views a publication of professional aerial photographers association international Fall 2012
“London’s Giant Pickle, The Gherkin” by Cameron Davidson
Editor’s view Editor’s View By Julie Belanger Papa Views is written, produced and printed by PAPA members. If you would like to contribute an article, post a classified ad or advertise a product or service with a business card or display ad, please contact Julie Belanger at Julie@the 111th.com
Editor
Julie Belanger, 111th Aerial Photography Squadron, Morgan Hill, CA
Layout & Production
Pat and I had a great time at the PAPA Western Regional that took place in Salt Lake City, Utah hosted by the Western Regional Director Stan Macbean and son Allen! A big thank you to Stan and Allen for putting together such an informative event. We learned so much. I felt like I was getting private tutoring in Adobe Premier Pro editing, advanced Photoshop skills and the art of creating aerial panoramas. And Stan and Allen not only shared their brilliant calendar idea, they brought in their designer to show us what he could do for us!
Secretary / Treasurer John Mooney, The Positive Image
We flew out to Salt Lake City in my brother’s 182. One of our best decisions was asking Todd Quam if he wanted to fly with us...he is great company and he helped make the four plus hour flight really fly! As he climbed in the plane with newspapers and magazines, he told us that he didn’t even bring his camera, “I need a break,” he said. But within 5 minutes of take off, he had his camera phone out…his photos from the flight were spectacular! (I swear…the man can take great aerials with a pin-hole camera!) While Todd was taking all those great shots, I got one of him with the panorama option in my iPhone. For those of you who don’t know, Todd has a specialty of creating aerial panoramas and it just tickled me to capture Todd IN a pano!
Eastern Regional Director Laura Boyko, Sky High Enterprises
We were unable to attend the Eastern Regional Event, but you can read about both conferences in this issue of PAPA Views.
Dee Ann Mooney, The Positive Image, Houston, TX
2012 PAPA Officers: President Chuck Boyle, Boyle Consulting Engineers
cboyle@boyleconsulting.com
Vice President of Programs Susan Hedenberg, Flying H Aerial Pictures
info@fhf1.com
Vice President of Membership Kent Larson, DC Air Photos Kent@DCAirPhotos.com
jmooney@positiveimage.com
laura@skyhighenterprises.com
International Director Jesper Larsen, Eagle Luft Photo
And by now you are either patting yourself on the back for how smart you are to have attended the regional events or you are kicking yourself for missing them, but you can begin to make plans to attend the NEXT big PAPA event…the Annual International Conference taking place March 14-16, 2013 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Susan Hedenberg, PAPA’s Vice President of programs, responsible for all the conference planning, has it well underway. You can read about the event in this issue of PAPA Views.
Immediate Past President Pat Belanger, 111th Aerial Photography Squadron
Start making plans now…Susan’s goal with this event is to make it so BIG, so jammed packed with vital information for our business and so affordable that you simply can’t afford to miss it!
Central Regional Director Sam Crimm, Distinctive Photography
samcrimm@distinctivephotography.net
Western Regional Director Stan Macbean, Photographic Solutions
stan@utahbyair.com
mail@eagleluftphoto.dk
Pat@the111th.com
Executive Director Julie Belanger, 111th Aerial Photography Squadron Julie@the111th.com
Senior Executive Director Ted Campbell, Campbell’s Creative Photography
Pat and I will be there!
President’s view The President’s View by Chuck Boyle (11-6-2012) Here we are on the eve of perhaps one of the most important Presidential Elections in our lives. No matter what your “stripes”, we are all interested in the outcome and want our voice to be heard. No matter the outcome, the pundits will still be out in full force tomorrow interpreting the outcome and also predicting what lays ahead for each of us. It is easy to become very cynical after watching the political process these past 18 months during the intense campaign season. After all, sometimes it seems that the electorate is not necessarily voting for THEIR candidate, but against their interpretation of WHAT THE OTHER GUY STANDS FOR. But we DO HAVE the freedom to vote and be heard. Let us all hope and pray that when the dust settles, we come back together as AMERICANS, roll up our sleeves, LISTEN TO EACH OTHER, and find real solutions to our many problems. I am always reminded that solutions begin at home. PAPA is no exception. This organization is comprised of people from all over the place with common values: We love freedom and the business of aerial photography is probably one of the best expressions of freedom: We have the freedom to create beautiful visuals. We have the freedom to innovate, create, and apply new processes to work. We have the freedom to make friends with free people from all over the planet, learn from them, and help them. We have the freedom to help clients and customers by delivering products and services that help them in their endeavors. We have the freedom to help each other through collaboration and professional networking. We have the freedom to let others see what we see. We have the freedom to let others know what we think. One of my favorite great aviation quotes is “High Flight” by John Gillespie Magee. John was an 18 year old American who left his homeland in June 1941 to fight for the British during the Battle of Britain; he flew Spitfires and never came home. This was before the United States even entered the war. What type of person does this? My best to each one of you and your families. Safe flying!
