Thank you for once again taking the time to read my newsletter. This month, similar to previous ones, has been rather slow due to my workload as a teacher. However, as you read this, I'll be enjoying my summer holidays and things are looking promising. Be sure to keep an eye out for next month's newsletter, as July is packed with exciting plans. I have a few air-to-air projects lined up in the UK, where I'll be flying and photographing vintage planes, doing air to air with the USAFE assets and the participants of RIAT. I will also be attending the show itself. I'm also planning to film the entire experience for my YouTube channel. Towards the end of the month, I'll be spending five days in Berlin, which will bring a break in all the aviation content.

Thanks for reading

Giel Sweertvaegher

Last month’s work

🆕 I released a new Youtube video showcasing the editing process of some of my Morocco photos. However, I've decided that this will be the last video of its kind. I don't find much enjoyment in creating this type of content, and it seems that viewers aren't particularly interested in watching them either. Instead, I prefer focusing on producing cinematic air-to-air videos or travel videos, which I enjoy making and have been better received.

🆒 My favorite Instagram posts I made this month: Austrian C-130 over the Alps.

⬇️ My worst performing Instagram post: I knew these would be a miss the moment I posted them. The reach on Instagram has significantly dropped, and since they're not related to planes, it’s a deadly combo in terms of engagement.

⬆️My best performing Instagram post: finally a reel that easily hit the 10000 views again. The Belgian Tiger F-16’s doing passes under the Skyvan.

🖨️ Latest prints.

Behind the Scenes

📽️ Editing with the ‘new’ Lightroom noise reduction

• As I mentioned earlier, it was another slow month for me. During this time, I started editing old photos from 2019. The goal was to put the Lightroom noise reduction tool to the test and see if I could salvage anything from those dark, grainy, and low-quality images. The results are pretty good! I could easily sharpen and denoise the photos, resulting in a better image. Some of these photos were completely useless back in 2019, but now they're pretty decent. I'm looking forward to working with this tool on new files next month. Below you can find some of the 2019 edits compared to those of 2023. You can see not only the denoise has improved over the years, but also the masking tools.

Worth Sharing

✈️

• Aviation Photocrew air to air shoot as seen from the Swiss Hornet.

• “Raw Image Formats” with the heath!

• Not sure what the fuck this is!

• Or what this is. There’s a giant bird in this guys cockpit.

• Different view on the C-17 by Peng Chen.

• Turkish Viper going low over the sea.

🚀

• Falcon 9 launch.

🏎️

• The life of a single F1 car bolt.

• Some automotive photography inspiration.

📷

• I’ll say it again. Photoshop AI is next level.

📻

• But maybe AI isn’t that innovative after all.

📹

• The importance of sound design in video.

Connect

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