Blog

Finally making headway again and Vol. 1 is back for another edit, along with my preferred photo for the cover.  I still want to call the book “Survivors”, because that’s what I see the aircraft as, but I doubt it will be.

Back on the camera hardware front and despite my ramblings about lens availability and weight etc, booking a holiday led to another purchase, the Nikon Z fc  and now I’m utterly torn!  I’m still right on two counts, lack of lenses for Nikon’s Z series, especially affordable used models, but principally ones for their cameras with APS-C sized sensors (aka DX in Nikon speak) and on weight; both camera body and lens. Where weight is concerned, having a full frame sensor means lenses to make the most of it,  hence the Z5 and it’s better than standard  kit zoom lens come in at 1.26Kg, which gets a tad heavy if you’re lugging it around all day, especially in sunny climes.  The APS-C body and its kit lens which admittedly isn’t a patch on the Z5’s, weighs in at a rather more svelte  715g and the Lumix and even more pocket friendly 615g.

Where lenses are concerned, there’s maths involved to work out what the “real” size is , as opposed to what it says on the box or the lens barrel for that matter.  For the uninitiated, digital camera sensor sizes relate back to the days of analog film.  What’s now referred to as “Full-Frame” relates to a single frame of 35mm film, which is 36mm x 24mm in size and this is the same size as the digital sensor.  For APS-C sensors this harks back to the final throw of the analog dice,  the cartridge based APS format, which allowed you to do panoramic and high definition shots at the touch of a button, but was smaller than 35mm.  Trouble is, it gets more complicated than maybe it should and we get into the realms of crop factors.

On a lens for a full frame sensor, what you see is what you get, so a 50mm lens is just that.  With APS-C, for Nikon and most other manufacturers, that same 50mm becomes the equivalent of 1.5x what it says, so in terms of field of view,  its the equivalent of a 75mm lens on a full frame camera (its 1.6x for Canon). The micro 4/3 sensor in the Lumix and my old Olympus E-M5 use a 2x crop factor, so the 50mm becomes 100mm.  Relating everything back to full frame is used to give everything a common reference point, but when you’re looking for a wide angle lens to do landscapes say, the 7-14mm lens for my Lumix actually shoots like a 14-28mm for the Z5 (there’s a 14-30 and it’s £1300 new! It’s also 485g, as opposed to £400 used and 365g, but that’s a lot of glass for m4/3))

Excuse my diagram, but as you can see, if the lens was set to focus on a full frame sensor,  the smaller sensors only get part the image, hence the crop factor.

So why am I torn over which camera?  Where image sensors are concerned, size really is everything.  The larger the sensor, the more photo receptors you can fit and the larger these receptors can be, which increases how much light they can collect, photography is all about collecting light.  I know full well that the Z5 will produce fabulous images, but it’s B heavy after a while, it’s also bulky and it goes in hand luggage, not checked baggage,  along with all the other “toys” like an iPad and a charger,  whatever extra lens I’ve brought, a Kindle,  headphones,  maybe a magazine from Smiths in the departure lounge, etc, etc.   The clever, mainly plastic, collapsing kit lenses on both the Z fc and the Lumix make both much lighter than the one on the Z5.  even if I take another lens with either of these, it will still be less weight then the Z5 and a single lens.

The Z fc is also gorgeous, its a retro 35mm style body and to someone who’s used to old school 35mm, its a joy to use, whilst its APS-C sensor should be more capable than the m4/3 of the Lumix.  But we’re back to the lens issue, or rather lack of them.  Nikon were late to the mirrorless party and they’ve also been increasingly reluctant to allow third party manufacturers to have access to the specs for the Z mount.  Consequently, unlike Sony and Fuji, there’s only a few offerings from the likes of Tamron and Sigma started to appear, while the native Nikon lens production has centred on full-frame FX series lenses.  Admitted, you can use FX lenses on DX bodies,  but then we’re back to cost and weight again!

So I’m now hoping for good, if only dry, weather next week when I’ve a week off and intend to do some shutter therapy to see just what to do with three expensive bits of kit.  One will be going and I’m not convinced I know which one yet, even the Z5!

Three months since my last post, three months of basically silence from the publishers after resolving the image rights problems.  An edited version of Volume 1 has gone off for another run past them, along with the first complete draft of Volume 2 and both sets of captions.  I’m now in limbo until I get a reply.  Considering I’ve already seen off two commissioning editors, I won’t hold my breath.