High Flight Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . . Up, up the long, delirious burning blue I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or ever eagle flew — And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. — John Gillespie Magee, Jr
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Member Article . . . EMERGENCY RECOVERY OF IMAGES!
by James Grumme
You just finished a 12 hour flight shooting hundreds of photos for your most important client…what to do when your images have magically disappeared from your card.
Don’t freak out, there is hope. First try copying the photos by connecting the camera directly to the computer via USB. If that doesn’t work, keep in mind that less operation on the card will increase chances of getting the photos back. Next, download a digital image recovery tool. These are programs (many are free) designed to retrieve lost images from most types of data cards. A utility called Wondershare Photo Recovery (free download) recently retrieved our files from a fellow PAPA member’s corrupt card. If this or your first choice doesn’t work, try more of these free utilities before giving up! How is image recovery possible? Even when you format your card from the camera, the photos are not deleted immediately. The images are still intact on your card, just inaccessible because the info about where formatted photos are located is now erased from the directory structure. As long as the formatted data is not overwritten and the card is not damaged, you have a good chance of retrieving your images. Is my card damaged? Corruption due to physical damage is a given, but sometimes a card just goes bad without warning. Areas of storage on the card may become damaged and any info that is written to those sectors also becomes corrupt. If this continues to happen with your card get a warranty replacement. Never turn off the camera or remove the card before it is done writing. Low or cold batteries can also cause a corrupt data on a card. Also do not format your card on the computer. Only your camera knows the specific way to format its card.
James Grumme Above All Photography, Ltd 8445 Castlewood Dr., Suite A 317.845.9898 (office) 317.694.9986 (cell) www.aboveallphoto.com
Member Article . . . Thank you, PAPA! Today is a pretty cool day for me - the 10th anniversary since I incorporated in 2002 and the day I mark as the ‘start’ of Aerialscapes. Ironically, the skies are blue and I’m not flying! There is no way I could let the day pass without thanking PAPA for the tremendous contributions it has had to my success. And by success I don’t mean any kind of tangible success but rather more of a personal success / a life success: the simple ability to shoot enough and do it well enough to retain enough clients to maintain an ongoing business and do what must be one of the most enjoyable little niche professions out there. Thanks to: PAPA Chat - and everyone who contributes - as basic as a forum it might be - has contained an immeasurable amount of priceless information over the years. The Conferences - both great fun and, like Chat, delivering information that I still use today. It’s where I learned Photoshop! The Leadership - usually a thankless role, these volunteers keep it going - thank you to everyone who has helped PAPA since 2002. The People - so many have helped over the years, on Chat, off Chat, phone calls after my Chat posts. You’ve made a difference to me. A special thanks to those I seem to go to directly over and over again - you know who you are! Seriously, when I think of any foundation or key skill or decision of my business, whether the fundamental camera / lens selection, Photoshop and other software, PC versus Mac platform, gyro / no gyro, video, marketing techniques, etc., when I think about how I came to those decisions or acquired those skills, PAPA in general or specific PAPA members were involved every time. So, on this pretty cool day - thanks! Curtis Waltz Aerialscapes Inc. Chicago, Milwaukee www.aerialscapes.com
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Member Article . . . The best $390 we’ve ever spent: The cost of two memberships in PAPA for one year . . . $390 because both Yvonne and I are members of the best business resource in our industry, PAPA. Fellow PAPA members have always risen above and gone beyond to be generous and helpful with advice. One bit of advice was to always say “yes” and then figure out how to do it. So, an ad agency calls out of the blue needing a 24 sq. mile vertical image of Cleveland. Final use was a public display for a local government agency’s PR needs. They would do the final prep and printing to 103” wide, they just needed a digital file. Could we do this? Why yes! Oh yeah, ships in the harbor, a clear day, midweek and midday. No problem! In the next two weeks? Fine! Maybe saying “yes” was not that great of advice as I thought. Here comes this year’s $390 paid off thanks to PAPA & PAPA colleagues:
PAPA Partner Logix for the strong running Epson 9600 used to “proof” the prelim 40” x 66” image. Marty Sellers and Leo Geis for suggestions to build a powerful and reasonably priced PC that never broke a sweat. Flown at 8,500’ MSL above The “hole” Yvonne shoots through the “B” airspace using a 50% x 50% overlap at 1 pixel per foot resolution equaling 160 images in RAW. One image triggered every 12 seconds by the intervalometer on our 5D Mark II with a 50mm lens set at manual focus and manual exposure. Used “Live View” feature.
