The Photos

Where do you go to get the photos?

My local airfields mostly plus any air show within driving distance. I am fortunate to have several GA fields within 50 miles plus a couple of international airports with good access to shoot the flight line. To name a few, as I live in South Florida, I have fairly decent access to Miami International (KMIA) and Fort Lauderdale (KFLL), both with good viewing angles, and general aviation fields like Kendall-Tamiami (KTMB), Opa-Locka (KOPF), Homestead Executive (X51), Ft. Lauderdale Executive (KFXE), and more.

How many aviation related photos do you think you have taken?

Easily thousands. Those are the ones that I publish. On a typical airshow visit I shoot at least 500-600 in one day, but only a few will make the cut. I find that as I grow as a photographer I become my worst critic.

Have you ever had any of them published in a magazine?

Not on print magazines but have published in aviation-related web sites on occasion. Also some of my bird photography has been published in conservation-related group sites and newsletters.

Do you sell your photos for commercial use?

Not usually as I do not make a living out of this. It is just a serious hobby. That said, I have sold a few selected images for advertising purposes (not for stock-photography).

Have you done or considered doing photography for use by flight simulator developers?

I have done this on ocassion. I was asked by a prominent company in the FSX space to give them 360 degree angles of a few planes used for modeling static AI in some of their sceneries.

What do you consider your best or most popular work?

Bird photography, some landscapes and architecture, and my aerial photography (something I don't get to do enough of).

What software packages and tools do you use to process the photos?

I shoot exclusively in Nikon RAW format. I use Nikon's Capture NX2 to process the RAW images. I use Paint Shop Pro for minor adjustments and as a base to host other utilities like Topaz Adjust or Silver Efects and the like. Most of the PS-compatible programs work fine in PSP which is a much more accessible choice to Photoshop. I can't justify the cost of full Photoshop when I do not use photography as a profession. PSP and CNX2 can do 80% of what PS can do.

How do you decide what you are going to photograph next or where you are going to go?

Depends on the mood of the day, the light and the weather. If the light is right, I'm there.

The Equipment

What type of equipment do you use?

Nikon equipment plus a couple of other manufacturer's lenses (Sigma/Tamron).

Do you use special filters or lenses to get the effects you want?

No filters other than a circular polarizer when required. I shoot only digital nowadays. I used filters in my old film-days. They are mostly not neeeded anymore except in very few situations.

How many different cameras do you use and do you have a favorite?

Three Nikon cameras. A full frame D700 used for landscape, architecture and low-light situations such as museums. A cropped frame D300, which has more reach due to the cropped sensor size, used primarily for wildlife and air-shows. I still have and use my old D80 which is small, light, and unobstrusive and can take all my collection of lenses (I do have quite a few). The old manual lenses do not meter in the D80 so I seldom use them with it.

What is special about taking photos of aircraft than anything else?

I find it challenging and fun. Wildlife is more challenging due to the unpredictability, but aircraft wide-angles, dealing with reflections and prop-blur is always a challlenge.

About You

When did you first start taking photos?

I learned photography while very young. At age 10, my father used to take me to some of his local photo-club outings and although young I had my ears open to all the teacher was saying. My father discontinued it as a hobby early on. I didn't. At 15 I had my own black and white development lab at home. I did some weddings and events while still a teenager and hated the work and the pressure. I stopped doing photography for several reasons, for a long time mid-1970s to very late 1990s, when I discovered digital and never looked back.

Has this become a passion for you and if so what do you think triggered that desire?

Yes indeed! Living in south Florida you have countless opportunities to shoot all year round, plus the ease of digital, and the relatively affordable prices on hardwarwe (compared to 1960s and 70s film equipment that I could not affford at the time) make it easy to want to go out and shoot, then share and get contstructive criticism online.

Do you do this for a living or would you like to do it as a living?

No I do not. I would not do photography for a living. I like my images the way I like them. Once you start selling your work, the client has the right to demand changes and tell you how they want it done. Not me. They are the way they are.

Would you like to share with us what you do now in real life?

I am a software developer for a major corporation and have been doing software professionally since the late 1980s.

Who would you consider to be your mentors and inspiration when it comes to aviation photography?

I can't name any particular person but I have been looking at other people's work online, at aviation-related forums and at general photography forums, one of which I am active daily and have been a mod in for some time. I have improved my photography by showing my work online, getting constructionve criticism, and asking questions of other photographers when I see something I like, on how did they do it or how did the handle a special situation. I learn every day.

Aviation

Do you have any experience, interest in real aviation?

I am not a pilot. I have a couple of friends with small aircraft and do not miss an opportunity to fly when invited (not often enough in my opinion--grin). I have taken the controls on occasion, but never for take-off or landing. Having been a flight simmer since the early 1990s (Microsoft FS exclusively), I know my way around an airplane so I find it fun to try in real life the little I know from simming.

Any memorable flights in real life?

My first air-to-air photo-shoot was a blast.

Any memorable experiences while taking photos of real aircraft?

Every time I find an unusual aircraft I am excited, like the time a couple of years ago when a friend called me to tell me a Russian Beriev Be-200 had landed in Ft. Lauderdale for a few hours on the way to Central America. I rushed to the airport. I did not have inside access for that particular location but got a couple of decent images of this unique and rare aircraft through the fence.

What it's like to do the aerial/air-to-air photography? Is it harder, easier? Do you like it or not and why? What makes it difficult from taking a photo on the ground.

I do the little aerial photography I get to when I am invited by a friend, from a Piper Super Cub. It is a wonderful and stable photo platform, as you can open the clamshell door and the window on the other side so you have both sides unencumbered by windows.

Most windows in aircraft are scratched and/or dirty and even when they are not, they distort the colors. The Super Cub can fly low and slow, and being a narrow tandem sitting arrangement you are equally close to either side opening.

You are of course strapped in and you should also have the camera properly strapped to you (I use Rapid Strap). No lens hoods are recommended as they catch the wind and can even fly away. Shorter barrel lenses are better as they have less wind resistance. Even at the slow Super Cub speeds you are still fighting a 70 to 90 mph wind when you point the lens out the window.

I love aerials. They are fun, and you are in control as you can tell the pilot what to do and how high to fly, within legal limits of course. While shooting buildings or features along the coastline I have on occasion had to tell the pilot to circle around to re-shoot. No problem. I have also had the opportunity to ask him to bank steeper so I can get to something nearly below us. It is definitely fun if you are not afraid to fly. I love it.

Alex Feldstein
alexfeldsteinphotography.com