After lugging round the very nice but ultimately slightly heavy full-frame Nikon and one additional lens (as in, the only other lens I’ve got) on holiday,  I started looking at going back to travelling a little lighter.  The beauty of my old Olympus E-M5 was the size and the weight or rather the lack of it, even with the slightly hefty 12-40 Pro lens attached.   I looked at a few options, including the Nikon Z5’s little brother the Z Fc, Sony’s well respected A6000 series and even the retro design Fuji X’s, all available at reasonable prices used.

Trouble is ,  much as I love the 35mm camera style Z Fc, it suffers from the same problem as the rest of the Z series;  limited lens availability, especially used and their cost.  There’s also fewer dedicated lenses for the small APS-C sensor Nikon’s, so you’re back to using full frame lenses and that means full frame size and weight.  One down.  The Sony may have the best autofocus system, but I’m not keen on the ergonomics, on top of which the full frame A7II is now readily available used at similar prices to the newer A6000 series, let alone lower prices than a used Z Fc, but we’re back to  full frame lens weights, sizes and costs.  Two down.  The Fuji’s were eliminated for pretty much the same reasons as the A7II.  Three down!

Consequently, I’m back full circle to Micro Four Thirds.  There’s plenty of good used stock of both bodies and lenses, the system is a known quantity to me and if you pick the right model, it doesn’t scream “expensive camera, steal me!”.  So after further eBay shenanigans, I now have a fairly anonymous looking boxy black camera for half the price of the Olympus Pen F I’d really like, but with the same sensor, plus a really small travel zoom and a pair of equally petite fast prime lenses, for little  more than a Z Fc plus the basic standard zoom lens.

What have I bought?   A Panasonic Lumix GX9.    All I need now is a bit of travel, preferably somewhere where it’s not perpetual rain like the UK….

 

Work has finally recommenced on the book and other than getting my last lot of amendments and editing signed off, as well as the photo captions, the only thing really holding Volume 1 back are image rights, which I’ll come back to.

Family affairs threw a huge roadblock in the way of progress for a few months, both in spare time, as well as emotionally and sadly my mum won’t get see me in print; she would, I expect, have been proud, even if it didn’t sell a single copy.

Meanwhile, image rights.  The big hurdles have now been jumped, with both RAF and RN museums paid for and out of the way, with some common sense finally prevailing, both getting whatever publicity they derive from their aircraft being in a book, but at a price I could afford to pay (whether the book sell enough to get it back is another matter entirely!).  So why then is one museum wanting double what the big two cost me for just 3 photos?  “Oh we’re a charity” well sorry but most of the other museums are too and and some don’t want a penny for a lot more photos.  But for completeness sake, I’ve decided to pay, through gritted teeth, as they have the first built, the only one remaining and the only one on the UK mainland respectively (even if is is bolted to a wall and missing a wing!)

I’ve had much better luck with image rights elsewhere, with two excellent collections happy just to be credited where the photos are from.  Both Brooklands Museum and the Yorkshire Air Museum are definitely worth a visit if you’re nearby or want a day out.  Brooklands is a bit of a trip from Yorkshire, which is a pity as I’d like more time there, but YAM isn’t an hour or so away and they do night shoots….I’m tempted.   Across the Irish Sea, there’s a couple of museums with one aircraft each that I needed photos of.  I’m still working on one, but the people at the Ulster Aviation Society have been absolute stars.  As  I’ve no chance of getting there to shoot the Shorts SB.4 for volume 2, I asked for a few photos to use, especially as the aircraft is currently under renovation so the wings are being rebuilt and also because there’ s not a lot of photos of the thing around in general.   A few days later, I’ve a handful of great photos and more to come; I’m going to be spoilt for choice.  A courtesy copy of both volumes definitely heading that way!

Once again, there’s been more fun and games on eBay with camera bits, but also on of all places Oxfam’s website!  Don’t ask, it was Sunday afternoon and I was bored, but I’ve bought CDs and vinyl from the local one so took a browse.  Well what do you know….  seems, I know Olympus cameras better than whoever prices things up in one particular Oxfam store, I also have better eyesight it seems too.  Suffice to say they never made an E-P1 in black, just in chrome or white and yes the black paint was peeling off and yes it did say E-P1 on the rather battered box.  But if you look on the camera itself, which you couldn’t see in the photos, it does say Olympus Pen E-P2.  So now it’s been treated to some TLC,  the rapidly peeling black paint has all gone and some nice new leather wraps have arrived from a store in Japan I’ve used before. If ya know ya know.

