May 2010
Meet the Member: Simon Fitall
ISnAP Comments from the Chair: ISAP IX!
ISAP-IX held in Las Vegas at the Hampton Inn Tropicana on March 4, 5, 6, was a successful venture for all concerned. If you were there, I don’t have to explain - and if you weren’t, well you missed one hell of a get-together. The guest speaker list was arguably one of the best we have ever had in the ten years the symposiums have been on- going; the field trip to Nellis AFB during one of their famous Red Flag exercises provided some superb photo ops; and the camaraderie was typical of all ISAP functions with many old friendships refreshed and many new ones started. Nothing is perfect, however, and ISAP-IX is no exception. There were some bumps in the road and a few complaints, and it is one of those that I’d like to address here - for the membership to contemplate and hopefully to discuss via this ISnAP and the ISAP web site. There was some kvetching about the field trip and the decision to divvy-up the 150-plus participating attendees into three separate groups when it came time to go to the Nellis AFB runways. That decision, made solely by the Nellis AFB public affairs office, was understandable, but unfortunate. The PAO personnel had a mind set that 150 people was too large a crowd to manage as one group, and there was no changing their minds. ISAP had nothing to do with the decision and no control over it. And as a result, some photographers were short-changed and did not have the photo ops many of the others were given. That was simply the luck of the draw. More importantly, to me, however, was the fact that the complainers lost site of ISAP’s raison d’etre. Though the field trip is an inarguably fun part of our annual get-togethers, it is not - by any vague stretch of the imagination - the main focal point of the symposium. Anyone who questions that needs to read and then re-read our mission statement - which can be found on the first page of every program we have ever printed (and can also be found elsewhere on the ISAP web site): “Our mission is to provide a major international forum for the art and science of aviation photography; to provide a means for the exchange of aviation photography ideas, technique, philosophy, and equipment; and perhaps most importantly, to provide a mechanism for communication, education, and friendship among those who have a professional stake in, interest in, or simple love of aviation photography.” Please note that, no where does it say anything about having an opportunity during the symposiums to take photos at Nellis AFB - or anywhere else for that matter. Anyone who places higher priority on taking photos during the symposium than learning from the presenters and developing new friendships while refreshing old, has lost the point. They also, in my opinion, need to reevaluate why they joined ISAP in the first place. We’re there to have fun and enjoy each other’s company and hopefully learn something new - but if we step out of the annual gathering without ever having tripped a camera shutter even once, that should not be any kind of justification for declaring the symposium a failure. That’s not fair to ISAP and perhaps most importantly, it’s most certainly not fair to the complainer and other attendees.
Jay
Meet the Members Simon Fitall
We all know that going to an airshow is usually about a long drive, long lines to get past security, long walks to a crowded display line that’s already full, thousands of people and then a long day standing making photographs interspersed with long gaps between the different display items (some of which aren’t even flying).
The light is fabulous. In that part of England you get pretty good light up to about 8:00 or 8:30 in the evening – and sometimes out as far as 9:30. The layout of the show is such that the evening sun moves from over your right shoulder round to over your left shoulder – so virtually the entire display box is in good light for the whole show.
Imagine converting that to a pleasant drive into the country, no lines. A simple ticket check and no security; parking 30 yards from the crowd line, and being able to carry a full picnic (including chairs and blankets) as well as all the camera gear you want. At the crowd line you find a small wire fence and plenty of space. There are a few thousand people there, but it is quiet, polite and friendly. 15 feet the other side of the fence is a fully restored, flight worthy Gloster Gladiator, or F2B Bristol Fighter, or Fieseler Storch.
That said, this is England we’re talking about and so a bit too much wind and a shower are not unheard of, but they don’t call the show off until they know that flying is impossible – and the hangars are only 50 yards away so the museum is a rain option. One great benefit of the weather is that occasionally you’ll get a fabulous background, making it possible to make the picture look as if it’s air-to-air when in fact you’re perched on the ground with a background of massive rolling clouds. Or you’ll get bright evening sub against a dark gray background.
