It’s time for the August recap. With the end of summer holidays, it's back to a routine of more work and less photography...

You might notice that this month's 'Worth Sharing' section is a bit shorter. That's because I barely had time to watch anything myself. That how you know you had a good month I guess.

Thanks for reading

Giel Sweertvaegher

Last month’s work

🆕 I didn't manage to create any new YouTube videos this month because I was busy making new photos and editing them. My goal is to get back on schedule by the end of September and resume posting at least one video per month, hopefully even more frequently.

🆒 My favorite Instagram posts I made this month: this reel from a great week in Canada shooting planes over the mountains!

⬇️ My worst performing Instagram post: random objects in the Grand Canyon.

⬆️My best performing Instagram post: definitely the reel from Canada, but this post from the Marchetti jet at sunset is the best performing photo.

🖨️ Latest prints.

Behind the Scenes

🇨🇦 

This month, I travelled to Canada alongside the Aviation PhotoCrew to capture air-to-air photos for the Abbotsford Airshow. Our expectations were modest given that it was our first attempt at this project, but it turned out to be one of our most successful projects so far. The lineup of aircraft was incredibly diverse, the weather was better than the forecasts had predicted, and we had a stunning backdrop.

For this trip, I experimented with my camera setup. I mounted the 55-200mm lens on my X-T3 and the 18-135mm lens on my X-T2, a reversal of my usual configuration. This adjustment was based on my increased use of the 200mm focal length in the UK, making it a logical choice, and it worked well. This setup also improved filming, particularly for utilizing the full 200mm range.

While I didn't make many behind-the-scenes videos, I'm considering a different approach—a 'silent' behind-the-scenes video like the travel videos I've made, but focusing on BTS moments. I did capture a significant amount of aerial footage, so creating an air-to-air video shouldn't be an issue. Or at least, I thought so…

Unfortunately, I encountered a bit of trouble with the videos, and it's a rather unfortunate story. I typically use two cards in my cameras, with the second serving as a backup. However, video can only be saved on one card in the X-T3, designated as the first card. Every night, I transfer files from the first card to two external hard drives. Once I confirm everything is transfered, I format both cards for the next day. During the last day of flying, we unexpectedly landed in Abbotsford instead of Chilliwack, where we were operating from the Skyvan. As a surprise, we were about to capture air-to-air shots of four warbirds. Even I wasn't aware, so it was as much of a surprise for me as it was for the accompanying photographers. The hitch was that my cards were nearly full, and my backup cards were left in the car at Chilliwack airport. I did something I have never done before; I formatted the second card and altered the settings from backup to sequential. Yet, to my surprise, the videos from that morning were saved on card 2, not card 1. Consequently, all the footage was lost—air-to-air videos of the Eagles, Baron, T-6 formation, Nanchang, C-17… All gone.

I attempted various recovery programs, but they proved ineffective. I'm considering using PhotoRec, although I'm encountering technical difficulties at the moment. I'll seek assistance in the coming weeks, but I'm becoming increasingly convinced that recovering the files is a lost cause. It's a major disappointment in an otherwise fantastic week…

If anyone knows of alternative methods to recover files from a card, please feel free to email me.

Instead of recounting every detail of our Canada trip, I'll provide you with a preview of the photos and some behind-the-scenes moments.

Worth Sharing

✈️

• Tornado nearly taking off in a storm.

• The, by now, (in)famous Mig-23 in a way you haven’t seen it before.

• Crop duster nearly hitting a truck.

• Modern day Catalina?

• One of our air to air flights with the Aviation PhotoCrew as seen from the other side.

• Diamond air to air over a volcano in Iceland.

📷

• GoPro on steroids by Van Neistat.

• I had the pleasure of meeting James Menzies in Canada. He’s a a storm chaser/photographer and he has some amazing work you can check on his website.

📹

• I did like everyone else and watched Barbie and Oppenheimer. Not on the same day and I wouldn’t recommend to do that either. Both were really good in their own way. Both were refreshing after too many prequels, sequels and reboots. All acting was oscarworthy to me!

• I watched Good Boys with some friends and was surprised that a comedy like this could still be made. Laughed the whole way trough and it reminded me of Superbad but with kids.

• Watched Devotion on the plane from Canada back home and it was way better than I expected from watching the trailers (CGI looked like shit to me). It did miss something though to make it really memorable. (The photo below was taken in Canada, and this very Corsair was featured in the movie! Shitty picture though, I know.)

Connect

• I would appreciate your feedback on this newsletter, so please feel free to share your suggestions for future editions with me.

• Have something noteworthy that you’d like to share? Submit here.