 

Bit of a long gap between updates, basically because there’s nothing happening.  Image rights for another museum duly paid and I’ve sent them some of the spare shots from my visit to see if they can use them as well.

The biggest annoyance, as with a lot of things, is people simply not getting back to you when you contact them, be it a phone call/message or email.  Worse is when a webpage says “we’ll contact you in x days”, you’re still waiting x months later!  I can’t nor daren’t go to print without confirmation a museum is happy for me to use their images without charge and just with accreditation, or after paying them a donation.  So far I’ve spent just over £250 in  donations for image rights, I’ve yet to get any response from half a dozen other places, so I can easily see that doubling.  So now more waiting whilst the publisher’s commissioning editor sees if they get more response than I do.

With holiday season approaching, I can see it might be quicker to revisit a couple of nearby museums and sort the image rights problem out directly, as well as get a few better images, hopefully with a bit of sunshine, a few photos currently slated for use were taken when the weather was a bit grim shall we say, just plain foggy would be another description!

The text for Volume 1 has had one trip across the copy editor’s desk and I don’t think I did too badly, though the subject matter is obviously not something they’re familiar with, when one of the comments says “TSR2, what’s that?  I’ve yet to get a reply to “The most famous aircraft we never built”.  I’m also unsure why “appropriate” wasn’t the correct word to use for the only complete Vickers Valiant bomber to be preserved, when it’s the only V Bomber (thankfully) to have dropped what they were all designed around, an atom bomb, even if it was in a test.   You may or may not agree with what they represent, but nearly 80 years of basically peace in Europe, despite or because  both sides having the means to turn the continent into a radioactive wasteland  either means deterrence worked, or we were lucky and yes, at the present time, it’s looking like the latter!

After my acquisition of a couple of 35mm SLRs, the means to get from the analog to digital domains was required.  As the Canon flatbed scanner I’d previously used had departed some years ago and the cost of dedicated scanners is  ridiculous, the arrival of something cheaper, smaller and a bit of fun in the process will be on no surprise.  Lomography released the DigitaLIZA a while back https://shop.lomography.com/uk/digitaliza-max  and the results have been pretty good, though seeing yourself on 35 year old slides is a bit of a shock as well.   Amongst the boxes of holiday photos were also some whose original owner I’d love to know, as they appeared on my doorstep well before I’d departed from home for the RAF.   One of the slides was more prophetic than was realised at the time.

 

 

Progress on the book has ground to a halt, primarily because the places that have the aircraft seem to think the publishers and myself will make a fortune out of my ramblings and photos, so want to charge for image of their museum exhibits.  Most places have been reasonable in what they want and I think I’ve shelled out £100 in donations so far, whilst other museums are just happy to have their exhibits in print and in the hope it stimulates visitors; I thank them profusely for their generosity and understanding.

After the initial per hour charges they wanted, until they discovered there wasn’t enough space to go back and reshoot anything anyway, the £50 to use my existing images that they finally came back with was considerably more reasonable.  Except now they’re arguing the toss about “oh it’s and ebook as well and it’s worldwide rights, blah, blah”.  So let’s see, it’s English only, which narrows your market somewhat. Any prospective visitor can’t currently get into where I’ve been, anymore than I can get back to shoot more images, whilst the main museum is also in a state of reorganisation and a few exhibits are actually missing, because its them cluttering up the reserve store!  Any potential overseas visitor stimulated to want to see in the metal what’s in the book, will already have shelled out a good few $ be they US, Canadian, Australian or NZ, (considerably more $$$ for the latter two) so they’re not going to come if they can’t see everything (it was hard enough to get into the reserve collection anyway!).  The museum’s also been told the initial “print run” is 750 copies (hell, I’d be impressed if it sold 75!), but now it’s “do we have to relicense if it goes to a second pressing?”.  I give in.

