Can I Get a Hug?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
The Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds The joint effort from the Navy and the Air Force is part of multiple flyovers across the nation called America Strong — a “collaborative salute” to honor healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers as they combat COVID-19. [NIKON D5, 120.0-300.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 320, 1/4000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 440)]

Horse is a basketball shooting game where players take turns shooting at the hoop from different locations. If someone makes a shot but everyone else misses, those people get a letter toward the word ‘HORSE‘. The last person left standing wins! In photography we have shoot outs. Where we all are shooting the same subject at the same time.

There are events where people are not just interested in posting a picture for the fun of it, but need a hug. They need affirmation.

Scott Kelby presenting at 2011 Southwestern Photojournalism Conference

During the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference speaker Scott Kelby joked, “You go to Flickr for a hug.” The whole room started laughing and knew exactly what Scott was talking about.

You see all photographers love to have people respond to their photos.

The Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds [NIKON D5, 120.0-300.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 360, 1/4000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 460)]

So yesterday in Atlanta we had a joint effort from the Navy and the Air Force is part of multiple flyovers across the nation called America Strong — a “collaborative salute” to honor healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers as they combat COVID-19.

Before the event I was asked in an online chat with Zoom of other photographers where the best place to photograph them would be. Well, this is a clue that photographers all want a shot at getting an iconic image if possible and frankly to “Get A Hug”. To do this online you just look for those “LIKES”.

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When it comes to likes on your photos my wife has me beat. She posted her photos on 11 Alive Weather group page. On this page as of writing this post she had 296 LIKES.

The Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds. photo by Dorie Griggs [NIKON Z 6, 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6, Mode = Manual, ISO 800, 1/8000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 300)]

I gave her one of my cameras to shoot during the fly over. So Dorie shot the photos with the Nikon Z6 and the Nikon 28-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 lens. I set the camera up for her to shoot at the fastest shutter speed of 1/8000 and Auto ISO.

The Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds photo by Dorie Griggs [NIKON Z 6, 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6, Mode = Manual, ISO 800, 1/8000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 300)]

I did get likes on my Facebook and Instagram pages for the photos.

This was the one comment that made my day. It was my “Virtual Hug” .

I like it when someone notices something that I did that made my images “Different”. Notice I didn’t say “Better”.

Nikon Ambassador Dave Black changed my perspective on always trying to improve my photography. He opened my perspective by this one comment. Look for something “Different” not necessarily “Better”. Dave had discovered through his career that when something is “Different” the audience will stop and look.

Chelle Leary at Krog Street Tunnel in Atlanta, Georgia [NIKON Z 6, 24.0-105.0 mm f/4.0, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 10000, 1/160, ƒ/4, (35mm = 24)]

So earlier this year I went to the Krog Street Tunnel in Atlanta with my daughter Chelle. I had just bought the Flashpoint XPlor 600 HSS TTL monolights. We had fun playing around and looking for something “Different”.

Krog Street Tunnel Chelle Leary [NIKON Z 6, 24.0-105.0 mm f/4.0, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 1000, 1/60, ƒ/4, (35mm = 90)]

It is easier to stand out by not shooting what everyone else photographs.

The Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds [NIKON D5, 120.0-300.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 360, 1/4000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 340)]

What I had hoped to get with the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds was them passing the King and Queen, but the location I picked didn’t have the advantage point I thought it had. Rather than spending time driving to look for a better angle, I just stayed put.

By the way once you go pro everyone expects you to have awesome photos, so you get less likes, unless you really get that “Different” photo that Dave Black talked about.