Picture Taking Opportunity

cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
edited July 2, 2010 in The Big Picture
This weekend (6/26-27, 2004) is the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) Field Day. Field Day is the single largest Ham radio event of the year. Hams all over North and South America will be setting up temporary stations and competing against each other by trying to contact as many other Field Day sites as they can.

So what makes Field Day a good picture taking opportunity?
  1. If you live in North America, there is probably a Field Day site in your area.
  2. Field Day participants get extra points for setting up in a public location, so most FD sites are going to be accessible.
  3. Field Day runs for 24 hours (2 PM EST Saturday to 2 PM EST Sunday) so you should have plenty of time to visit a FD site (or two). In addition you could shoot FD pictures at sun down or sun up.
  4. FD participants love visitors (especially visitors with cameras)!
  5. There are lots of great people pictures to be taken at FD sites. Hams operating radios are likely to be so focused on what they're doing that they will completely ignore you, making for easy candid shots. Other Hams at the FD site will be hanging out having a good time, making for more candid shots!
So how can you find a FD site in your area??? The internet is probably your best bet. A Google search on amateur radio with the name of your state and/or city will probably turn up some stuff. The ARRL site has a listing of affiliate clubs. eHam.net also has a listing of clubs.

By the way, I'm going to be at my club's FD site behind Raytown City Hall if anyone wants to stop by! We'll be using my callsign (AB0WA) at our Get On The Air station.
ab0wa.smugmug.com

Comments

  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 27, 2004
    Anybody been out to take some Field Day pictures???

    Here's one I got from Friday night. We had just finished getting our antennas up in the air and our club president Steve (K0OU) was anxious to try things out.
    5532246-M.jpg
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • tmlphototmlphoto Registered Users Posts: 1,444 Major grins
    edited June 27, 2004
    cletus wrote:
    Anybody been out to take some Field Day pictures???

    Here's one I got from Friday night. We had just finished getting our antennas up in the air and our club president Steve (KØOU) was anxious to try things out.

    5532246-M.jpg

    Cletus,
    You should title it: CQ CQ, anybody out there?
    Thomas :D

    TML Photography
    tmlphoto.com
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 27, 2004
    tmlphoto wrote:
    Cletus,
    You should title it: CQ CQ, anybody out there?
    good idea thumb.gif
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • GREAPERGREAPER Registered Users Posts: 3,113 Major grins
    edited June 27, 2004
    But Jodie Foster is better looking thna yer friend.
    http://dehmphoto.smugmug.com/

  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 27, 2004
    GREAPER wrote:
    But Jodie Foster is better looking thna yer friend.
    rolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gif
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited June 28, 2004
    Well, Cletus, I was going to shoot the ham radio folks this weekend. I even used your links to find a couple of clubs doing the field day thing. But then I discovered that it was the Gay Pride Parade weekend. Can you say "photo opp"? Sorry, I went for the colorful people. :cry

    5571087-M.jpg
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 29, 2004
    wxwax wrote:
    Well, Cletus, I was going to shoot the ham radio folks this weekend. I even used your links to find a couple of clubs doing the field day thing. But then I discovered that it was the Gay Pride Parade weekend. Can you say "photo opp"? Sorry, I went for the colorful people. :cry
    No problem... You can shoot Field Day next year (it will be June 25-26).

    One of these years I'm going to get some decent pictures at Field Day. This year I was cursed with a serious case of operator error. I borrowed my fathers D100. I'm not sure what setup(s) I had wrong but almost every picture had crummy exposure and/or focus.

    Here is another shot. This one had decent exposure and good focus (this one is from my G5). Check out the "picture perfect" conditons we had Sunday morning! It started raining around 4:00 AM and didn't stop until 2 PM

    5622133-L.jpg
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2005
    It's that time of year again!

    Field Day 2005 is coming up Saturday/Sunday of this week (6/25-26). My camera and I will be at our club's Field Day site behind Raytown City Hall if anyone cares to come out and join us.

    If you can't make it to our Field Day site, at least consider getting out to a Field Day site in your area.
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • AngeloAngelo Super Moderators Posts: 8,937 moderator
    edited June 22, 2005
    cletus wrote:
    It's that time of year again!

    Field Day 2005 is coming up Saturday/Sunday of this week (6/25-26). My camera and I will be at our club's Field Day site behind Raytown City Hall if anyone cares to come out and join us.