I am, of course, describing the sheer delight of attending a summer evening display at the World Famous Shuttleworth Collection, at Old Warden aerodrome about 35 miles north of London (that’s the one in England). It is hard to describe the purity of this experience. The youngest aircraft in the display is likely to be a WWII fighter; maybe they’ll put up a more recent guest item, but if the weather is good you also stand a good chance of seeing an aircraft fly that was built in 1909 – that’s 100 years ago and the aircraft in question is the world’s oldest original airworthy aircraft being powered by the original engine!!! The photography can be fabulous. It’s one of those places where full-frame can come into its own because you don’t need the 1.5x focal length factor to get great shots – the flying is that close. Now I can’t afford full-frame but my Nikon D200 does pretty well – so long as I’ve got the 20mm handy - the aircraft do pre-flight so close that sometimes even the 20mm isn’t wide enough, although the opportunities for some nicely composed telephoto close-ups make this a really good option as well.
And then, late in the evening, if the air is still, out come the Bleriot, Box Kite, Avro Triplane, Blackburn Monoplane, Deperdussin – most of them originals from pre-WW I – to grace the sky with the gentlest of displays. The engines sound as if they are going to stop at any time, the airspeed is so low you feel you could run faster, and you can certainly use the tripod as panning
is so much less of a problem when the aircraft is only flying at 35 knots, even if the light is down around 1/25th at f4.0 with ISO set to 400! If you haven’t got the impression by now, I must not have been writing well, but I don’t just recommend a visit to Shuttleworth. I think of it more as a pilgrimage for anyone with a love of aviation and a desire to make great photographs. The last couple of times I’ve been to Shuttleworth it has been on a condensed trip. Shuttleworth on the Saturday evening, RIAT at Fairford on the Sunday, Farnborough on the Monday. I could spend more time at the big shows – but I could never forego that evening with the picnic photographing these graceful birds from days gone by – there simply isn’t anything like it.
in Chevy Chasse, Maryland and is looking forward to devveloping his private hobby into a more public body of work. Simon was thrilled to receive an honorable mention in the 2006 AvWeek photo contest, espeically as this was the very first photgraphic competition he had entered.
Simon’s passion for avitaion and photography were stimulated by his father and the family visits to the Farnborough Air Show. Simon first attended when he was just 7 and has only missed one show since - it is his favourite place. Other shows soon became regular features on Simon’s calendar although family life prevented attending all the possibilities - RIAT, Le Bourget, Shuttleworth, Mildenhall, and Duxford are all regulars. With an improving career came the ability to improve equipment and all that practice turned into some pretty decent shots and Simon continues that devvelopment today. Family and career mean that Simon remains an enthusiastic amateur, but he hopes that ISAP memberhip will help him to now develop the connections and skills necessary to publish. Simon now lives and works
Simon.fitall@fitallphotos.com www.fitallphotos.com www.shuttleworth.org
Help!
Using the DMCA Takedown Notice to Battle Copyright Infringement Copyright Carolyn E. Wright, Esq. www.photoattorney.com All Rights Reserved
Finding an unauthorized use of your photograph on the web is upsetting. But what can you do about it? You can contact an attorney for assistance. But if you haven’t registered your photo in advance of the infringement, then you won’t be eligible for statutory damages. Attorneys will take such cases on contingency only under certain circumstances. It then will cost a lot to pursue the infringement when paying the attorney an hourly fee. In the alternative, you can send a cease and desist and/or a demand for payment yourself to the infringer. But such letters are often ignored. Fortunately, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) gives you another option. Enacted in 1998, the DMCA implemented treaties signed at the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Geneva conference. It addresses many issues, one of which affects photographers directly in this situation. The DMCA states that while an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is not liable for transmitting information that may infringe a copyright, the ISP must remove materials from users’ websites that appear to constitute copyright in¬fringement after it receives proper notice. If you find a website that is using one of your images without permission, contact the hosting ISP to report the infringement. The letter you send is called a “DMCA takedown notice.” The ISP is required to make its agent’s name and address available so that you can send them notification. Your copyright does not have to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office for you to take advantage of this DMCA provision. So how do you find the hosting ISP? You first do a “who is” search on the website name. We’ll use my wildlife photography website at www.vividwildlife.com as an example. Several websites provide “whois” service. Conduct an Internet search to find them. The search at www.whois.net looks like this:
The results are:
Note there the domains server information. Conduct a “whois� search on www.domaincontrol.com to find the company information that is hosting the domain proxy servers. You may send your DMCA takedown notice to the administrator of the domain servers:
You also may find the DMCA contact information by using www.domaincontrol.com as the url, which gives this result:
When you go to www.wildwestdomains.com, you’ll see a link to “Legal Agreements” at the bottom of the home page:
When you click on “Legal Agreements,” you’ll find the “Trademark and/or Copyright Infringement Policy.”