We have never had any luck correcting drift by watching They found us on PAPA’s Find a the “live” image, so this time Photographer web site, thanks I pre-computed the offset The test print was only 66” wide I did to find flaws. John Mooney. using actual wind conditions reported by “big” airplanes They quickly defined the site via reading their FMS at 9,000’. Worked fine. Randy Anderson’s Site Locator, such a time saver. Roger Sherack gave us the planning basics in Steamboat Springs. Bill Hemmell’s great vertical planning app was a godsend. David Byrne for a class at one national conference about mapping and merging. Chat suggestion, over the years about various programs to merge the 160 images. Dave Witt’s long distances help learning to georeference. A skill we did not use this time, but very helpful. Again Chat, well administered by Kent Larson, to develop a vertical port we use in our 172. We opted for an inspection hole opposite a floor hole behind the pilot seat. Installed via a 337 by an AI friend and co-worker at my old job.
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Merge was done via Microsoft ICE. Touch up using CS6. Dumped all 160 images into it and hit the button. In 5 minutes had a reasonable image. Total time prep and post about 9 hours. Delivered a 1 gig file in .psd. 74” x 38” @ 240 ppi. All I can say is we have budgeted $390 for our 2013 dues….. We’re just say’n. M&Y Mark & Yvonne Sanderson Focal Plane Photography, LLC South Euclid, Ohio mark@focal-plane.com
Member News . . . Weird and Wonderful Shoots Hi Gang, Thought I’d share an interesting shoot I completed today. I was tasked with photographing approx. 800-1000 Japanese sales ladies visiting from Japan, each morning at 9:10am for 10 days in a row. A different group of 8001000 each morning. The ladies would get bussed to a Plum Orchard north of Sacramento (they sell the product in Japan) and would tour the orchard, etc. Each woman had her name on a Plum Tree and a map to direct her to her own tree. After the shoot, we’d land at a nearby airport, let the Japanese customer choose the group photo image, I’d photoshop it and hand it to them on a USB storage drive, they’d go have 1000 prints made fast enough to hand it to the ladies before they left the area. It certainly had it’s share of stress, mostly just getting to the airport during rush hour, hoping there wasn’t an accident on the freeway that would hold me up. We had a flag system in place on the ground to let me know when they were ready to shoot, although it was pretty easy to tell from the air. Once they gave me the go ahead flag, I’d circle 3 times and head back to the meetup airport. I’d also text a contact on the ground things like my ETA, how I thought the crowd looked on the ground, etc. Interesting thing about this customer. The shot they wanted replicated each day showed more orchard than people. There wasn’t anyway to make out who was who, so I thought why repeat the shot 10 days in a row? I also said a boom truck might work better to show the people. They weren’t interested in people being able to recognize faces, it was more about the product (prunes) and the drama of the plane coming down low (500 ft) on the crowd as the women had never done anything like that before. This job never ceases to amaze me what people want. Good fun.
Todd Quam Digital Sky Aerial Imaging Elk Grove, CA Custom Photography: www.digitalsky.us Stock Photography: www.aerialpanoramic.com
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Member Article . . . Working with the Media 101
A guide to show how to work with the Television & Newspapers to gain exposure! by Troy Morgan, Photos From The Air, Anna Maria, FL Over the past six years, I have submitted several aerial photographs to a newspaper and a TV news outlet with success. In this article, I would like to provide you with a guide on how I went about working with the media, what I have learned and how I understand the process works.
