Saturday FL17

[Jakub.Zurek]

Having not visited a Duxford airshow since 2015 pre-Shoreham, I was looking forward to returning to this venue and to find out what the altered display line and crowdline is like. I watched the show from the M11 end, and as a spectacle, it was a pretty good show. Nothing beats having 9 Spitfires taxiing past you and then taking off.

However, the flying felt a little inconsistent. On one end of the spectrum, there was the pathetic Corsair display. I really don't want to be negative, but both me and my dad said that we've never seen a warbird displayed that far away from the crowd, which is a shame as it is a beautiful and powerful aeroplane that we were looking forward to seeing in the air. And then on the other end of the spectrum, you have Richard Grace in the Fury, leading the Bearcat initially, and then as 'the Joker' - wonderful display. It was also a shame after the buildup, not to have the 5th Hurricane fly in formation with the others on the Saturday. And like has been mentioned on the Legends '17 thread, shame to have the same 3 Spitfires flying crowdside, whilst the other 6 repeat a figure of eight in the background.

1. 352nd Fighter Group | Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

2. 352nd Fighter Group | Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

3. Spitfire Formation by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

With a lack of visiting warbirds from Europe such as Moonbeam McSwine, French Sea Fury and Flying Bulls just to name a few, it was a massive shame for the highlight of the weekend to end up like it did
4. P-51B Mustang “Berlin Express” by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

5. Spitfire XVIII | SM845 | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

6. Hawker Fury FB.11 | G-CBEL | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

7. Curtiss-Wright P.40C | G-CIIO | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

Interesting to note that in the picture you can see the Fury's tailwheel isn't fully retracted, just like what happened at Fly Navy at OW in June.
8. Pinnacle of Piston Engined Aircraft by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

9. P-51D 'Miss Helen' by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

10. P-51D Mustang | G-SHWN | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

11. 'Miss Helen' by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

The OCD part of me really loved seeing these two Spits with the same black and white undersides
12. Spitfire Mk I Pair by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

13. Battle of Britain Aircraft by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

14. Bristol Blenheim by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

Norwegian Dakota, what a display
15. C-53D | LN-WND | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

16. PBY Catalina | G-PBYA | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

And probably my favourite bit of flying from the day, the beautiful Hawker Fury as the Joker in some nice evening light:
17. Hawker Fury FB.11 | G-CBEL | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

18. Hawker Fury FB.11 | G-CBEL | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

19. Balbo Finale by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

20. Seafire LF Mk III | G-BUAR | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

[coanda]

Hello Jakub,

Thanks for posting these, I think they are great images.

Can I ask what exposure setting you use and your post processing flow?

I am looking to improve my output, and would very much like to get results similar to this.

Thanks!

Coanda

[MarkL]

Lovely pictures.

Sorry it's not a constructive comment, but just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed them.

Mark

[Jakub.Zurek]

Thanks for your kind comments guys, much appreciated.

Hello Jakub,

Thanks for posting these, I think they are great images.

Can I ask what exposure setting you use and your post processing flow?

I am looking to improve my output, and would very much like to get results similar to this.

Thanks!

Coanda

For propeller aircraft I use Tv mode, 1/250 usually, and around +1 exposure compensation, to expose to the right to capture all the details in the shadows.
I shoot in raw, and then edit using Lightroom 5. I drag the highlights down, drag the exposure down, increase whites. Increase the colour vibrance, and then sharpen either using Lightroom or Google Nik software which you can get for free and attach as a plugin in Lightroom. If you have any more questions I'm happy to answer them on here or you can PM me

[Blackbird]

Lovely set Jakub - but I think the stand-out shot is No.10

Andy

[coanda]

Thanks for the reply Jakub.

Another question if I may:

I just had a look through a couple of your exifs and it says the exposure mode is auto. I guess this is because you are in Tv mode, however, are you using spot or centre averaged or...?

[Jakub.Zurek]

Lovely set Jakub - but I think the stand-out shot is No.10

Andy

Thanks Andy, I like 10 too

however, are you using spot or centre averaged or...?

Good question. I've always used evaluative metering mode for airshows and have always had consistent results in terms of exposure. I'd never use spot as that is a tiny area, and it can mean the camera can meter for the underside of an aircraft, e.g. a Lancaster's black underside. And with centre weighted, you never have a guarantee that the aircraft is going to be in the middle of the frame when you are panning. At least that's how I understand it, so I stick to evaluative and get good results.

If you're not sure about something, then you can always go to your local airport and try out a couple of different settings and see what suits you best. That's what I did, especially when I recently upgraded my camera body

[coanda]

Thanks Jakub. The accepted wisdom is to use spot metering in order to specifically meter the aircraft, but i've been questioning that approach.

[LN Strike Eagle]

Terrific shots again, Jakub. Love the rear 3/4 shots from the M11 end, and the fury topsides are great.

P-51B looks a little weedy from that tail-on perspective IMO - the absent fin fillet on the rear adds a lot to the looks on the Mustang.

[Jakub.Zurek]

Thanks Dan. I have to agree with you, Berlin Express is certainly a looker but perhaps not so much from that angle.