Airport Photography

First off i realize it's been a while since i've posted anything.  Gone are the days when i came out with a picture filled post every 2 days.  Back then i had a back-log of pictures and things to write about and time to waste.  Recently free time has been in short supply and i haven't taken many pictures either.  So here's some stuff i have been meaning to post for a while now

Several months ago i was working at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).  Here's a picture i took while driving through the tunnel which connects the old and McNamara Terminal.  I thought it looked kind of interesting, sort of sci-fy.

While working that day i got to sit by one of the runways where a plane was taking off every minute or so.  A few weeks prior i saw this image that someone created.  He combined several pictures he took at an air show.  The trick is that he didn't move the camera.  Then in Photoshop he combined them all into one image.

So this is my first and probably only attempt at copying that image.  I realize that it's far from good, for several different reasons.  Firstly i didn't take time to copy each plane, i just used the StarTrails program to automatically combine each picture.  It's faster but not quite as good.  Secondly i didn't have a real tripod, just my small Joby Tripod, which was attached to the window of the work truck.  And there was definite movement from me having to reach up and press the shutter button.  My camera doesn't have a remote shutter control.  And lastly i wasn't at the best angle.  The previous pictures were taken from a great spot where as i was well down the runway behind some barb-wire fence.  Other then all that i was amazed how it turned out.

Here was the highly un-technical setup in the truck.  You can see how the camera jiggled and slowly moved over time.

And on a completely unrelated note on a completely different day, here's a photo i took of a school hallway in Troy.  A year ago we were evaluating their schools for a millage that was going to be in the next years voting ballot.  It reminded me of the tunnel from the first picture, so i added it here.

I will try to start posting more often in the future.