Not content with one lot being a pain, we’re now embroiled in a similar debate with “my lot” if you get what I mean. Yes, I do have an awful lot of your exhibits featured and yes, one would have been on the cover of Vol.2 probably and I’d be quite happy top pay a reasonable donation for these images, but £296 just for the cover image alone…really? So if they want to charge what it looks like the do from the list they sent, then that’s it, there will be no book!  Or rather their will, but the only copy will be mine as I’ll get one printed just for me, if only to show “here’s what it could have looked like”.  Now I know why people write fiction, because they don’t have to deal with reality!

As to the “new” 35mm film camera I decide to buy, seeing as most other major brands have passed through my hands at one time or another (Fuji, Olympus, Canon, Pentax, Yashica yes, I’ve had a few film cameras over the years) and as this is the cheap, unloved end of their manual focus range, but still accepts the same lenses, I thought it was about time I used one.  Not finished the roll of B&W film I loaded it with yet, but it’s surprisingly nice to go back to manual focus,  aperture control around the lens and a swinging needle meter.

 

It’s been all go the last few weeks.  I managed to get my day in London to take my photos there, but not sure I’ll use them though as they joined the other unnamed museum who want stupid money for three photos I needed and basically I can manage without them!  But I had a nice 6Km walk through London, as it was sunny, so I made the most of it.   I’ve also done my Southern tour, so to all intents, photography for the book is complete, but I’m not holding my breath and it would not surprise me one bit that some jobsworth tells me I have to go back, pay £X and take new photos.  But for the minute, I’m waiting to  hear what they’re going to charge me for what I already have, as their reserve store is so full, because they’re re-gigging the main museum, that there’s insufficient space to walk round and take photos.  That it’s taken them 2 months or so to realise this or for someone to tell someone in another office that this is the case is another matter; all I can do is sit and wait.

Another little trip this week was to the publishers and a couple of hours spent sifting through the archive photos they’ve pulled out for me, so I can get some period shots of things that were either scrapped, crashed or basically won’t be flying again.  Consequently, I’ve a selection of B&W images that I’ve certainly not seen in any book, though one or two have, simply because they’re the only ones that exist.

The publishers also have a job big enough to keep me gainfully employed for years and one that I’d love to do; digitise the image library!  Some have already been done, but being a combination of photographer and aeroplane buff, I stand a better chance than most of knowing what I’m looking at.  Sadly, I doubt moving house to Stamford for the job would be popular.

Finally and in typical fashion, after getting rid of all the 35mm SLR kit, mainly because the lenses had started growing fungus in them (you wouldn’t believe that’s possible, but it is) I had the urge to use film and shoot with a manual focus camera, so after a bit of the usual eBay shenanigans, deft use of Go Gone and a wooden chisel to remove disintegrating light seals and replacement with nice new stuff, I now have… I’ll show all next time.  I also got round to having a pair of 35mm films developed that had been in a drawer for years, only to find they’d never been used, but that’s another story…..

 

On my way to London and what should have been the last photography needed to put Volume 1 to bed.  I said should, because until yesterday it would have been.  That’s when I had an email back from a museum which shall remain nameless, regarding publishing photos of their exhibits.  I’m one bloke with a camera and I want to come and wander round like your average tourist and take a few photos.  Yes I would like access to your reserve collection, you used to do tours on a regular basis.  I asked nicely, what did I get back?

£50 admin fee and £150 per hour! You cannot be serious! I only needed about 5-6 photos, mainly in the reserve collection.  But because I asked, I now can’t use all the ones I already have and that means doing about 30 photos across two places at the same site. That I would have happily paid maybe half that just to get access to the reserve collection again is immaterial, nor is the fact that the new photos will look better using the new camera, mainly because the lighting in the place is crap, especially the reserve collection.

So now, publishing is back at least a month, I’ve an urgent trip to sort out to take the photos needed for Vol 1, again.  Needless to say I’ve also emailed all the other places to make sure they wouldn’t like a cut of money I’m not even guaranteed to get back in book sales and give them free publicity in the process. Because it would still be cheaper than a writ afterwards.  Trouble is I emailed a few months ago, even direct off their webpage forms for that very purpose and have I had a reply? Na.

Not happy?  Damn right.

So 2023 has arrived and I’m now looking at publishing deadlines, things are definitely getting very real!

Volume 1 has been edited yet again and is now in the format needed to send off for copy editing, tagged up to include where to put photos, separate document with the photo captions and all the photos have been renamed accordingly so they go in the right places (he hopes).

