On 20 September 1968, I first saw the light of life in Nieuwkoop a small village in the Netherlands. I grew up in a watery environment, the Nieuwkoop lakes. When I was twenty-one, I moved to Alphen aan den Rijn, where I still live.
I had my first camera experience with my father’s Practica. I must have been about eight years old then. Because my family regularly went to Schiphol Airport and Volkol, to spend part of the day along the runway, I soon had a grateful subject to photograph. And so I became addicted to the smell of kerosene. However, I had to wait quite some time for my own camera. Only when I was about 16 years old did I save enough for my first, second-hand, camera. From an acquaintance, I bought a Canon AE1 with a set of lenses, pressies good to continue my hobby as an aircraft spotters.
My time as a conscript soldier was spent at Twenthe Airbase, as assistant crew chief F16. As an aircraft enthusiast, I couldn’t have wished for a nicer job. Under the watchful eye of a crew chief, performing launch and recovery. Making sure our F16 was ready for combat in the morning and, after returning, making sure everything was ready for the next fight. Quite a learning experience and the opportunity to see all kinds of other aircraft up close.
My time as a conscript soldier was spent ok at Twenthe Airbase as assistant crew chief F16. As a conscript aircraft enthusiast, I could not have wished for a more enjoyable task. Under the watchful eye of a crew chief, performing launc and recovery. Making sure our F16 was ready for combat in the morning and, after returning, making sure everything was ready for the next fight. Quite a learning experience and the opportunity to see all kinds of other aircraft up close.
My first camera was a Canon AE1 a beautiful camera that could not be broken. During my service in the air force, my camera and I were inseparable. I experienced my military service as a great time and took a lot of great pictures. Afterwards, I switched to a Canon EOS, at the time Canon’s first autofocus camera.
When my military service was over, I went back to work at Fokker. I also then started a series of evening studies that earned me the certificate of Master in Supply Chain management after 16 years. During this period, I sold my camera and my hobby completely stopped.
During one of our holidays in Germany, I bought another camera. This camera was an analogue model (F70) from Nikon. Not really a high-end model but it took pictures, especially of my family. After completing my studies, the hobby started attracting me again. Still somewhat sceptical about digital photography, I bought a Nikon D80. Soon I was convinced of the advantages of digital photography. Not too long after buying the D80, I switched to the D300. This camera was considerably faster and shot higher-resolution images.
My first aviation event as a re-entrant was the open day at Volkel in 2009. After that day, everything fell back into place One show after another was on the programme. The desire for a better camera was soon fulfilled by the purchase of a Nikon D700. This camera was very fast and also a full frame camera. This camera felt good because the focal lengths better matched my experiences from the analogue days. I also shot with this for several years until the D4 came my way. This is my current camera and I like it very much. Beautifully sharp photos and very fast.
My lenses have also grown along with camera adaptations. After the kit lens and a Nikkor 70-300 mm standard lens. I now mainly shoot with prime lenses, lenses with a fixed focal length. My preference is my 400 mm f2.8 but the 300 mm version is also a nice and sharp lens and a bit more manageable than the 5.6 kg of the 400 mm.
I complemented these two lenses with a 70-200, f2.8 and a 24-70 mm, f2.8. Over a wide range, this gives me high-quality lenses. This, in combination with the camera, produces beautifully sharp images even when the weather is not optimal.
On my website, I let you enjoy the shots taken at various flying events or just a day along the fence of an airport. At frankwin.com you can find my galleries. Feel free to leave a message with your findings.