There you will find the directions to make and the address to send your DMCA claim:
When you notify the ISP of infringement, your letter must meet certain requirements. Specifically, your notification must: • Be in writing; • Be signed by the copyright owner or agent; your electronic signature is OK; • Identify the copyrighted work that you claim has been in¬fringed (or a list of infringements from the same site); • Identify the material that is infringing your work; • Include your contact info; • State that you are complaining in “good faith;” • State that, “under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in the notification is accurate;” and • State that you have the right to proceed (because you are the copyright owner or the owner’s agent).
Send a letter like the following to make your claim: VIA Email at ISPHosting@isp.com Re: Copyright Claim To the ISP Hosting Company: I am the copyright owner of the photographs being infringed at: http://ww.vividwildlife.com/Alaska.htm http://ww.vividwildlife.com/links.htm Copies of the photographs being infringed are included to assist with their removal from the infringing websites.
This letter is official notification under the provisions of Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) to effect removal of the above-reported infringements. I request that you immediately issue a cancellation message as specified in RFC 1036 for the specified postings and prevent the infringer, who is identified by its web address, from posting the infringing photographs to your servers in the future. Please be advised that law requires you, as a service provider, to “expeditiously remove or disable access to” the infringing photographs upon receiving this notice. Noncompliance may result in a loss of immunity for liability under the DMCA. I have a good faith believe that use of the material in the manner complained of here is not authorized by me, the copyright holder, or the law. The information provided here is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I swear under penalty of perjury that I am the copyright holder. Please send me at the address noted below a prompt response indicating the actions you have taken to resolve this matter. Sincerely,
/s/ Carolyn E. Wright Email: carolyn@photoattorney.com
After the ISP receives the notice, it should remove the infringing materials. Infringements are much too common these days. Fortunately, there are tools to fight them – the DMCA takedown notice is one of the powerful ones.
_____________________________
Carolyn E. Wright is a licensed attorney dedicated to the legal needs for photographers. Get the latest in legal information at Carolyn’s website, www.photoattorney.com. These and other legal tips for photographers are available in Carolyn’s book, The Photographer’s Legal Guide, available on her website. NOTE: The information provided here is for educational purposes only. If you have legal concerns or need legal advice, be sure to consult with an attorney.
Gadget Bag by Jay Miller
stick grip. It is designed to allow photographers to unlock, move, position, and relock a camera (or lens) in position with one hand. You can not do that with a ball head - at least not without letting go of what’s mounted on it. Manfrotto makes two versions of their Grip Action Ball Head - one that mounts vertically and another that mounts with the handle off to one side (the right). Both are excellent tools offering a great deal of versatility at reasonable (about $100) price. Downsides are that (1) maximum load is limited to about 11 pounds, and (2) once you release the grip, the mount and whatever is on it is locked in place. Panning and vertical movement are difficult without having a hand on the grip. These Manfrotto grip mounts are relatively light at 1.5 pounds, but they are also exceptionally well made and very rugged. I’ve had several over the years and they have never failed me. They are ideal for work where the tripod is being moved a lot and the angle of the camera relative to the subject must be constantly changed. All versions come with a built-in quick release, but you must use the Manfrotto camera/lens plate to use it. It is possible to change to a different brand of quick release (which I have done with my own; I’ve switched to a Kirk Enterprises set-up), but check to make sure the one of your choice will work on the Manfrotto mount before making the switch.