Getting Started – Before contacting the media Get to the know the news stories in your market(s). Focus on current stories or stories that are likely be featured in the near future. Also, a unique story that the media is not featuring is useful. The unique story should be current and of interest to a large general audience. Find or take the aerial photos that are relevant, watermark the photos and prepare to send them by e-mail. Carefully research your local news outlets (i.e. ethics, ratings, features, people etc...) Pick one newspaper and one TV outlet to contact. For newspaper, I would contact the local reporter, publisher & office manager or news desk. For television, I would contact the local weekday & weekend reporter, the assignment desk & news director. I have reached out further (i.e. weather, traffic, web anchor etc...). Most of this information is available on the news outlet’s website or by calling the outlet. Things to know and be careful of - Before contacting the media Anything you send to the media, can/will be used. If involved, make certain your client(s) is OK with all of this. Ensure, that there are no other conflicting factors. Understand, each media outlets policies. Especially, if they do or do not pay for photo usage. If the outlet does not pay, they are required to provide a business name credit on each and every use. Be very clear on what you want the credit to say! Be mindful of conflicts of interests. It is very easy to tick off “higher ups” at a media outlet, if a competing outlet also has access to your photos. There are a lot politics, when dealing with the media. Remember, it is just business! If the news outlet does call you about another story (and they might); it is only your decision to work on the story or not. When submitting photos, make sure the newspaper gets the highest resolution possible. Make sure, the TV photos have an aspect ratio of 16:9 not 4:3. This affects HD TVs. Contacting the media - First time After you select which outlet(s) to contact; send out a carefully composed e-mail with the watermarked images. Keep the e-mail short! Mention that you are a local business owner, what your services are, how often & where you fly, your contact info, what & why you are sending the images, and your terms of usage. Remember to attach only the photos you want the media to see. Follow up, as needed. Hint: Most of my broadcasted photos were shot the same day that they were aired. Many within a few hours! Pitching a Story to TV – Start to Finish *Most of this also applies to the newspaper.* A “pitch” is the term used by the media about a story idea submitted. If you pitch a story; send an e-mail to the reporter that the pitch is most likely to apply to. E-mailing two or more reporters is ok. Make sure, to put in the subject line, Story Pitch. (i.e. Subject: Story Pitch – Beach Erosion). If the reporter(s) likes the story, it will be sent to the assignment desk for consideration. For photos only, just send them to the assignment desk ASAP with a catching subject. The assignment desk is composed of editors that coordinate everything that goes on the news. They
Working with the Media (cont.)
FOR SALE: EPSON 7800
will provide the yes or no, not the reporter. This Epson 7800 printer has Typically, you only will be been trouble-free since I contacted; if there is a bought it new. question or the news outlet It has printed on less than 3 wants to move forward. rolls of paper. All installed inks If the story moves forward, are half full or better. the news outlet will almost The unused 220 ml. spare always want the story inks are Light Cyan and Photo done within 12 to 24 Black. The Maintenance tank is new. hours. Usually, the reporter The stand which came with the printer has never been used. It is still in will know at the very the package. beginning of their shift. Reason for selling: moving to smaller office. Almost always, a reporter (I believe 24” x 36” high quality prints have been my is required to complete the most effective sales tools). same day. Asking $1,250 or best offer. If the news outlet wants Shipping from 92592 not included. to interview you, it is only your decision! Bob Milligan 951-693-1978 Typically, a reporter, and Eagle’s View Aerial Photography maybe a photographer, will come out to you. On rare occasion, they may ask for you to come to the station. The interview lasts 10 – 20 minutes. I strongly suggest having everything ready, especially photos (to spec), any relevant documents and possible additional people to be interviewed. From what I see, the two toughest parts of the story are; the lack of time to film the story and the lack of time to edit the story. These days, many reporters are solo. Meaning, they do every single part of the job themselves (filming, script writing, editing, etc...). The story may air, the same day. Other stories are intentionally delayed for days. The assignment desk will make the decision. Many times, a reporter will be told to expect to have the package (final product) ready in a few days. Only to receive a phone call to have the package done ASAP. Scheduling always changes! Also, the story may air on TV but not on the news outlet’s website. Obtaining the story and having the rights to share it varies by media outlet. Some outlets are nicer than others. My Results Overall, this has been a good experience. I have had several aerial photos featured on front covers, top TV news stories and special features along with my business name displayed. Since July of this year, the TV outlet has featured me three times on air about my business. One feature was about Google Ad words and a recent settlement. Another was about my Aerial Wedding service. Most recently was how I have been documenting erosion impact on local shorelines. I have received customer inquiries. One inquiry was for an aerial wedding that I recently completed on the island that I live on, near sunset! Bottom Line It does not cost you any money to put your best foot forward to try to gain mass media exposure. In this regard, it never hurts to hear “I saw your business on the news”. Because of my exposure, I almost never spend money on advertising. Any questions or comments, please feel welcome to e-mail me at PhotosFromTheAir@Gmail.com
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Member Article . . .
