How to get better at spotting in dance

6. Keep in touch.

One of the main rules of a good connection is to keep in touch. Have you ever had a professional massage? Have you noticed that the massage therapist constantly keeps in touch with you? Even if he needs to take oil or something else, he tries to keep contact with you with one hand.

If you lose contact, you need to rebuild it. And if the connection was not very good, then you run the risk of destroying everything that you have just achieved. One of the easiest ways to maintain contact is to place your right hand on your partner's back as she makes a simple turn and now has her back to you. This is not just a rule of "good technique", it allows the partner to feel you and understand where you are. She will know that you are still here.

If you follow this simple rule well, your partner will be more comfortable and trust you more. Naturally, she will not be able to explain why she felt this way, she will remember the dance as "it was very nice." But you know ;)

It's the little things that make for a great connection, and therefore a great dance.

7. Waves and other bodywork .

Last but not least. In a conversation on this topic, I cannot but mention the waves.
There are very, very many options for the execution of waves, you can write a separate article about this. But within the topic of connection, distance and tone are of key importance.

Partners:
Pay close attention to your partner's hand on your back. Do not arch your back, do not try to go to your partner if he is not leading. He will lead, not you. Be sure to pay attention to this moment. Most likely you think that this does not apply to you, but my experience of conducting for a partner shows that 80% of girls do not feel and do not understand my hand on their back. Each time I have to explain that I need to lightly press my back into my hand , and then I can feel the connection. Focus on your back, feel your partner's hand. If the hand moves away, then you follow it! Once you work on this, you will be much better behaved. Just give light pressure to your partner's hand and let him decide when to start and end the movement, when to slow it down, etc.

For partners:
Keep a good frame, put your right shoulder and arm in place. Don't twitch violently, it won't help. Stand straight, your chest is the basis on which the girl will make a wave. You can also make a small wave with her, but don't make it stronger than your partner, it looks very strange.

What is the meaning of the wave? For me personally, a good wave represents good contact and tone. By tone in this case, I mean contraction (abdominal contraction) and the work of the back muscles. When you start the wave, bring your chest and ribs forward and up a little, then your belly, then your hips. When your movement takes the form of a serpentine, the energy decreases and you return to the starting position.

If the dancers do it right, I guarantee you a very pleasant wave)

Quick reminder

Feel and have fun. Relax. Feel free to touch heads while dancing, it's a useful tool. Give your partner all your attention, look at her and at the movements that you create. Change the pace to keep the her attention. Keep almost constant contact with her. Use waves and body work.

And at the end of this article is a demo of Freddy and Andressa, in which they use a wide range of possibilities of close embrace in dance. If, after all that has been written, you still do not quite understand what a connection is, then here it is in front of you.

You can follow the announcements of new articles through the VK group: https://vk.com/zoukability

Sky.. plane.. spotters! Spotting World Guide: uacrussia — LiveJournal

*Alexander Shukhov, 22 years old, MAI student, has been filming since 2010.

**Mikhail Polyakov, 20, has been filming since 2013.

About me
- Tell us, how did you get interested in aviation photography?
M.P. I live in the city of Zhukovsky - in the science city, one might say, the alma mater of our aviation industry. Since childhood, I have been immersed in aviation. The roar of aircraft engines echoes in my chest to the very bones, aviation is my life.
Once, when I was 17 years old, I decided to see what was happening at the airport on weekdays. And "stayed" there for a long time. Behind the fence was a special world, completely different from the one that surrounded me before. One day I brought a friend with cameras, and that's how it all started...
A.Sh. I have a similar story, I also live near the Chkalovsky airfield. About eight years ago, while still a schoolboy, my best friend and I decided to look there after school. Aircraft flights left an indelible impression. We started going there more and more often. And then we learned that, it turns out, you can not only see the planes off with your eyes, but also take pictures.

- What do you do besides spotting?
A.Sh. At the moment I just take pictures, play in a rock band, am fond of guns and shooting, and also love to travel. At one time he was engaged in ballroom dancing and horseback riding.
L.P. With my friend, also a spotter, Danila Bashkirov, not so long ago we opened our own aviation store, since there are more than enough photographic materials. In my free time I go in for sports, I like to go with a tent. This year, for example, we pitched a tent with friends for a week near the Dyagilevo airfield near Ryazan, just during the Aviadarts. Romance, airplanes!