Tripod heads come in a large variety of shapes and sizes and mechanical formats. Arguably, the most popular are the classic ball heads. These have been around in one form or another almost since the beginning of photography. They are outstanding for most standard mounting requirements and they’ll last a lifetime if properly cared for. Prices vary from cheap to very expensive and you usually get what you pay for. They can accommodate virtually all lens/camera combos, depending on the size of the mount itself, and most are equipped with quick releases of one kind or another. Biggest problem with ball heads is something known as “ball flop” - which can be expensive if some seriously pricey gear is on the mount when “flop” occurs. Becoming ever more popular as more and more photographers learn about them are “gimbal mounts”. The most popular of the several variations to the theme are the Wimberley and Jobo offerings with several other brands not far behind. These are fully articulated mounts allowing stable and predictable movement in both pitch and yaw. They can be locked solidly in place like a ball mount, but offer the attribute of being able to follow - with exceptional smoothness and stability - moving objects as well. Their limitations are few, but significant. The most notable is that they are designed for big and heavy telephoto lenses only. Smaller lenses (i.e., anything under 300mm need not apply. They are also heavy - weighing up to 3 pounds. And they are also expensive - averaging close to $600 for the better brands. They work only with quick releases and in most cases, these are added to the unit after acquisition. That means another $100-plus tacked-on to the total cost. A mount that I’m particularly fond of is the Manfrotto “Grip Action Ball Head”. As Manfrotto’s promo information states, it has the versatility of a ball head with the ergonomic control of a
Jay
Marketplace
the Douglas XA2D Skyshark and the North American A2J Super Savage attack aircraft.
Got anything you want to sell or trade? Here’s your chance! Just drop the editor a email at viggenja37@sbcglobal.net.
It flew a total of 12 test flights. One test pilot flew it once and refused to ever fly in it again. Test pilot Hank Baird took the craft up 11 times, with 10 of these flights ending in forced landings.
Airplane ID Winners!
The XF-84H was quite possibly the loudest aircraft ever built, earning the nickname “Thunderscreech” as well as the “Mighty Ear Banger”. On the ground, they could reportedly be heard 25 miles (40 km) away. Unlike standard propellers which turn at subsonic speeds, the outer 24–30 inches of the blades on the XF84H’s propeller traveled faster than the speed of sound even at idle thrust, producing a continuous visible sonic boom that radiated laterally from the propellers for hundreds of yards. The pervasive noise also severely disrupted operations in the Edwards AFB control tower by risking vibration damage to sensitive components and forcing air traffic personnel to communicate with the XF-84H’s crew on the flight line by light signals. After numerous complaints, the Air Force Flight Test Center directed Republic to tow the aircraft out on Rogers Dry Lake, far from the flight line, before running up its engine.
