weekend before Oshkosh, a small group of pilots ranging from heavy iron pilots to bush pilots, get together for back to the basics float plane flying. This image comes from one of those weekends, a few years ago. No, it’s not a selfie. It’s a simple click from the dock. My brother grabbed my camera and captured this image. See Floatplane Weekend | a 7 Image Story for more information and images. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | Floatplane Weekend |
| Location | Lake Cadillac |
| Date/Time | 7/26/2013 1:45pm Local Time |
| Weather | Cloudy | 78°F | Moderate Winds |
| Method | Simple click from the dock. |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V1 with a Nikon FT-1 Adapter & Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR lens |
Exposure
| 70mm (189mm) f/11 1/100s -0.33ev 100iso |
| Post | Lightened it a little. |
Jul 18, 2021 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Cessna 185, Nikon 1 V1, Nikon 1 V1 Potpourri
Nikon 1 V1 Potpourri | C-185 on Skis This Cessna 185 made a nice landing on Lake Sapphire. After some coffee, a warm up, hangar flying, I was able to hitch a ride with Steve, the bush pilot owner. His C-185 wears skis in the winter, floats in the summer, and tires in between. For more information and images, go to Ski Plane Weekend | a 7 Image Story.
The Back Story The snow kicked up by the propeller and skis add to the drama. The image was captured with a simple click using shutter speed mode and selecting 1/100s to blur the propeller. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | Ski Plane Weekend |
| Location | Lake Sapphire, Northern Michigan |
| Date/Time | 2/08/2014 2:58pm Local Time |
| Weather | Mostly Cloudy | 18°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Simple click using shutter speed mode and selecting 1/100s to blur the propeller. |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V1 with a Nikon FT-1 Adapter and Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR lens |
Exposure
| 70mm (189mm) f/18 1/100s -0.33ev 100iso |
| Post | |