What do your friends and family say about your hobby? How much time does this activity take?
A.Sh. At first some people don't understand and say “Do you really take pictures of airplanes? What for? What is so beautiful about them?”, but then they see my pictures and say “Wow, how cool!”.
MP Well, I personally have a very modest attitude to this hobby, I think that a successful shot is largely an accident. The task of the photographer is to choose the right composition, shooting parameters, and the weather, the flight path and so on are factors that cannot be foreseen. Many people like my work, for me it is very important.
A.Sh. When it comes to time, it's always different. It happens that you spend a couple of hours spotting, and it happens that for the whole day. I remember how in the summer we went to the airfield at 10 am and returned at 11 am - the pleasure from such spotting is much greater than from short-term ones. For me, this is not only shots, it is also communication with friends, emotions, moments, movement.
MP I agree with Sasha. Then all the footage still needs to be processed. And it's also very exciting.
What kind of aircraft do you dream of renting?
A.Sh. Every spotter's dream is to shoot the An-225 Mria, the largest aircraft in the world.
MP I would also like to rent this plane. Sometimes it's even hard to imagine how such a machine can fly...

Have you filmed ait-to-air?
A.Sh. I first tried to shoot from the air at the Victory Parade in 2012, then a couple of times I flew on Il-78 tankers. To be honest, I liked shooting air-to-air planes more than helicopters. When a person sees an IL-76 in front of him, he admires its size and power. Now imagine that you are inside this colossus, and nearby, about seventy meters away, exactly the same plane gracefully floats through the clouds. Such a spectacle is simply mesmerizing and takes you to a magical world.

Which of the aviation photographers or just photographers is your standard?
A.Sh. I would like to single out such aerial photographers as Anton Kharisov, Vadim Savitsky, Sergey Ablogin, Alexander Beltyukov.
MP . And I really like the work of Sasha (Alexander Shukhov) and Artem Anikeev.

Have you won awards in photo contests?
A.Sh. Despite the fact that aviation photography is not very popular among most photographers, it was still possible to win several student competitions and even photography competitions from the UAC. But the most significant at the moment was winning the photo contest, which was organized by the New Defense Order magazine: after the victory, I was offered cooperation, so now I am happy to shoot reports on various military topics, including aviation.

About spotting:

Who are spotters?
A. Sh. In the classical sense, a spotter is a person who records information about an aircraft: time and place of arrival, its tail number and airline affiliation. Often people go spotting with a notepad, pen and binoculars, taking pictures only to better see the number or just to confirm the arrival of a certain aircraft.
In Russia, the word "spotting" is associated exclusively with aviation photography. Probably because in many Russian airports, in order to reach a place from where a view of an object of interest opens (whether it be a runway, a parking lot, or even a banal glide path), you need to make a certain effort, make, so to speak, a small trip. After such a “journey”, you will hardly want to limit your spotting session to recordings only.
I would compare Russian spotters to wildlife photographers. Only "hunters" for wild animals need to be careful not to miss a rare shot, and spotters themselves need to keep their eyes open so that in some cases they do not fall into the hands of the Security Service or the patrol. ))

How to get into the spotter elite? Well, or to the spotter club?
A.Sh. In my opinion, membership in a certain club can be assigned to a spotter in accordance with the web resource where he uploads his pictures: if on LiveJournal, then a blogger, if on Instagram, then an instagrammer, and so on. On the other hand, if you picked up a soap box, took a couple of pictures and uploaded them to your VK page, then you are already a spotter. A person joins a spotter club when he starts to actively travel to the airport / airfield, slowly getting to know other spotters, everything is as usual, in principle.
We are told that they introduced "elites" - these are those who have connections in the aviation and military spheres. Thanks to this, they have access to closed screenings, new, unusual angles that are inaccessible to the wide mass of spotters.
MP In general, the "elitism" of the spotter is clearly visible at mass air shows: someone is allowed to park planes, someone is filming from the air, someone is taken to a media site and in a chalet, and someone is simply filming from the crowd.