Guess this was an easy one. I received quite a few responses, and they were all correct, but first in my email inbox was Frank McCurdy. You are looking at the Republic XF-84H The Republic XF-84H was an experimental American-built turboprop aircraft based on the F-84F Thunderstreak. Its turbine engine drove the aircraft with a supersonic propeller as well as its exhaust. Originally designated XF-106, the project and its resultant prototype aircraft were renamed XF-84H, suggesting it was a mere F-84 variant, rather than an entirely new type. The initial inception for the program came from a U.S. Navy requirement for a carrier fighter not requiring catapult assistance, although the USAF Wright Air Development Center was the key sponsor of the project. The XF-84H was created by modifying a F-84F Thunderstreak aircraft. The engine was changed to an Allison XT-40-A-1, capable of 5,850 hp (4,362 kW). An afterburner was installed though never used, which could increase power to 7,230 hp (5,391 kW). The 12 ft diameter Aeroproducts propeller consisted of three steel, square-tipped blades turning at a constant 3,000 rpm, with the tips travelling at approximately Mach 1.18. Thrust was adjusted by changing the blade pitch. The tail was modified to a T-tail to avoid turbulent airflow flow over the horizontal stabilizer/elevator surfaces from propeller wash. The XF-84H was the first aircraft to carry a retractable/extendable ram air turbine; in the event of failure of the engine, it would automatically swing out into the airstream to provide hydraulic and electrical power. The unit was often deployed in flight as a precaution. The XF-84H was destabilized by the powerful torque from the propeller, as well as inherent problems with supersonic propeller blades. It was plagued with engine-related problems that affected other aircraft of the time with similar Allison T40 engines such as
Reported by Guiness as the fastest propeller-driven aircraft ever built, with a design top speed of 670 mph (Mach 0.9), it is reported to have reached 623 mph (Mach 0.83), but this has been disputed. This record speed is also inconsistent with data from the National Museum of the United States Air Force, which gives a top speed of 520 mph (Mach 0.70), making the XF-84H the fastest single-engine propeller-driven aircraft until 1989 when a highly modified F8F Bearcat reached 528 mph (Mach 0.71). Two prototypes were built (51-17059 and 51-17060), with buzz number FS-059 and FS-060. Only the first airframe FS-059 flew, taking to the air on 22 July 1955, and logged only 10 hours. FS-059 was retired and spent many years mounted on a pole outside Meadows Field Airport, Bakersfield, California. It was taken to the 178th Fighter Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard whose volunteers spent over 3,000 hours returning the Thunderscreech to display condition. It is now on show at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. FS-060 (currently unknown) is assumed to have been scrapped, along with the plans, when the project was cancelled in 1956.
Photoshop Tip Time Increasing Brush Sizes Pretty much all applications that use a brush can be regulated using the Bracket keys. The Left Bracket ([) key decreases the brush size, while the Right Bracket (]) key increases its size. If you press-and-hold the Shift key, it increases the size by a larger amount. Provided by NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) ® 2009 Kelby Media Group.
ISnAP Sponsors (in alphabetical order):
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company http://www.lockheedmartin.com Air & Space Smithsonian http://www.airspacemag.com
Nikon USA http://www.nikonusa.com
Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association http://www.aopa.org
Northrop Grumman http://www.northropgrumman.com
Canon USA http://www.usa.canon.com
Delkin Devices http://www.delkin.com
Think Tank http://www.thinktankphoto.com
May 2010
ISnAP
ISAP Chairman of the Board – ISAP Board Vice Chair – ISAP Board Member - ISAP Board Member - ISAP Board Member – ISAP Board Member - ISAP Board Member - ISAP Board Member - ISAP Board Member - ISAP Board Member - ISAP Membership Coordinator - ISAP Treasurer - ISAP Web Site Manager - ISAP Field Trip Coordinator - ISAP Speaker Coordinator - ISnAP Editor -
Jay Miller aerofax@sbcglobal.net Chad Slattery chadslattery@earthlink.net Paul Bowen bowen@airtoair.net David Carlson dcarlson@cusa.cannon.com Denny Lombard dennylombard@roadrunner.com Russell Munson higheye@aol.com Albert Ross alross@sbcglobal.net Eric Schulzinger eric.schulzinger@lmco.com Caroline Sheen csheen@si.edu Katsuhiko Tokunaga tokunaga@dact.co.jp Larry Grace lgrace@mm.com Bonnie (Bartel) Kratz photobonnie@execpc.com Michele Peterson websupport@aviationphotographers.org Richard VanderMuelen richardvm@aol.com Andy Wolfe Frank Landrus viggenja37@sbcglobal.net
The ISnAP is a periodic publication of the International Society for Aviation Photography and is used to communicate news, functions, convention information, and other events or items of interest on the local, regional, and national scenes. The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and should not be construed as the views or opinions of International Society for Aviation Photography. Deadline for submissions to The ISnAP is the 25th of the month prior to month of issue. Please submit as a WORD text file as an attachment via email to your editor.
It's "Airplane ID" time! Here's your next challenge:
Jay Miller Photo Collection