Shooting the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii By Brian Powers
I live just above Kailua Bay in Kona Hawaii where the Ironman Triathlon World Championship race is held each year. The race begins with a 2.4 mile ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride and finishes with a 26.2 mile marathon run! I had been waiting for a clear vogless* day to shoot three properties in South Kona and it turned out the winds changed the day before the race resulting in clear skies and I would be able to fly my trip on that day. I decided to get up early, take off before sunrise and see if I could get any decent shots of the big swim start. I arrived over the bay five minutes before the race was to start and just as the sun was about to crest over Mount Hualalai. I began a pattern which would take me just inshore of the races start position and allow me to shoot with the sun at my back. After a couple of cycles capturing the swimmers getting into position on the starting line, I began a bank into the best position and the race began! I got lucky and managed to be in just the right place at the right time. I didn’t take these photos with any intention of selling them, just something I felt like doing. There has been a great response from many people once the photos became public, so there may be some money to put in the beer fund in the future because of this flight. Shot with: Nikon D800, 80-200mm 2.8 Brian Powers Hawaiian Images Kailua Kona, Hawaii hawaiianimages@me.com
* What is Vog? The volcano has been spewing sulfur dioxide smoke into our skies for four years now. It creates a thick haze that depending on the winds covers different sides of the islands and it looks like a stage 4 smog alert in the LA basin. So when our trade winds die off it’s very tough to find clear skies to shoot aerials from. So a vogless sky is a clear sky.
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An Ironman Triathlon is a long-distance race consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. The name Ironman Triathlon refers to both the original Ironman triathlon and the annual Ironman World Championship, also called Ironman Hawaii, the world championships of the event, held annually in Hawaii since 1978. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon)
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Cover Competition . . . For this issue of PAPA Views, the cover shot theme was: REAL ESTATE
Cover Contest Print Critique By Allen Macbean, PAPA’s Image Competition Chairman “London’s Giant Pickle – The Gherkin” Wow! What a unique perspective on a unique building! I liked the way the title played on the architectural design, it really does look like a pickle. The impact was high, very striking when you first look at it. It breaks most of the rules of composition by placing the center of interest right it the center, but it breaks the rules successfully. The lines of the buildings surround The Gherkin serve to draw your eyes to the middle, and the lights at the base pull your view there immediately, then you follow it’s shape up the building. Technically, this image is very strong. Whether it was shot at dusk or dawn I can’t tell, but either way the exposure was tricky and the image focus is sharp. What a great image! “Apartment Life” When I first saw the thumbnail of this image, I had no idea what it was, but I could tell it was made up of hundreds of little squares. Then when I opened it up to see the full view, I couldn’t stop looking at each individual apartment to see what was in there. After all was done, I spent more time looking at this picture than any of the others! Compositionally I’m not sure what to say about it – it’s perfectly square and there is no real center of interest, but for this image it works. There is something about the repeating squares with each being different in content that makes it almost mesmerizing. I might have added a little more saturation, but overall it’s a great photograph. “Sky Building” I love the reflections of the sky and city in the mirrored windows of the building. The clouds are perfect, and the blue sky between the clouds in the reflections and the different colored glass near the top of the building creates a great center of interest. The composition is good, although I might have straightened out the buildings a bit and brightened up the image overall. It’s very sharp on focus and cool shot, too!
