Forum: General

Maybe pic is actually a still-frame from the tape that the Thunderbirds ground crew were filming at the airshow. Airshow teams always film thier performances adn sometimes they even use more than one camera man. Just a thought as to where it might come from.

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Those ground crew films are almost always shot from the ground, not the control tower. They strive for a common vantage point so they can compare the video of the performance with other performance videos.

Well, if not that, maybe someone in the tower just wanted a souvenir from the air show. You never know, but in order for someone to have taken a pic of that, they would have to be very lucky or very good.

It is not uncommon to have photographers in the tower during an airshow. Ask me how I know... Smile

Regarding that amazing ejection photo being discussed:
There has been speculation over its source (tape still frame vs. camera; type of photographer).

The hidden data tag on this photo indicates that it was taken with a Nikon D1X. This is a 5.47 megapixel digital camera with a list price of US$5,500. Needless to say, the photographer was almost certainly a professional.

....or rich. Wink

Newbie Joined: Jan 07, 2004 - 04:35 AM Posts: 18

falcon-watcher wrote:

Regarding that amazing ejection photo being discussed:
There has been speculation over its source (tape still frame vs. camera; type of photographer).

The hidden data tag on this photo indicates that it was taken with a Nikon D1X. This is a 5.47 megapixel digital camera with a list price of US$5,500. Needless to say, the photographer was almost certainly a professional.

I agree with falcon-watcher. I have what I believe to be the original photo and it is indeed from a Nikon D1X, very high end camera. The file I have is 2.7 MB and excellent detail. It definitely came from a still camera. Great shot.

Jetech

I first heard of this photo back in December from a contact at Goodrich. They had a print of it they had received from the Air Force, but it was restricted (and probably still is) so they couldn't send me a copy. They were going to try to get it released so that they could use it in ad campaigns I believe. They told me it was taken by a still photographer on the tower, but that could have been what they were told or what the person who gave it to them believed. In any case as far as I am concerned it appears to be a still from a digital camera taken from the tower as there is no other place where the angle matches in both azimuth and elevation.

I don't know the D1X at all, but many digital cameras have a delay of up to 1 second after the shutter is depressed before the camera fires. If that is the case, the photographer may have taken the shot before the pilot initiated ejection. In any case the photo is probably no more than 0.6 seconds after the handle was pulled. (Some 0.4 for the canopy and 0.2 for after the seat to topped the rails and started the sequencer as the parachute is mortaring off. This occurs 0.20 seconds after sequencer start in Mode 1.) Typical human reaction time is about 0.3-0.4 second so the photographer had a bit of skill and luck in getting this fantastic shot. I wish I knew his name so I could thank him.

Kevin
The Ejection Site

kmceject wrote:

I don't know the D1X at all, but many digital cameras have a delay of up to 1 second after the shutter is depressed before the camera fires. If that is the case, the photographer may have taken the shot before the pilot initiated ejection. In any case the photo is probably no more than 0.6 seconds after the handle was pulled. (Some 0.4 for the canopy and 0.2 for after the seat to topped the rails and started the sequencer as the parachute is mortaring off. This occurs 0.20 seconds after sequencer start in Mode 1.) Typical human reaction time is about 0.3-0.4 second so the photographer had a bit of skill and luck in getting this fantastic shot. I wish I knew his name so I could thank him.

Kevin
The Ejection Site

He certainly was lucky but he also was backed up by the best professional digital camera out there. If he was following the plane as it approached and kept it in focus, all he had to do was shoot away to get this image. The D1X has two resolution modes: high and medium (2.7MB). This picture appears to be taken at the latter. In this mode, you can take 9 continuous pics at 3 frames/second. The initial shutter lag time is an amazing 0.05 seconds.

I guess it's all about being in the right place at the right time with the right equipment.

That's what photography is all about, skill and luck. F-8 and be there man. . .

Quote:

In this mode, you can take 9 continuous pics at 3 frames/second.

I have been wondering if this shot was one in a sequence... if so it would be interesting to see the others.

This quote was in the accident report.

"The entire sequence was captured on video by a camera in the tower. The videotape shows the MP walking around for a few seconds after landing and then sitting down on the ground. Within minutes, an ambulance located the MP and administered first aid."

Seams pretty clear where this pic came from.

Blackviper:
So, how much ground-rush is okay to stay with the jet??

pink body vs $30 million dollar jet... You tell MY wife which one she's happier about being around...

Cylon
(and she pays taxes too)

Lets see;

Aircraft is descending at around 8400 fpm, and impacts the ground 8/10's of a second after ejecting.

Did he make the right call ? Hmmmmmmmmmm

Just glad to be here !!

I have noticed all over the internet the shot I had taken of the Thunderbird crash at Mountain Home AFB, ID and though I am not at liberty to share the photo; it is out there. I would like to end some speculation and let you know the photo is real.

I'm a Still Photographer for the USAF and I was stationed at MHAFB during the air show. I was on the catwalk of the tower at Mtn Home along with another photog (video) and about seven other (military) spectators. I have shot the T-birds from the tower before and I was pretty excited to do it again (the sky was perfect blue). I followed Thunderbird 6 from takeoff and watched as he pulled into his maneuver. I then noticed something seemed to be wrong, his direction was a little off; he was pulling out and heading right towards the tower. At this point I figured two things: 1. He's either going to fly past this tower and we'll feel the heat or 2. This is going to be ugly... I waited for the aircraft to level and clicked the shutter, what I saw through the lens will never go away...

At the same time as I shot I seen a flash of light and horrific sound. I was shooting on high speed continuous and the next couple frames were a ball of fire and my feet, right before I ran. We all ran to the other side of the tower, I tried to get everyone in along with my partner and finally made it in myself. By the time we got inside the 16 had stopped sliding and rested about 100 ft in front of the tower. I then continued documenting the work of our base firefighters as they put out the flames. It was an experience and though I can't officially make any comments to the matter, I would like to say Capt Stricklin saved lives... enough said.

For those who are wondering the image is not cleared for public release.
Also for those fellow photogs I was shooting with a D1x with a 300mm, 2.8 @ 1000 and 2000

Thanks,
SSgt Bennie J. Davis III
Still Photographer, USAF

Forum: General

Thunderbird crash photo (head-on)