I’m now awaiting the archive shots supplied by Key Publishing that will accompany my photos, these mainly inflight shots and aircraft that are mentioned but none remain. I’ve contacted the relevant places about publishing images of their aircraft etc to stop getting nasty letter later, though,  luckily most museums were happy for me to simply include the details of their museum in the book, whilst the RAF Museum openly says on their website you can use photos taken there for publication.  The old adage any publicity is good publicity seems to hold true in this case, but I thank all the people I’ve spoken to at the museums for their encouragement and help.

I also have to thank my friend and former work colleague,  now wondrous wedding cake baker Babs Whelan for taking time out from her kitchen to take a few photos of an aircraft I couldn’t get to in Northern Ireland. Thanks Babs  https://www.wedcakes.co.uk/index.htm.

More thanks too once he’s waded his way though it, to my mate, aero-modeller extraordinaire and another former RAF electrician John Nicholls for “volunteering” to sanity check my magnum opus.  Doubtless this may cost me beer, but better that than be told by some be-anoraked person once its published, that I’m talking utter bollocks.

I’m still at the mercy of train strikes to get to London and I’m awaiting the announcement of when the next batch will be before I book a ticket for an away day to the Science Museum. The train is still the best way to get to London as it gives me a few hours peace (don’t you love noise cancelling headphones…)  to edit things on the way back.

All being well, I’m three weeks away from sending everything in for Volume 1 and then its on to Volume 2 and a few days away in the South West to fill in the blanks regarding mainly helicopter photos.

Meanwhile, I’m also hoping for some assistance from work with a few jobs to do for them in the right places, because I need a photo or two of this:

 

Stuck on a pole outside the Folland Sports and Social Club, which naturally enough used to be part of Folland Aircraft.  This I discovered is the last prototype Gnat a matter of week after I’d been close enough to divert past to take a photo…GRRRRR.

 

Managed to get a photo shoot in courtesy a work trip and paid a visit to the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum.  Hidden away in the middle of East Anglia, this is a great little museum with a lot packed in and as every with most of the smaller museums, friendly talkative staff. Better still, the sun shone, we had blue skies and hence good light!

My main reason to visit was their Lightning F1 which as well as being part of the early development batch also acted as a chase aircraft during TSR2 development.  They also have a Jet Provost in an unusual colour scheme, one of only two Vickers Valetta still around and for anyone with an interest in the electronics fitted to aircraft over the years, a goodly assortment to demonstrate how much this has progressed in the last 50+ years.

One oddity we weren’t expecting is in the photo.  The shape of the fuselage frame gives it away straight off, it’s part of a TSR2 and is the locating frame for both the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces. The thickness of the bearers onto which the moving surfaces mount just shows how large the forces acting on the control surfaces would be when at low level and high speed.

 

Three photo trips now done, more editing carried out, desired word count within touching distance, and one more museum to visit to complete what’s needed for Volume 1.

That the final museum is in London, which means a train as there’s no way I’d drive there,  not that I’m driving far after the last photo shoot as the car came back making a nasty noise which I correctly identified as a wheel bearing.  I may have the engineering skills to do the job, but lack the relevant tools to actually get the bearing out, but critically, a garage with adequate space to get a modern car into, let alone a flat drive way and favourable weather.  So pay through the nose it is as the main dealer was the only place able to do it.  There goes a new lens….

You’d have thought museums would be happy to help people essentially give them free publicity by including their exhibits in books?  Certainly the RAF Museum has no problems allowing photography for this, yet others want a donation, on top of you paying to get in.  If they all asked for a donation, the only people making anything out of this project would be them and the publishers and it certainly makes you think twice about bothering.  Note to self, take photos first and let them ask questions later.  As for answering email when the relevant address is posted on a website, I can appreciate some places are run on a shoe string so you might get delays, but if the big boys can’t be bothered to reply, what chance does anyone stand?

The hardest part in putting my book together has been identifying if  a prototype aircraft for a type that entered service still exists and if so where.  This primarily because I can guarantee some bright, anorak wearing, soul will come calling once it’s published and say “there’s one here”.  Part of me says, it’s my book and I’ll include what I want, the other part says if I’m doing the job, it’s done properly and I include everything.  Consequently I now need another trip “down south” to take photos of something mounted on a plinth! Hopefully this will be another work assisted trip, doing a job that needs doing while putting me near enough to get photos.  We shall see.