P-51 Mustang #5

Given that I am now back on US soil once again and replete with access to a (mostly) working PC, combined with broadband that doesn't cost 15 quid a day ... yes, I'm talking about you the Sofitel Hotel at Terminal 5, LHR ... then here's one more shot from the Mustang adventure. I like this one as it evokes a "late-afternoon, mission accomplished, returning to base" kind of feel.

As you may have noticed, I've been posting more black and white shots to my Flickr account to accompany the past few entries. I recently got a copy of George DeWolf's book on black and white processing and printing and so have been trying to put to work some of what's covered in there. Quick form review? Finally, a photographic book that manages to merge together both the artistic with the practical, and from which you can really learn. It does a really good job of starting from scratch, using the science of perception to explain how the brain assembles a view of the world that combines luminance and reflectance, hence pointing the way forward to creating images that really resonate with the viewer. From there, the author walks you through a workflow aimed at unlocking the optimal B&W image from the raw (RAW?) data provided by the image sensor that actually doesn't take into account at all how we see the world around us. George uses both Lightroom and Photoshop in his approach, and via those tools really digs into exactly what it is about a classic, full tone B&W print that gives it the punch and impact that you can see from a mile-off but which I for one have always struggled to systematically produce. Highly recommended.

Oh, and of course the picture above is in colour!

P-51 Mustang #4

The B-24 was loaded with 5 bombs and was going to be starting its run at around 3,000 feet each time. The Twin Beech was stationed to port of the Liberator and we, in the P-51, were to starboard. As soon as turned onto approach for the drop zone I quickly realised that this was to give the camera plane the luxury of having the sun behind them, shining onto the Mustang and the Liberator and giving the perfect lighting set up. Alas, that meant I was shooting into the sun, hence the need to process the above somewhat to bring back some detail!

Adding in a few practice runs, combined with three single-bomb missions plus one double, we must have spent close to an hour running this segment of the flight, sometimes flying just above or below the flight level held by the B-24 but basically staying in formation.

Accuracy? They were doing pretty well on the north/south line-up, according to the spotters on the ground and in the air at least, but continually striking the ground some 200 to 300 yards to the right of the target. Still, that's not bad for bomb sight technology that's over 60 years old.

All too soon it was time to head back, land, and allow the ground crew to prep the planes for the second mission of the day, one that was now destined to be more like a night raid than a day time one given that it was 6:30 pm already.

All-in-all, a fun day and one I will remember for life. My only disappointment was that at no time do we really push the P-51 to do anything other than fly somewhat meekly around, sticking in the shadow of the B-24. This was a bit like getting a ride in a Ferrari 288 GTO and finding that the driver was limited to doing no more than 50 mph and using only 3,000 rpm. Understandable, but a shame nonetheless.