Goal of the Photo

At the Decatur 75th Anniversary Airport Air Show several radial and piston driven aircraft had performed up to the time of pilot Randy Ball demonstrating the MiG-17. The contrast between the relatively slower propeller driven aircraft and this jet powered plane was stark. With this photo I wanted to show off that intense power on display.

Project Specs

Category

  • Aviation Photography

Camera and Lens Used

  • Camera: Pentax K110d DSLR
  • Lens: ProMaster 70-210mm f4.5-5.6 Telephoto
  • Aperture: f9.5
  • Film Speed: ISO 200
  • Focal Length: 200mm
  • Shutter Speed: 1/500th second

Software Used

  • Adobe Lightroom Classic CC icon
  • Adobe Photoshop CC icon

(click icon to view name)

Location and Date

Location: Decatur Airport (KDEC)
Decatur, Illinois

  • Date: August 15, 2021

Photo Analysis

This photo conveys the raw speed that this early cold war era jet was able to produce. The inclusion of the orange flame gives a true sense to the viewer that this jet is moving at incredible speeds. Without the flame, the jet would almost appear to be hovering as there isn't anything shown in the background to get a sense of motion with this fast of a shutter speed. In reality the aircraft was likely moving at more than 300 mph.

Photo Post Processing

Only slight changed were needed to be made in Adobe Lightroom to this photo. Exposure, shadows, whites and blacks were all slightly increased and color temperature was dropped. A slight amount of sharpening in the detail was also performed. Over into Adobe Photoshop the Corcoran Studio logo was applied in the lower right and the photo was exported.