Why are spotting places classified, but everyone knows about them?))
M.P. Not classified, but simply passed on by word of mouth. For example, some spotter finds a convenient point for shooting, as we say, “under the fence”, and shares it only with his friends. If the place is successful, it gradually becomes more and more popular.

Why do spotters need removals, where did it come from?
A.Sh. For a spotter, a removal is akin to an “I love aviation!” badge. And also a memory - from spotting or some kind of aviation event, you can give them to friends and in the end just collect them. Now they sew all the colors of the rainbow in addition to the traditional red, add an image of an airplane or something on an aviation theme. In general, “Remove before flight” is a sign that is attached to covers from various aircraft sensors so that the aircraft technician will definitely see that the cover is still on and take it off before the aircraft takes off.

How do spotters know that there will be military flights?
M.P. More often they come without any information about flights - for good luck. But there are people "with connections" who can know in advance who will fly where. This, unfortunately, is not about us))
It happens that the Ministry of Defense organizes special events for the media and bloggers, then we receive data, so to speak, from official sources. I would also like to somehow get to an aviation event from the UAC.

Is it true that there are few girls among the spotters? Why?
A.Sh. Less than we would like.)) Many girls love aviation, go to air shows, but do not take a camera with them, even when they are good genre photographers. Plus, after all, girls are gentle creatures, they are unlikely to agree to stick around all day in the cold, walk a couple of kilometers through the mud, lie down in the bushes. It's like fishing for them, only more dynamic.

Does the sale of aerial photographs make money?
M.P. It all depends on the activity of a person: if he promotes his creativity, then aviation photography can bring good profit. If you just publish on the Internet, then your photos are rarely bought, more often just stolen. I came across the fact that the Russian publishing house removed my watermark on the photo and put it into circulation.
More honest foreigners in this regard. And they pay good money.
A.Sh. All this is sad. Copyright does not protect spotters.

What is the situation with spotting abroad? Are there familiar foreign spotters?
A.Sh. If we talk about Europe and America, then there, I must say, greenhouse conditions compared to Russia. Our main "barriers" are the accessibility of the point (dirt, swamps, fire, water and some copper pipes), and also, probably, the Soviet opinion that is still popular, that everything should be secret, even ridiculous. Every person with a camera near the airfield is definitely a spy.
In the West, everything is different: airports set up points for spotters, the police, even if they are on duty, treat them without aggression, official spottings are very often held, including at military bases. With the advent of Instagram, you can almost watch everything that happens "behind the fence" online. I have several familiar spotters, including those from America, we communicate, share shots - we are surprised at the specifics of our hobby in our countries.

Can a spotter be a spy?
MP I don't quite agree with Sasha - indeed, there are spies with cameras pretending to be spotters. Maybe the Security Council measures are not excessive.. But more often than not, ordinary photographers post photos on the Internet that are secret. I'm not sure that they have a goal - to declassify something, rather out of ignorance.
What is strictly forbidden to shoot the military?
A.Sh. The military do not allow their faces to be filmed, which, in principle, is understandable. There is a specific opinion of a special department regarding a particular object: do not remove parking lots, certain aircraft, weapons, warehouses, hangars, checkpoints, and so on. They are very sensitive to the photos of the cabins.

Is it difficult to get permission from the military?
A.Sh. They love and trust familiar photographers, as a rule, they do not favor beginners.
Here, in my opinion, it is important to present yourself correctly at the stage of acquaintance, and with any officers: from simple technicians to superiors. And if you managed to build good relations and get permission, then you should not ruin it all, neglecting the instructions of the military in the shooting. For example, if the escorting officer says that you cannot shoot a certain aircraft or approach the runway closer, say, 50 meters, then it is better to obey these requirements. We all do our job.

Is it true that the security services are chasing you? What to do if you get caught?
MP If ​​you're shooting planes at a secure facility, it's natural that the security services will, to put it mildly, not be thrilled. As for civilian airports, the SAB usually has claims only when the airport is expected to have an arrival or departure of some high-ranking officials. I have never been detained.))
A.Sh. If you are still detained, it is better, of course, not to resist, drive yourself politely and calmly, try to explain and show the guards that you are not dangerous - sometimes this worked. In the very opposite case, a person is taken to the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the commandant's office, where an explanatory conversation is held with him. Sometimes frames are deleted, and all of them, indiscriminately. This, of course, is sad, but what to do ...