Winner:
“London’s Giant Pickle, The Gherkin” by Cameron Davidson The Gherkin is a noted London landmark that was included on my shoot list for a project involving dusk and nighttime aerials of London for Olympics related advertising. I used my trusty Nikon D4 with the new (and fantastic) 35mm f/1.4 Nikkor at 1/500th of a second at f/1.8. Underneath the camera, a Kenyon KS-8 spun its magical steadying influence along with the smooth flight provided by my London based pilot and his Eurocopter AS355 Ecureuil 2. (Twin-Star in the USA) File was processed in Capture One (my favorite workflow and RAW converter). No major problems in the shoot other than waiting weeks and weeks for the weather to clear and paying change fees to the airlines. It had rained for six solid weeks and the weekend that I shot in early May was the first clear days that London had seen in quite a while. I guess I was lucky, because the WX was severe clear. Nikon D4, 1/500th, ISO 12,800, 35mm F/1.4G Nikkor at f/1.8, Kenyon KS-8 Gyroscope, EuroCopter AS 355 Twinstar Helicopter Cameron Davidson Alexandria, Virginia cameron@camerondavidson.com http://www.camerondavidson.com
. . . Cover Competition First runner-up:
“Apartment Life” by Dave White This is a picture of Beetham Tower, a skyscraper in Salford, Manchester. I took this shot, and cropped it accordingly, to concentrate the viewer on looking at the apartment balconies as they give an insight into the lives of the people living there. The inquisitive nature of the viewer then makes them explore the image, and holds their interest in it. It was taken from a Cessna 172 @ 1,000ft AGL using a Canon 1D MarkIII with a 70-200mm f2.8L IS lens at 200mm. There was so much reflection from the glass of the building it had to be taken at an angle, to minimize this, and then the perspective altered, and straightened in Photoshop to give the desired effect. Dave White Bagshot, Surrey, England Heliview heliview@aol.com www.DaveWhite.co
“Sky Building” by Tyler Golden I stumbled into Aerial Photography in the beginning of my career. I was working on a TV show when I met a talented Director of Photography,Tom Magill, who had just recently gotten his helicopter license. We teamed up and from the start began capturing artistic aerial images. In fact, Sky Building was shot on our first helicopter flight together in Los Angeles. I continue to do aerial work while also doing Unit Photography and Tom, having started his own company, Skidmarks Aviation, continues to fly. I love the horizon line and the clouds that seem to pop out of the Sky Building. I used Photoshop to take out the name of the building (Deloitte and Touche), so there is more focus on the beauty of the reflection I captured. There is nothing like the unique perspectives you can capture from above. Digital Rebel XT with a 10-22mm lens @ 12mm focal length. Shutter 1/1000 sec at f/5.6 ISO 200. Tyler Golden Venice, California goldenorange@gmail.com www.tylergolden.com
For the next issue, the cover shot theme will be
“Aerial Panoramics” It’s time to try something different for the cover on PAPA Views - Panoramics! The next cover will be printed landscape to accommodate the images, unless, of course, the winner is a portrait panoramic. If you’ve never tried a panoramic, this is the perfect time. They are a lot of fun to shoot, and at the Western Regional conference we learned from Todd Quam that his customers love them. So, get out there are start shooting! The subject can be anything you want, just as long as the image is a panoramic. It doesn’t have to be a multi-shot, stitched image (you can just crop a standard, single image), but why not give it a try? If you’ve done them in the past, this is the perfect time to show off your work, if you’ve never done one, this is the perfect time to try. You’ll be amazed at how many subjects lend themselves to the panoramic composition. If you have any questions on how to shoot or edit, just send me an email. Good luck! As you shoot, keep in mind that the images will be judged using the same criteria used at the convention for the image competition. These criteria are Impact, Composition and Technical Merit. Make it stand out!
Ok, a few guidelines and rules. •
The photograph does not have to be in your area.
•
Each photographer is limited to two (2) image entries for this contest.
•
Do not put any logos or text on the image that would identify you as the photographer, we need the photographs to be judged as anonymously as possible.
•
Please submit a TITLE for each image, and use that title as the file name. For example, if the image I submitted was titled “Wide Walruses on Whitby”, I would then submit the file with the following file name: “wide walruses on whitby.jpg”. The Title is very important in the Impact criteria of the judging process. I cannot stress this enough. In the past some images have suffered in the judging process because they lacked a title.
•
Please include in your email a brief description of each image, including the subject, camera settings and any unique features or techniques used.
•
All images must be in .jpg format with the longest side of the image being no less than 1000 pixels and no longer than 2000 pixels.
•
Send the images to: allen@utahbyair.com.
•
If one of your images is selected for the cover, I will contact you for a high-resolution file.
If you have any questions, please let me know! Allen Macbean allen@utahbyair.com
Member News . . . Earthscapes Forever Stamps Now Available The United States Postal Service Forever Stamps Earthscapes featuring the beautiful aerial images of PAPA members Jim Wark, Pueblo, Colorado and Cameron Davidson of Alexandria, Virginia are now available on line at USPS.com. In celebration of the beauty and diversity of America’s landscape the U.S. Postal Service created a series of forever stamps featuring aerial views entitled Earthscapes. Jim Wark, owner of AirPhotoNA has five of his images selected for this series: Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park Stagecoach Butte in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in southeastern Utah Commercial barges near Houston Ship Channel in Texas Skyscraper apartments in New York City A railroad roundhouse in Scranton, Pennsylvania “We went through a big selection process,” said Jim. I mean they’d decide on one, two, three, four or five and then change their minds after they looked at it and blew it up.” PAPA member, Cameron Davidson, had one of his aerial photographs selected for the series: Inland marsh in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore “This image for the stamp was shot as part of the 20 year labor-of-love aerial project where I shot the complete Chesapeake Bay Watershed from Cooperstown, New York to the Mouth of the bay at Virginia Beach,” said Cameron.
