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I still love the idea of a little black dress. It might be the simplest of outfits but it brings out the natural beauty of a model. OK, I’ll admit: I prefer a latex little black dress… And shiny black high heels. But still…
That latex little black dress gave us so many options to shoot. Let me demonstrate.
Halloween is just a few days away and Zana has found her perfect outfit. She said she wants to go trick’n’treating as dark bunny. I hope she lets me tag along for the candy.
On top of that, Zana’s beautiful face and lush hairdo makes for absolutely gorgeous portraits. In color and black & white. 1 outfit, so many options. These pics were a lot of fun to do. Thanks Zana!
On occasion, I like to step out of my comfort zone and shoot something I have never shot before. In this case, it was something I wouldn’t come up with myself: HANDS! I spent a whole evening shooting nothing but hands.
I did it as a favor for Shannety who needed promo images for a website she was designing. After a night of hard work and tons of patience from my 2 models, these photos now grace the site Shannety designed. Go check out:
daphnebergen.be
Nothing says airshow like the demonstration of the RAF Red Arrows. I always, always love their routine. They make my airshow experience complete. Their bright red BAE Systems Hawk T1 is a sight for sore eyes. I was thrilled to see they were coming to the 2021 Sanicole Airshow.
It wouldn’t be a Red Arrows demonstration without the spectacular crossing passes of the synchro pair. And I can’t resist trying to get a good shot of them.
I have seen the Red Arrows quite a bit of the years. And I have always tried to get those close up shots. That’s just one part of their show though. The big formations and the smoke is just as cool to see. I mean: how cool is it when they draw that big blue arch across the sky to thank healthcare workers for all their hard work. And how about that big heart the synchro pair does? I had planned to focus more on wider shots of the formation. I think I have a few nice ones.
The Consolidated PBY Catalina is my all-time favorite airplane. A beautiful mix between a plane and boat. The wings high above the fuselage. A cockpit with panoramic view and those bug-eyed observation ports in the back… I just love it.
This flying boat served in the US Navy from 1936 to 1954 as a patrol bomber, search & rescue seaplane. It few countless hours of reconnaissance flights in the Pacific theater in World War II. They were of paramount importance during the Battle of Midway. And they rescued many young pilots that got shot down. So, these Catalinas were truly the angels of the Pacific.
#PHOONFRIDAY is a thing on Twitter and Instagram. I see a lot of aviation photographers posting their Typhoon shots on Friday. And after this year’s Sanicole Airshow, I’ll join the fun.
The Italian Air Force dispatched their Typhoon demo to Kleine Brogel AB and Sanicole Airshow for 3 days of demonstrations. It was especially cool to see the plane up close when it taxied a long the runway at the spotters day on Saturday.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a fighter of the 4th generation designed by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo. It is primarily used by the air forces of Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain. For a while it was a contender to replace the F-16’s of the Belgian Air Force.
Zana and I had a shoot planned for April 2020 when you-know-what reared its ugly head. All we could do, was postpone. And postpone again. And again. And again until finally we felt it was safe to shoot earlier this summer. We had hoped for a beautiful summer’s day so we could shoot outside. But instead, we got a chilly drizzle. We retreated to my studio where we shot this series on a lilac background. So, this was sorta a Purple Rain shoot.
We had a lot of fun though. And the results turned out just great. Thank you for a fun shoot Zana! Let’s do that again some time.
It’s in the roar of the crowd after each song. It’s in the smiles of the folks around. It’s in the cheers of someone hearing their favorite song. It’s in de sparkle in the eyes of that one girl while she’s slow dancing in the arms of the boy she loves. It’s in meeting friends before the show for dinner and drinks. It’s in the excitement raging through my body when the houselights go down. It’s in the surprise guest appearances and songs you didn’t expect to hear.
It is not just one thing that makes me love going to concerts. It is in a 1000 little things. And for me… It is also about in the ice cream on the way home.
The last song of the last concert I saw was Samantha Fish’s cover of Bukka White’s Shake ‘Em on Down. That was March 11, 2020. I have not been in a concert venue since that day.
Boy, how I’ve missed going to concerts. And I am so utterly happy that I’m going to a Barbara Dex concert tonight. A local hero playing a gig in my hometown. I wouldn’t want to miss that. I have to admit that I am bit nervous though. COVID-19 is still among us. Obviously, I will take every precaution possible to avoid infection. But being in a crowd is a risk and that does make me nervous.
I am very grateful for all the live streams I am able the enjoy. From the weekly show at the Opry on Sunday mornings, Marren Moris, Brian Fallon, Martin Praetorius’ weekly gig on Wednesday, Taylor Tote and Zara Larsson to the Dropkick Murphys featuring Springsteen, and everyone in between. I tipped artists where tipping was due. I have a pile of new albums on my desk. But nothing, absolutely noticing beats the feeling of a live show!
It seemed like an eternity since Shannety and I had done a pink themed shoot. So I dug up a very classy black latex outfit and my pink backdrop for this rendition of Pink by Shannety. With latex from Lüllepop, Pandora Deluxe, Westward Bound and Mico Couture, and high heels from Pleaser Shoes, this is the most mix’n’match outfit I’ve put together in years.
I think the outfit looks absolutely gorgeous on Shannety. What do you think?
My friends Karin, Luc and Michel invited me to join them on a Bohemian photo shoot. Luc and Michel had already scouted a location close to where I live. Karin was going to do the styling. We all published a model call on our Facebook and Instagram pages and selected 4 models from the many responses. Catalina, Syri, Heidi and Sharon joined us for what turned out to be a fun shoot and a post-pandemic reunion with friends.
Here are some results from that shoot:
The 2021 airshow season will be quite short and still full of uncertainties and complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, pretty much every airshow in Europe got cancelled. And this year is still uncertain. But I got to go to Florennes AB for their spottersday. The spottersday replaced the yearly Belgian Air Force Days that got cancelled due to COVID-19.
2021 will be the last year of Sr Cpt Stefan Darte callsign Vador as a demo pilot of the Belgian Air Force. He will be flying his F-16 Dark Falcon one last year to represent Belgium and the Belgian Air Force around the world.
It was a rather gloomy day when I was at Florennes AB. That usually is no recipe for good photos. But it is does create the possibility of vapor trails and vapor cones. Sorta likes this…
Before Vador started his solo display, he joined a Supermarine Spitfire mk.XVI for an historic commemoration flight. A remarkable display where the Dark Falcon is flying close to stall speed and the Spitfire at Vmax.
I am looking forward to meeting Vador again at the Sanicole airshow in September.