What do you do with ticks and dogs “under the fence”?
M.P. Good question! Dress in appropriate clothing. In general, I do not advise you to go to shoot in shorts, T-shirts: you can not only catch a tick, but also get burned.
A dog is man's best friend. I love them and have never had any problems with them. On the contrary, most often they approach with curiosity, or ask for food. Carry sausage with you, spotters!
A.Sh. And a mosquito spray.

Were there any funny incidents during spotting?
A.Sh. What is not spotting, then some kind of curiosity! In general, there was no special mysticism, but it was scary: while still being sixteen-year-old boys with a friend, after spotting, they ran into a strange uncle near the airfield. All in cuts, limping, under a degree - he rushed at us with a knife. We returned back through the ravine, you never know what..
M.P. Once my friend and I had to swim across a small river to take another shooting point. We did it this way: backpacks with equipment and clothes were transported on a rope stretched over the water. It looked amazing from the outside, and our tense faces .. given the risk of getting the camera wet)) This is just one story, you can talk about such adventures for hours . .

Share some tips for beginner spotters: what location to choose for filming, whether to go to mass events like MAKS to take good shots, how to navigate the flight schedule, how to spot a rare ship... What to wear for spotting, what food to take, so say, backpack for beginners (food, water, gas spray, machete?)
M.P. It seems to me that a novice photographer should definitely find an experienced mentor who will help him with the development of the shooting process, teach him how to process photos, etc.
A.Sh. As for public events, I always try to attend them: you never know when a good shot will turn up. At MAKS-2015, one day in the morning there was a heavy downpour, and then the sun appeared, and there were huge disruptions from the planes - then the people groaned and groaned from beauty.
MP The schedule of departures / arrivals can always be viewed on the websites of airports. In the same place, you can sometimes detect a rare aircraft. But more often, information about the arrival of a rare aircraft comes not from there, but from acquaintances who work in the aviation industry. Or someone puts information in the public domain.
As for clothing: in summer, the most important thing is to protect yourself from ticks and sunstroke. In cold seasons, for example, I put on thermal underwear, take gloves, a hat, a scarf, and I always go in warm boots. Everything is exactly the same as on a hike)) Be sure to take hot tea in a thermos with you and eat.
A.Sh. Misha sensibly approaches the question) Personally, I don't have a backpack as such. I would recommend taking a snack with you, such as sandwiches, a bottle of water, a band-aid, a flashlight, a lighter and mosquito repellent (in summer). Of course, an additional memory card and battery. And do not forget about the documents - but this is so, just in case.

About technology:
Are there special courses in aerial photography?
A. Sh. Did not met. There are articles on various forums with tips, including on photo processing, but it seems to me that you need to come to everything yourself, directly through your personal experience.

Do I need to be a professional photographer to take good pictures of airplanes?
MP To take beautiful shots, it is not necessary to have good equipment or a diploma on completing photo courses. I know a lot of aviation photographers and I can say with confidence that the main thing is to have an artistic vision that allows you to choose the right composition, etc.
A.Sh. Probably still a person who takes a SLR with him for the first time will not physically be able to take better photos than a photographer with great experience.

What technique do you use? For which shooting situations, which lenses are suitable?
A.Sh. Currently shooting with Canon 5D mark 3, I have Canon EF 100-400, EF 24-105 and Sigma 12-24 lenses. The first, long-throw, is suitable for almost everything, including ground shooting, except for filming inside the aircraft. I use wide-angle lenses to photograph various scenes related to people and aircraft, as well as salons and cockpits.
L.P. My set is quite modest. Camera: Sony A-55. Two telephoto lenses: Sony 55-200, Sigma 70-300 and one wide-angle Sony 17-55.