2013 Annual Conference . . . PAPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE PLANS IN PLACE By Susan Hedenberg, PAPA’s Vice President of Programs The 2013 PAPA Annual International Conference will take place March 14 - 16, 2013 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The theme of the conference is “How To Make More Money In Aerial Photography And Keep More Of What You Make.” The conference will be held at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capital Center in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Originally called the Heidelberg Hotel, built in 1927, the Hilton Corporation recently spent over $70 million in renovations to restore it to its former state of grandeur. The hotel that was once home to Huey Long is Baton Rouge’s only historic and 4 Diamond hotel standing at the forefront of downtown and the Mississippi River. It’s a BEAUTIFUL hotel with top-notch amenities. For the very low price of $129 per night (plus tax), you’ll have a luxury room, 24-hour room service, free wireless and DSL Internet access, Business Center access, Hilton PreCor Fitness Center Access, Pool, and more. There is a Sundries/Gift Shop, Coffee Shop (Starbucks), Lobby Lounge, and upscale Restaurant in the hotel. You will receive this great rate for pre or post conference dates too. Baton Rouge is very clean, safe and has a very family friendly vibe to it. The hotel is on the Mississippi River and also has a lot of history and great views of the city and surrounding areas. Our PAPA Conference Fees are based on our actual expense costs. I’m trying to keep all those costs down and include as many nocost venues as possible. I’m aiming to make this year’s Conference so affordable and the Sessions so valuable that YOU CAN NOT
AFFORD TO MISS IT! This year, why not make your Conference attendance a family affair? March is usually Spring Break month. I’ve set up two days worth of tours, activities and outings for Wednesday and Thursday like Turtle & Alligator Farm tours, Swamp tours, Plantation tours and more. On Thursday we’ll have a special walking tour of downtown by the Cajun Fiddler & Folklorist Ann Vidrine, who will walk you around while playing her fiddle and tell you about local folklore, Sarah Morgan the ghost of the Old State Capitol, the political escapades during the ‘Huey Long Era’ in downtown Baton Rouge, and a whole lot more. If you want to explore on your own, all within walking distance of the hotel and free or very low cost, are The Baton Rouge River Center that includes an Arena, Exhibition Hall and Theater of Performing Arts, The Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, L’Auberge Casino, The Old Capitol Building, The Louisiana Arts & Science Museum (including the Pennington Planetarium, Space Theater & more), The USS Kidd & Veterans Memorial, The Shaw Center for the Arts and lots of local bars and entertainment establishments. There is even a Cooking School right in the hotel! I’ve arranged for PAPA members to have free transportation to and from Baton Rouge Airport (served by United, Delta, American, US Airways). If you are planning to wing it in your own aircraft, I’ve negotiated discounted fuel prices and free tie-down parking at Louisiana Aircraft at Baton Rouge Airport. For those who may want to fly into New
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. . . 2013 Annual Conference
Orleans (flights are cheaper but transportation costs to the Conference are a lot higher), I’m negotiating discounted hotel rates and ground transportation options for you too. You may want to extend your stay in Louisiana and play in The Big Easy for a day or two while you’re in the neighborhood. While in Baton Rouge, there are so many nocost or very low cost attractions, restaurants, bars and clubs within walking distance of the hotel that there will be no need for rental cars for attendees. However, I’ve arranged free Town Car Service for you anywhere you want to go within 5 miles. The Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau is providing ‘SWAG Bags’ for PAPA attendees filled with all kinds of local goodies and give a-ways. They have an ‘arrangement’ with United Airlines for special rates and perks that PAPA Members can take advantage of. For this Conference, I’m focusing on providing members a “taste” of true Louisiana Culture and customs. On Thursday evening we’ll have Registration and a Welcome Reception poolside on the banks of the Great Mississippi River. We’ll have live Cajun (Zydeco) music, typical Cajun hours d oeuvres (like Boudin sausage, alligator bites and crawfish) and demonstrations of Crawfish ‘head sucking’ and other local customs. Saturday morning, the Conference will begin with very interesting sessions (to be announced soon) such as Financial Control & Reporting, Small Business Accounting,
Marketing Management, Technology & Operations Management, Entrepreneurship and Business Strategy as it applies to Small Business and Aerial Photography. We’ll have a special optional Friday night dinner at a fabulous Cajun Restaurant including live music, local dancers and dancing and a rip-roaring good time! We will have the PAPA Business Meeting first thing Saturday morning and the PAPA Awards Banquet Saturday evening. This years Awards Banquet will be like none before it, I promise! So, there you go! My plan is to offer a variety of pre-conference activities so you can come early, bring the family and have a nice spring vacation/spring break business trip. The memories and useful information you’ll gain at this Conference promise to be so valuable that you simply cannot afford not to attend! Mark your calendar NOW! I’ll have an interactive web page up shortly for you to make your reservations and plan your itinerary all in one place. Look for more information in the next PAPA Views and on PAPAChat regarding the Conference Sessions and any ‘Breaking News’ that comes up. If you have any questions, please contact me at susan@fhf1.com or call the office 540-7370051 or my cell 540-424-4430. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler! (Let the Good Times Roll) “AIEEE!”
