An appointment with a Vulcan XM655

2127 posts
16 years
St Austell,
Cornwall

Posted 29/10/2017 - 08:43 Link

From a shoot last night with a Vulcan, based at Wellesbourne Airfield, still in fast taxi status, but not flown since 1984

Chris

www.chrismillsphotography.co.uk

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08tiger 08tiger

2931 posts
18 years
Atherton tablelands,
NQ

Posted 30/10/2017 - 06:59 Link

Thats a different perspective , certainly works well, nice light.

C&C welcome.
Don.

Chrism8 Chrism8

2127 posts
16 years
St Austell,
Cornwall

Posted 30/10/2017 - 07:09 Link

Thanks 08Tiger, I've plenty more, just that one stood out and got processed first.

RobL RobL

2622 posts
12 years
Warwickshire

Posted 30/10/2017 - 07:59 Link

Chris, I think it did some short circuits occasionally as well as blasts up the runway, but they had to stop a couple of years ago when the remaining Vulcans were grounded. I live in Wellesbourne and cannot forget looking out to see this thing flying low and slow, then at full throttle going into a vertical climb, rattling my windows!

Chrism8 Chrism8

2127 posts
16 years
St Austell,
Cornwall

Posted 30/10/2017 - 08:53 Link

Thanks for the info RobL

The Chief Ground Crew guy I was talking to on the evening, said he did some fast taxi runs last year, could only to 2 as the brakes got so hot, he had trouble slowing the jet down particularly on the 2nd run and they had to wait 2 hours for the brakes to cool.

For the size and power of the jet, both the tyres and obviously then the brakes are fairly small compared to more modern jets of equiv weight and power.

McGregNi McGregNi

5986 posts
14 years
Surrey,
England

Posted 30/10/2017 - 13:08 Link

A good clean and sharp low light image ! Yes, that angle is great and makes the aircraft look imposing. I'm curious about the exposure settings and ISO, to make a comparison with K10D's night Abbey photo .....

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Chrism8 Chrism8

2127 posts
16 years
St Austell,
Cornwall

Posted 30/10/2017 - 13:22 Link

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for the comment, the exposure was as below :-

ISO 640 with 2.4 seconds open @ F4.5 on a tripod, the lighting was 3 pairs of 2 x 400w twin Halogens on stands a good 40ft from the Aircraft

Chrism8 Chrism8

2127 posts
16 years
St Austell,
Cornwall

Posted 30/10/2017 - 16:28 Link

Same shot with a mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2, part of the free Nik Collection.

This works IMO, better than the colour version ?

Moderator

johnriley johnriley

24424 posts
24 years
Tyldesley,
Manchester

Posted 30/10/2017 - 17:36 Link

No, I think I prefer the colour version, the light is absolutely gorgeous. The black and white is still good, but it doesn't sing out in the same way.

Best regards, John

Chrism8 Chrism8

2127 posts
16 years
St Austell,
Cornwall

Posted 30/10/2017 - 17:51 Link

Thanks John, Appreciate your thoughts

pschlute pschlute

5158 posts
20 years
Surrey

Posted 30/10/2017 - 17:52 Link

I like both versions and cannot choose between. Great capture of an iconic aircraft.

For those interested, fast taxi runs sometimes don't go quite as planned as this "last flight" of a HP Victor demonstrates....... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3HaeYVlBw8

Peter
My Flickr page

Edited by pschlute: 30/10/2017 - 17:54

johnha johnha

1415 posts
14 years
Lancashire

Posted 30/10/2017 - 18:46 Link

Great shot. My preference is for the colour version - the camouflage looks distracting (and the 'wrong era') in B&W, however in anti-flash white the B&W would look fantastic.

PPG Flickr

McGregNi McGregNi

5986 posts
14 years
Surrey,
England

Posted 30/10/2017 - 20:14 Link

The colour is definitely better, although I think the white balance was a little too warm considering the type of lights. Perhaps you could adjust the red and yellows down a bit ....

Thanks also for the exposure info, that lower ISO certainly makes a difference to the Abbey shot at ISO 4000, although it doesn't look like K10D had done any NR.