Mark Makowski
Hello, I’m retired from the US Air Force, currently located in Yorktown,
Virginia, and I’m an advanced amateur photographer. I work at
Langley AFB so in addition to air shows, I have easy access to US
and NATO aircraft that visit here. I started photography in the late 70’s
using an Olympus SLR with a 55mm lens. I took mostly scenic shots
of places I visited. In the mid-80’s, as part of my formal training as
an imagery intelligence officer, the course work included black and
white photogrammetry. Those were the only sensors in the inventory
at that time; course work included detailed photogrammetry along
with airborne optics and their limitations. Since I’ve loved aircraft as
long as I can remember, becoming an aviation photographer was an
easy transition. When I’m not able to photograph aircraft, I use my
gear to photograph birds in flight (BIF), usually birds of prey. I also like
landscape photography, specifically fall foliage.
I use mostly Nikon gear but I also own Sigma lenses. The camera bodies
I use for aviation photography are the Nikon D500 and D850. Lenses are
the Nikon 200-500mm and Sigma 100-400mm. I’ve also used the Tamron
and Sigma 150-600mm lenses but found they both go soft of the distant
end. The Nikon 200-500mm is a recent acquisition but I haven’t used it
at an air show yet.I use RAW and Lightroom exclusively. I shoot in RAW format so I can
edit images without harming the original image. I try to minimize the
amount of post-processing I make on any image so I try to get the best
possible image in the camera. The post-processing I do to images is
typically lens correction, lightening shadows, and cropping. In Lightroom
I can batch process image edits, then select the images for export to
JPEG format for printing and website posting.I just recently learned of ISAP and after looking at the website, I could
tell the members take their aviation photography seriously. I have several
pages of aviation images on my website. I actively participate in the
Nikon D850 Facebook page. I’m also a gold member of Nikonians and I
post some images to the National Geographic “My Shot” section.I absolutely help other photographers learn about photography. Once
a person decides to go beyond the cell phone camera and buys a
DSLR, it opens a new world with endless opportunities. My obsession
with photography has helped others take their hobby to new levels,
purchasing equipment ans starting small businesses. Advice I give to
new photographers - regardless if they enjoy aviation photography or
not - is to develop their own style.MEET OUR MEMBER