I’m back from my business trip and had some time to process a few more shots from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM). There are actually a couple of visitor sites for NASM. The original site in the National Mall and the one I visited, the Stephen F. Udvar Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. Some folks refer to the NASM as America’s Hangar. It’s the most visited museum in the world.
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The Boeing Aviation Hangar in the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center
As usual, my finished images differ a little bit from reality. I try to evoke a bit of mood in my images, so I take a bit of dramatic license. The hangar roof is basic white with incandescent lighting, and that just makes for a yellow color cast and boring ceiling. I decided to darken the image a bit and add a light blue glow to the whole thing. Is it reality? Perhaps not, but I don’t care. Black & white isn’t reality, but I still like it.
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Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
These planes are pretty freaking cool. I don’t want to show them with a flat, boring image straight out of the camera. They make an impact when you stand in front of them, and I’m trying to convey that sense of impact in these images. Perhaps it’s over the top, but so far the planes you see at NASM.
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Boeing 307 Stratoliner Clipper Flying Cloud
One of the questions people ask when they see specific planes at NASM, like the Enola Gay, is if it’s the real thing or not. It’s the Smithsonian. If they don’t have the real thing, then who would?