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PAPA’s 2012 Western Regional Conference By Stan Macbean, Event host and PAPA Western Regional Director Friday October 19th was a spectacular day along Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, just the perfect setting for the arrival of N71298. The shiny blue 182, carrying Pat and Julie Belanger and Todd Quam, squeaked down on runway three zero of our local GA airport at about 2 pm. After retrieving the luggage and tying down the plane, we were off to our studio for some informal chat as we waited for the arrival of our other guests. Don Eichelberger, David Wyatt, and Leo Geis arrived in time for a pleasant meal and conversation at a local restaurant. Our Saturday activities began with an interesting presentation by Leo on the latest updates from Adobe, along with a great discussion on thermal imaging as a way to enhance our aerial photography capabilities. Todd Quam inspired us all with his famous aerial panoramic photography, and gave us pointers on how to create and market our own. Allen then settled in on a discussion of preparing images for competition, with an emphasis on advanced Photoshop techniques to enhance those images. Allen and I have been working on our yearly calendar project for three years now, and it is starting to be a good late fall project for us. So, we invited our graphic designer, who helps us put the calendars together, to come in and talk about calendar creation. This sparked a pretty good discussion, and I think we may have some more PAPA calendars showing up in the next few years. We ended up with a demonstration by Allen on using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit aerial video, and then went through a few of our back country flying videos. We also talked about how we worked our way into the “Hooked on Utah” local adventure TV show, with some of our back country flying and scenic photography. All in all it was a great weekend. I believe everyone enjoyed being together and sharing our excitement of aerial photography. Nothing goes together better than friends, food, and photography!
PAPA’s 2012 Eastern Regional Conference By Laura Boyko, Event host and PAPA Eastern Regional Director I want to thank everyone for coming to the Eastern Conference Oct. 27, 2012 in Warwick Rhode Island. The information shared was fantastic! I know - I learned that I can use my iPad for work instead of play, thanks to John Mooney’s ForeFlight and Jacqueline Lusigan’s presentations. Having TRICOM at the hotel was wonderful. Because of Don Pillsbury’s talk on getting a wavier for a TFR, I now am not gun shy about going for one. Lightroom is looking easier thanks to Pat Kelly and what a session we had with Steve Boyko. :) Remember, horizons are important! If you were not able to make this conference, please contact your local SCORE chapter and talk to them! Steve Gareau introduced us to SCORE and what they can offer, and then Chris Sheely from SCORE, talked about Web Changes and Image Optimization we can do to our website ourselves! The members were sorry when his time was up, maybe we will have him back again. The wives had fun checking out Providence, RI during the meeting and Saturday night after the conference was over, we dined at the Crow”s Nest Restaurant. Everyone truly enjoy themselves. I want to especially thank Dee Ann Mooney for the lovely program she made for me. It was 1st class! Thank you all for making this a terrific conference and showing once again...
It pays to be in PAPA!!!
PAPA International Announces Our 2013 International Conference
“How To Make Money In The Aerial Photography Business And How To Keep More Of What You Make.�
Hilton Capitol Center Hotel March 14 - 16, 2013 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/louisiana/hilton-baton-rouge-capitol-center-BTRCPHF/index.html
Come on down for de fais do do and experience the Joie de Vivre of true Louisiana Cajun fare & customs Mississippi River, Cajun Food, Zydeco Music Laissez les bon temps rouler! Susan Hedenberg Vice Pres. of National Programs Phone 540.737.0051 Cell 540.424.4430
Photographs by Charles Breard