One of the crewmembers of the commemorative Air Force unit that flies and maintains Fifi, the only B-29A still flying. Cost a $10 donation for a tour inside the aircraft, and it was well worth it. I would not be surprised if the B-29 flight deck was the inspiration for the Millennium Falcon.
Some additional photos of Fifi:
Post-challenge notes:
Wow.... top 10 in a freestudy! My best freestudy yet, and it wasn't even a landscape!
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I saw you mention this in the negative space thread and I disagree that the negative space detracted from the photo. Maybe it's a six-in-one scenario but I think that if there is a problem (and a 6.6 in a free study demonstrates there isn't) it's the centered composition with his eyes leading down to the left. The viewer will naturally follow the eyes, so I feel that when eyes are not looking at the camera they need to be off center, and when looking down to the left, as here, he should be placed in the top right corner to give the photo the best balance, though this is a very minor quibble.
The area over his right shoulder could have had more instruments, etc., and it still would have felt slightly unbalanced, so I don't believe it's the negative space that's caused any compositional problems.
Regardless it's an awesome photo and incredible processing and I think I need some new software damn it.
Fantastic work - one of my highest rated images of the challenge. My father was a navigator on a B29 in WWII, so this shot has special meaning to me. I recall getting a tour of one some time ago and thougth I recognized the panel behind the man.
Excellent portrait. I had a sneaking suspicion it was yours due to your Military outings but wasn't sure. Well done Steve. ROFL I made the same Post Challenge comment about landscapes! (9 from me)
I thought this might be yours due to the subject matter. The technicals and feel of this really show how far you've advanced since you joined up here. Very professional!
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.
Positives: Superb and unusual portrait, the context (dials etc) works so well to set the scene. The technicals are fantastic too, the focus, sharpness and toning are brilliant. Super catchlights in the eyes too.
Critical stuff: Not much - I can see why inclusion of the Stars and Stripes was seductive but I do think this side of the image is less strong than the other and the flag has a tendency to pull the eye away from more interesting parts of the image.
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