I have always wanted to do a shot like this. Never got to it. I think it might be something about the degree of difficulty required to assemble the pieces of the above puzzle. Lessee, need three vintage Stearman biplanes, all of which are fitted to spew smoke, three excellent pilots who can fly safe and super tight, a camera system that can handle the vibrational effect of being right behind a massive engine, and delivers high-res, super sharp results despite the rocking and rolling, and a client willing to take a chance and fund the whole thing.
That’s why this stayed in my head for the last like, 10-20 years, literally.
Enter Lynn DelMastro, of my studio and Jill Manka of Waldo Wright’s Flying Service in Winter Haven, Fla. They brought their massive organizational skills to bear on the pieces outlined above, and lo and behold, word came from Florida. We can do this!
Now, the question is, can I? (It’s a knee trembling thought that transits through every photog’s fevered brain.) And, I’ve said this before, it stays with you, leading up to shoot day, like a big wet dog, sitting on your chest as you try to sleep at night, breathing the hot breath of potential failure in your face.
And, God bless ’em, Nikon signed on! #NikonLove!!! The D810 is a massively important camera in the system and this spring a lot of attention went to D5 and D500, the new kids on the block. This was a good opp for the D810 to strut its high resolution stuff.
The below shot gives you a rough idea of the setup.
I’m sitting in the lead cockpit, with the intrepid Rob Lock, formerly of the NBA, currently of the clouds, flying steady and straight. The main camera, a Nikon D810 fitted with a 14-24mm lens, is bolted to the high wing above me. It just clears my fat head and gets to Rob. Lots of sky behind us. That’s where the two other Stearmans would roam, on radio with Rob and I, closing, closing, closing and then peeling off and spilling smoke on my call. AJ Jackson and Jim Lyons were flying the wild card planes, taking their mark off Rob’s Stearman. I had to guess placement, obviously, as I could not look backwards, or through the camera. Guesswork at the camera! Never done that before.
Here’s my view of the setup. A Manfrotto jungle gym.
What would we do without super clamps and magic arms?
The flashes are two SB-910 units, gelled with half CTO gels for warmth. They are fitted to the sides of the airplane with Justin Clamps and lots of tape. Both are set manually, so they give off a steady value. One is connected to the camera via SC-29 cords, and the other is slaving on SU-4 mode off the connected unit. Cameras are set to shutter priority to maintain 1/500th of a second, and at ISO 125, the f-stop floated around f4.5 or so. Sometimes wider. I sat under the camera, firing a radio trigger.
In the end, the skies gave me a gift, and thankfully, the guesswork for exposure and framing played out in the right direction. Many thanks to all! Lynn in my studio, and Jill down at Waldo’s. And the pilots! And Cali and Jon, in our studio, who did the rigging.
And of course to Nikon and my madcap, blessedly inappropriate brother in pictures and mischief, Mike Corrado.
Cameras in the sky! More tk….
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Holy CRAP…. this is good
Dancing about giggling. That’s all I could do after seeing this masterpiece. A life long pilot and lover of great aviation images, this on inspired me like few of your previous work… Well like a lot of your work, but man what a shot of “slipping the surely bonds of Earth.”
Holy Shit…. this is AWESOME
Absolutely, stunningly awesome. Very creative rhninking and execution. Blown away.
What an incredible picture! SB unit(s) with full CTO in the cockpit to light the pilot’s face. Got that. I also guess you were in the front cockpit yourself to see this through the viewfinder. Right? Killer shot. Well done, mr. McNally!
Incredible, Hoping you’ll do Joe-style storytelling about how you made it. Wonderful image.
That’s a beauty. The benefits of getting up in the dark.
This is a way cool shot Mr. Joe…Have you been hanging out with Moose lately??? I know there is a speedlite in the cockpit (like you used in the laptop photo in one of your books), the questions are “Is this plane a two seater, and are you hanging out of the front one to get this shot??”
Great work Mr. Joe
P.J.
No Mr Mcnally in the cockpit. That camera is strapped to the wing. You can see the flash in the glasses. The pilot needs to be in control, so he is setting off the camera remotely. He doesnt need any surprises out there. Looks like the background has been darkened in post as you can see the lighter background through the smoke. You can set up everything for this, but it still comes down to chance. The reflection of the sun off the fuselage is just pure cream. Set it up and hope for the best, and sometimes the universe delivers.
words just fail to describe how awesome this shot is…. *jaw drop*
It looks like you are entering in Moose Peterson’s kingdom… Congrats to your assistants Cali and John for the extreme rigging
Great shot (as usual!) but I’m trying to wrap my head around at least a couple of things. At 1/500 on the shutter speed, you must have been shooting at High Speed Sync for the flashes.? And if the flashes were set manually to keep them consistent, did you dial in the settings while still on the ground and then just hope that the flash output matched up ok in the overall image?
