Soaring
Soaring
A high-key minimalist image of a sailplane preforming an aerobatic routine with smoke trails. Its clean simple lines would complement any décor.
From the earliest of days humans have dreamed of flying with the birds and have done so since the beginning of the 20th century. I love to fly and especially to soar in the wind without power. Here Manfred Radius performs his aerobatic routine at Wings Over Wayne at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. An overcast day presented the opportunity to create this high-key minimalist image.
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The Story Behind The Image
Those who follow my work have seen my artistic voice and style come into focus over the past few years. I feel my best work thus far can be described as minimalist, using a limited color pallet approaching monochromal, and centered on the natural world.
This does not mean that is all I create with my camera. I also have a love of aviation and I shoot aircraft and air shows for my own enjoyment. So, on a weekend in May 2023, I headed to Seymour Johnson AFB for one of my annual aviation highlights, “Wings Over Wayne Air Show”. If you live in east-central North Carolina and like planes, you need to check out this FREE air show.
My photographic goals for the day were focused on WWII era warbirds and of course the adrenaline pumping after-burner powered jet fighters. In fact, the Blue Angels were scheduled to appear. As we rolled up to the flight line, weather conditions were not great for photographing aircraft, 100% cloud cover and a ceiling around 2,000 ft, with rain in the forecast.
My years as a landscape photographer continue to teach me that being out there and enjoying the moment is what is truly important. Capturing a stunning image is a bonus. With this philosophy in mind, I tried to focus on enjoying the aircraft and atmosphere. I figured I would rattle off dozens of frames of the F-22 and the Blue Angels with hopes that I could pull something out in post processing. So, we set off down the flight line to find our spot to take in all of the action. During what I thought was a pause in the show I turned around to see a sailplane turning slow graceful loops. This could be a portfolio image! Simple clean composition, B&W (mostly white). I quickly swung my camera with the 70-210mm zoom up and began to frame and shoot Manfred Radius and his H 101 Salto glider against the overcast sky. The smoke generators on the wing tips created lovely arcs where Radius carved his way through the sky. The design of the Salto with its “V” tail makes one pause on first glance, trying to figure just what you are looking at.
I processed the image in Adobe Lightroom, converting the image to B&W and adjusting brightness and contrast as to washout any detail on the clouds in the background, while retaining definition in the smoke trails to convey a sense of motion.
Another example of you never knows when an opportunity to make an exceptional image will presents itself.
