Saturday, May 23, 2009

Theme # 348 "Vapor"




Now this is what I call a "One In A Million Shot", Taken today by me at the Air Show at Jones Beach, Long Island, NY. Before I go any further here is an explanation of what and why's of this vapor plume.Quote: At sea level a plane must exceed 741 mph to break the sound barrier, or the speed at which sound travels. The change in pressure as the plane outruns all of the pressure and sound waves in front of it is heard on the ground as an explosion or sonic boom. The pressure change condenses the water in the air as the jet passes these waves. Altitude, wind speed, humidity, the shape and trajectory of the plane - all of these affect the breaking of this barrier. The slightest drag or atmospheric pull on the plane shatters the vapor oval like fireworks as the plane passes through it.This plane is a Navy Super Hornet F/A-18F Jet stationed at NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, Va. I got three shots of this jet with the plume in various stages of shapes and sizes. The actual speed of this plane according to the MC was 2 mph less then required to break the sound barrier. If the pilot was going just a little faster we would have had a lot of broken windows in the area. I wonder what effect that phenomena has on my camera lens glass ?Here's a link (a must read) on what happens but also how lucky I was in capturing this shot.http://www.rense.com/general8/boom.htm There is also a prize winning photo of the plume and my image is almost as good (IMHO). I'll bore you with the details as I am soooo excited. I used my AF-S VR Zoom Nikor 70-300 mm f4.5-5.6 G IF-ED lens. I had my focus set to continuous which means that the camera will try and maintain focus if the subject is moving and believe me the subject was moving. I did not use burst release mode but single -frame release mode. So in essence I squeezed off three shots of this bird in three seconds according to my exif data. The reason I used single-frame release mode is because I shoot in RAW and I did not want a couple thousand shots.
Here is the exif data. Nikon D90 2009/05/23
RAW (12-bit)
Lens: VR 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 G
Focal Length: 270mm
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
1/640 sec - F/11
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 200
White Balance: Auto
AF Mode: AF-C
The three images above are Photo # 2, 1 and 3 in that order.
Exif data shows the times for each shot are as follow:
Photo#1 May 23, 2009 @ 13:09:35 (Middle photo)
Photo#2 May 23, 2009 @ 13:09:36 (Top photo)
Photo#3 May 23, 2009 @ 13:09:38 (Bottom photo)
Sorry for the confusion but when I posted the images they got out of order and I had all the typing done and I did not know how to fix it up. I like The last one #3.


22 comments:

  1. Great explanation concerning even better images you cleve little Eddie you. Love Them!

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  2. Spectacular! I've never seen that before!

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  3. Awesome! I've never seen anything like this. Your explanation is very informative, too.

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  4. Amazing shots, Edward! Wow, you are GOOD!!! I hope these are all in a frame! Definitely award winning!

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  5. Oh my gosh!! That is beyond amazing!! You did an incredible job. I hope you submit these in a contest because they are definitely award winning photographs. Maybe National Geographic is looking for a photographer!!

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  6. Stunning! I honestly can't say much more...I like the tird one the best, as I think it really displays the effect.

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  7. Superb! I'm stunned into silence with your spectacular shots! WOW!

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  8. Wonderful shots. Lucky you going to an airshow. Having grown up on many navy bases I miss them. You continue to amaze me with your photos

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  9. Edmund, YOU'RE one in a million! You always have such great shots and you're always so humble about them and so generous in sharing how you've captured them. These are stunning!

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  10. Very cool shots! I too like the third one.

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  11. So impressive Eddie! These are truly amazing. I'm thrilled to see them and you must be thrilled to have made them. I like yours as much as the 'award winner'

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  12. Awesome! Those are just incredible shots. Thanks for sharing all the information about how you shot them and for the link as well. I'm learning a lot from your posts. I think you've given the prize-winning photographer a run for his money. ;-)

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  13. Spectacular image, that is amazing!

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  14. Eddie, oh my gosh, these photos are fabulous!

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  15. Wow Wow Wow!!!! These are outstanding!! Very interesting info on how those plumes come into being...

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  16. WOW!!! your camera is really professional and you are the king of shots.
    good job.

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  17. Oh, that sure is what I call "one in a million shots" too! Amazing! And a great explanation too. /Viktoria

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  18. Amazing shots! Thanks for the info, too.

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  19. Great images. Your timing was great too, perhaps you should consider hitting baseballs for a living?

    It is a pain sorting through images if you've been shooting on burst mode, I know, but I have gotten shots that way that I would never have gotten otherwise. If you can keep up your timing I guess you won't need it!

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  20. very impressive blog.i have search it through yahoo.its very amazing.i have online toys store for your kids.c u again

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