Mr. McNally, you are just plain and simple an astonishing photographer. Many thanks for the inspiration your giving to us other mortal photographers…..
Maybe next time I will wait a day and look at the Story under the photo before I start asking questions. Just got excited about the shot.
Thanks
P.J.
Joe, great job. You obviously planned everything out and executed it perfectly. I assume Mr. Corrado’s contribution was praying that you would get the “God” lighted sunset. Looks like a fun shoot and I envy you. I love the way you keep challenging your creativity.
Wait, didn’t you take photos when the formation did inversions?!!! Maybe next time!
I kept expecting to see your famous shoes at the edge of the frame. Then the wide on you strapped to a wing walker’s strut.
“I have always wanted to do a shot like this……”
I feel like I’ve heard that before…. Dubai comes to mind.
You already know my reaction to this. Don’t usually leave comments. Couldn’t help myself on this one. CYS
Joe, any thought to pros/cons of using the Nikon WT-5A Wireless Transmitter to see a LiveView, check and adjust settings, and shoot?
Magnificent.
Just Brilliant to pull this off midair.. wow…!
Your amazing Joe
Awesome image on so many levels Joe, and glad you got to fulfil another of your longstanding mentally filed ideas – I hope there are plenty more that come to fruition. In a funny way this makes me think back to my time in Tasmania clamping & gaffer taping speed lights to my quad bike for a foolish photographic idea – all the while yourself & Drew observing with a look on your faces that I read as “Really? Simon you know those speedlights are being sentenced to a short painful life”
Tasmania! It was so fun to work with you there Simon. Hoping things are good for you and your family!
Hey Gene…good thought, i guess I wanted to stay w tried and true tools and instincts on this. I have not worked with the WT-5A hardly at all, and didn’t want to be getting used to an unfamiliar piece of gear while this was going down in the background. Also wanted instant response at camera, and the ability to shoot fast.
See you soon Lisa!!! Many thanks…
Yep, we did some testing on the ground, but there is always that intuitive interpolation that takes place in your head about how much ambient mix would affect things at 500th of a second. Going towards the sun, I was on the edge of overexposure. Coming away in the shots above, I had more exposure control and knew my pilot would be reasonably exposed.
Cali and Jon did a great job!
Hey Ken…Mike was up in a biplane for some of the runs! He had a blast. Love these machines. And coming from you, the absolute Dean of the Skies, the one who did it first and best, the one we all emulate—a compliment from you makes my day. Seriously….you set the bar for the rest of us…..best, Joe
How was the set up shot done? Was there a camera mounted on the wing of the plane?
Yes, there’s another camera out there firing as well. It just proved to be not the main point of view camera, but handy for a look at the overall setup.
Joe…. its absolutely stunning….
Great!
So here is two or three sb910? seems like on in the cabin of the pilot and two on the both sides? Could explain litle more how flashes were set up?
Thanks!
This is truly amazing – way to keep pushing the boundaries, Joe!
It’s two low in the cockpit on either side of the pilot. Connected to camera by SC 29 cord from one. The other in on SU 4 slave mode. Both gelled warm!
Why didnt you use radio trigger instead of cord?
More certain to use the cord. Hard wire is a very certain option. The camera itself was triggered with a radio.
Amazing Photo! Mood is Incredible!
FFP
Nothing more nothing less, simply amazing shots
This is one wild and rock and roll photo session – typically in your style Joe 😉
holy cow! this is nuts!
Looks like Joe has all the fun 🙂
As an amateur I can only say thanks for this flewing capture
So now I just need to find three planes.
You know Joe, just when I think you have outdone yourself, you outdo yourself again. This is what I absolutely love and adore about your work, you set your own standards so much higher with each new project and you keep raising the bar to new levels. This is nothing short of outstanding imagery and it is always inspiring and uplifting to look through your work. As always, ever eager to see more.
This is a topic that is close too my heart…
Thank you! Exactrly where are your contact details though?
Awesome!
When I initially commented I seem to have clicked the
-Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the same comment.
Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service?
Appreciate it!
Will work on it….
awesome. been looking for helpful sites on rigging up multiple components, wasn’t expecting to find something this extreme!
this is a great photography i really like it very useful as well.