How many watts does it take to light a jet fighter in motion?.....

[hoffy]

Try about 30,000!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=J2dCelnwYxY

An ambitious shoot, I am sure, but hey, if you have access to the gear!

[bricat]

Thanks for sharing. Persistence certainly paid off. cheers Brian

[fess67]

Impressive for sure. All those lights, Hassleblad, Porsche cars, 5+ assistants, fighter jet on demand would not have come cheap.

the final image was great but the standout for me was the final image was taken when the jet was low and slow, slower than a V8 on full chat on the long straight at Bathurst. Makes me appreciate the skills of sports photogs. :)

[nc1183]

The effort and cost involved was pretty impressive but I think/feel the end result was somewhat lacking.

[jjphoto]

Harold Edgerton, the inventor of the electronic flash, was doing the same but different during the WWII years. He developed night reconnaissance strobes with a power of up to approx. 43,200Ws. These where fitted to reconnaissance aeroplanes allowing pictures to be taken at night from approx. 20,000 feet. See http://web.mit.edu/6.933/www/Fall2000/edgerton/EdgertonWW2.pdf , page 24 for specs. Mind you he had the backing of the US government whilst today you can do the same by simply hiring the stuff. All thanks to Doc Edgerton!

[johndom]

He could have used Hmi lights and got more wattage, but as it seemed to be an ad for profoto, that wasn't going to happen, then shooting with a camera that has a 1 second lag? Setting up ridiculous hurdles for himself.