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HAB911

(9,699 posts)
Tue May 27, 2025, 06:42 PM May 27

New project to share!

An offshoot of general planespotting, I’ve been concentrating on aircraft at 30-40k ft, specifically early morning or late afternoon when the light and shadow adds so much depth and interest to otherwise boring airplanes. The photos I’m sharing today were made with no generative AI. All my photos are of real planes taken from my backyard shot in RAW (.nef) and processed with Camera Raw and Photoshop.

A majority were taken with the Nikon P1000 @3000mm, a real bear handheld. At 3000mm it’s impossible to find your subject, but thank goodness it has power zoom so you can start from a wide angle and power zoom up to 3000mm while keeping the subject in view. It took me a long time to perfect the method. It’s a comparatively slow camera in focusing and can’t match the quality of more expensive glass, has limited menu options, but it gets the job done. The remainder of the photos were taken with the Nikon Z8 160-600 +TC2 @1200mm and D750, or Df with a 200-500 + TC2 @1000mm.

I’m also still beta testing Topaz Labs and find one of the newest features, “Super focus”, to be quite interesting, rather overpowering with a steep learning curve, but useful for the right photo. Some of these photos used it, some used simple denoise and/or sharpen. Taking photos at dawn and sunset can be quite noisy. Some photos have the plane identified but many are not if I didn’t have my laptop with me. Hope you enjoy some of these!

Examples and link to the slideshow, only 36 as of today
https://jamesdevore.smugmug.com/SLIDESHOW-Cruising-in-a-Special-Light





15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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New project to share! (Original Post) HAB911 May 27 OP
These are so interesting! CrispyQ May 27 #1
thank you! HAB911 May 27 #3
Definitely enjoyed those. Not an easy shot to get, I've tried. Walleye May 27 #2
Thanks! HAB911 May 27 #4
Good philosophy Walleye May 27 #6
Very fine shots, HAB911. brer cat May 27 #5
Beautiful pictures. Irish_Dem May 27 #7
thank you! HAB911 May 28 #9
If you ever get them sorted out, I would love to see those pics. Irish_Dem May 28 #12
Cocoa Beach HAB911 May 28 #14
Beautiful thanks Irish_Dem May 28 #15
OUTSTANDING!!!! George McGovern May 27 #8
thank you! HAB911 May 28 #10
Wow, my dear HAB911! These are simply outstanding. Beautifully caught! CaliforniaPeggy May 28 #11
my world HAB911 May 28 #13

CrispyQ

(39,918 posts)
1. These are so interesting!
Tue May 27, 2025, 06:53 PM
May 27

The last one is my fave. It has a shark like feel to it. They're great!

Do you live close to an airport, or just on a route to one?

HAB911

(9,699 posts)
3. thank you!
Tue May 27, 2025, 07:15 PM
May 27

I live about ten miles from the airport (Tampa). More importantly for these photos, I live directly in the flight path for all flights from the mid-west, Cincinnati, Chicago, etc. inbound to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach. They are still at cruise altitude, can't even hear them. Recently, storms to the east have driven some flights to and from the northeast that normally follow the east coast, much closer to me, giving more opportunities.

Irish_Dem

(71,751 posts)
7. Beautiful pictures.
Tue May 27, 2025, 07:57 PM
May 27

Have you gone to an Air Show and shot the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds?

HAB911

(9,699 posts)
9. thank you!
Wed May 28, 2025, 07:22 AM
May 28

I have photos from the Cocoa Beach Airshow (Thunderbirds) and McDill AFB Air Fest as well as random military planes shot around the base. Unfortunately, the slideshow is not sorted well, a smugmug problem and something I need to address soon.

Slideshow: https://jamesdevore.smugmug.com/SPECIAL-SLIDESHOW-MILITARY-PLANESPOTTING

Irish_Dem

(71,751 posts)
12. If you ever get them sorted out, I would love to see those pics.
Wed May 28, 2025, 11:32 AM
May 28

The Thunderbirds and the pics from McDill AFB.

McDill will have air refuelers and cargo.
Those are great airplanes.

CaliforniaPeggy

(154,388 posts)
11. Wow, my dear HAB911! These are simply outstanding. Beautifully caught!
Wed May 28, 2025, 11:07 AM
May 28

Thank you so much for this gorgeous glimpse into your world.

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