    If you can't make it to our Field Day site, at least consider getting out to a Field Day site in your area.
    This sounds interesting. I'm going to try and find particpants in the LA area through your link. Thanks.
    www.angelo.smugmug.com

    Moderator of: Location, Location, Location , Mind Your Own Business & Other Cool Shots
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2005
    Angelo wrote:
    This sounds interesting. I'm going to try and find particpants in the LA area through your link. Thanks.
    thumb.gif

    Should be some big Field Day sites around LA.

    Here are some shots I've gotten in years past at our site.
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2005
    very cool, cletus thumb.gif

    thanks for telling about all this.
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 27, 2005
    Anybody get out and shoot Field Day 2005???

    I've updated my CQ Field Day thread with some shots from this year.

    Anybody get a shot of a toy cooler than this????
    26304465-L.jpg
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 16, 2006
    It's that time again!

    Field Day is next weekend (June 24/25). This really is a great opportunity for anyone into candid people shots.

    This year I put together a map of Field Day Sites in the Kansas City area that will be open to the public. I know there are a few more sites that I just don't have the information for. So if there are more than 13 sites in and around Kansas City, there's probably a site within a few miles of your house. Try a google search with the name of your town and "amateur radio" to see if you can find some club websites. You can also check the ARRL website to try and find clubs.

    If you do go out to a Field Day site, tell the folks there that one of the operators at K0GQ sent you!
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2010
    Wow, haven't pitched this event in four years!

    What is it?
    ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) Field Day. Field Day is the single largest Ham (amateur) radio event of the year. The purpose of Field Day is to demonstrate amateur radio's ability to provide communications under adverse conditions. Hams all over North and South America will be setting up temporary stations and competing against each other by trying to contact as many other Field Day sites as they can.

    As a photographer, why do I care?
    • Field Day participants get extra points for setting up in a public location, so most FD sites are going to be accessible.
    • FD participants love visitors (especially visitors with cameras)!
    • There are lots of great people pictures to be taken at FD sites. Hams operating radios are likely to be so focused on what they're doing that they will completely ignore you, making for easy candid shots. Other Hams at the FD site will be hanging out having a good time, making for more candid shots!
    If you'd like to see examples of what a Field Day site looks like you can take a look at my CQ Field Day thread.

    When is it?
    This weekend (6/26-27, 2010)! The on-air portion of Field Day will start at 2:00 PM EDT on Saturday and run until 2:00 PM EDT on Sunday. Many participants will begin setup of their Field Day sites at 2:00 PM EDT on Friday.

    Where is it?
    All over North and South America. The internet is probably your best bet to find sites near you. A Google search on amateur radio with the name of your country, state and/or city will probably turn up some stuff. The ARRL site has a listing of affiliate clubs through out the United States. RAC has a listing of Canadian clubs.

    By the way, I'm going to be at my club's FD site behind Raytown City Hall if anyone wants to stop by!
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • ScoupeScoupe Registered Users Posts: 88 Big grins
    edited June 25, 2010
    Thanks for the invite!
    cletus,

    I'm going to try and take you up on the 2010 invite. It will be either late Saturday, like after 10pm, or early Sunday. I've been meaning to make it to a Raytown club meeting for a while now. Got my first ticket (General) just last December, so Field Day is a new thing for me. Sounds like an exciting time to be had for an old retro-geek and new ham op such as myself.

    Doug, N3PDT
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited June 28, 2010
    Doug,

    Thanks for coming out! It was nice getting a chance to talk with you. I hope you were able to make it back out for Sunday morning. I was at home trying to rest up before tear down.

    Did you get a chance to get on the air either from home or from a FD site?

    -Eric (AB0WA)
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • ScoupeScoupe Registered Users Posts: 88 Big grins
    edited July 2, 2010
    cletus wrote: »
    Doug,

    Thanks for coming out! It was nice getting a chance to talk with you. I hope you were able to make it back out for Sunday morning. I was at home trying to rest up before tear down.

    Did you get a chance to get on the air either from home or from a FD site?

    -Eric (AB0WA)

    Eric,

    I apologize for not responding more quickly. I enjoyed meeting you last Friday during setup.

    I did make it back, but on Saturday evening. Worked a pileup on 15m form the GOTA shack, hand logged and helped listen for the club phone shack for a while, and logged CW in GOTA again late Sat/early Sun. Got home a little after 2am. Had a blast. Woke up late on Sunday and worked the last half hour of FD as a 1D. The whole experience convinced me to get a 2m rig so I could talk to, and meet, more local hams.

    Thanks again!

    Doug, N3PDT

    PS, haven't taken the Velvia in for processing yet. Should do that today sometime.
Sign In or Register to comment.