Tell us about the methods of shooting airplanes in flight and static.
A.Sh. When shooting an aircraft in flight, it is preferable to shoot towards the sun, not against it, if there is no inert light. When the sunset comes, I prefer to shoot against the sun, then you get an interesting color scheme. In winter, you can try to shoot the so-called "white belly" - when the sun is shining and the snow reflects this light on the "belly" of the aircraft, it turns out quite beautifully. There is also a "close-up" technique, when the photographer deliberately "cuts off" the wings of the aircraft, making the aircraft closer to the viewer.
In general, I do not recommend shooting planes just sideways, especially in an empty sky, this is considered not the most creative angle. On landing, you can try to "wire" - set a relatively long shutter speed (1/50 for large aircraft and somewhere around 1/80 for fighters) and fly the plane with the lens, then the background will be blurred, and the plane itself will remain sharp - it looks very impressive .
It is good manners to lubricate the blades of a helicopter or propeller-driven aircraft.
As for statics, there is already complete freedom of thought. I prefer to shoot planes at a very wide angle, especially if the light is beautiful.

How to photograph airplanes at night? Are there 100% winning positions for shooting aircraft on static?
M.P. I would divide night photography into two types: static and dynamic.
In principle, with a tripod, you won't have any problems shooting static subjects. You can also use a monopod for image stabilization.
If you don't have a tripod, it will be more difficult, because the shooting is at a slow shutter speed, and the success of the shot will depend on the smoothness of your hands. It is also worth noting that at night you have to set a high ISO (sensitivity).

How and where to process photos?
A.Sh. H Most often, photos are processed in Photoshop or Lightroom. The minimum spotter processing is cropping, photo resizing (the most optimal resolution for beginners is 1024x683 pixels).
Then comes the work with color - add contrast, correct white balance, make noise reduction and increase sharpness.
MP For novice photographers, I would recommend some very useful plugins for Photoshop: Nik Collection Sharpener Pro (for sharpening photos) and Topaz DeNoise (for noise reduction). For original artistic processing, I use plugins from Nik Collection: Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, etc.

Do you need a walkie-talkie?
MP Let's just say that a device for listening to aviation frequencies will not be superfluous. )

About aviation:

Are you well versed in modern aviation and aircraft construction?
A.Sh. I think it's quite good. Now I am studying at the Moscow Aviation Institute as an interpreter, so knowledge of the basics of aircraft construction is a must for me.
MP I read a lot of aviation literature, biographies of test pilots, designers and people who have connected their lives with aviation. At one time, I had a chance to study the basics of aircraft design: to understand what it consists of, why it flies. Now I follow blogs, networks of active military pilots - interesting ..

What can you say about modern civil courts?
M.P. I can't rate it from a technical point of view, but externally our SSJ100 aircraft is undoubtedly very beautiful. I quite often shoot it "behind the fence". To be honest, I'm glad that the designers managed to create a competitive machine for the civil aircraft market.
MS-21 should be a breakthrough for Russian civil aviation, if not already. The technologies used on the MS-21 are the first to be used on Russian-made passenger aircraft on such a scale. These are, first of all, composite materials. Composites make it possible to lighten the weight of the aircraft, which, accordingly, affects its flight characteristics. At the moment, the latest PD-14 engine is undergoing flight tests, which is planned to be installed on the MS-21 in the future. Therefore, I believe that this machine should secure the status of an excellent aircraft. I hope that in the near future our pilots will rate this aircraft as “excellent”!

How do you feel about Russian military aircraft?
M.P. I am very proud of our combat aviation. Since Soviet times, it has been considered one of the best. There were hard times, but now the defense industry has begun to gain momentum again, which, of course, causes great pride in our country. It would be more correct to judge military equipment by its effectiveness in combat conditions. .
I can only say about its appearance after watching demonstration flights and displays of military equipment. Of course, when you watch aerobatics, for example, the Su-35S, sometimes you just don’t understand how it can perform such maneuvers in the sky…
A.Sh. Well, yes .. my father is a former military man, now he works in the Kamov Design Bureau and speaks with enthusiasm about the Ka-52. In response, with similar enthusiasm, I tell him about the Su-34 fighter, I like it very much.

Do you know military pilots?
A.Sh. Yes, I know several military pilots and technicians who work on different types of aircraft. They are all very sincere guys - sometimes they tell such stories - even stand, even fall.
MP Probably everyone who is truly passionate about the sky has such acquaintances.. I was also lucky with this.)

Are there any iconic people in aviation for you?
M.P. Perhaps, I can answer this question for a very long time) I love the history of our domestic aviation, so I can single out quite a lot of iconic people.

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