The "Ups and Downs" of a Photo-Shoot
IN SUPPORT of Dassault Falcon’s presence at the recent Dubai Air Show and to celebrate the successes of the Falcon 7X in the Middle East, the manufacture decided to use the talents of legendary photographer, Katsuhiko “Katsu” Tokunaga, in an air-to-air “photo shoot” of its flagship over the French Alps.
The Falcon 7X featured is one operated by Dasnair from Geneva, with a Bronco used as the photographic platform. Both were available on one day only. Katsu made the trip from Japan especially for the shoot. After one week of sunny weather and CAVOK flying conditions, the team woke up on the day chosen for the photo-shoot to find a rainy day with overcast sky and dull, flat light.
Despite the bad weather and the delay in take-off in VFR from Geneva, the team finally took off for a one
hour photo session. With the weather not being in a co-operative mood, the photographs demonstrate once again the huge talent of Katsu, whose name is associated with the best photographs of modern fighters and hundreds of magazines’ covers worldwide.
Katsu operated this time from a Bronco, a former US turboprop light observation aircraft developed in the 1960s by North American Aviation. As can be seen from the accompanying photograph, he was positioned at the open back of the aircraft, exposed to the cold and windy environment and uncomfortable vibrations.
Looking at him from less than 10 metres away from the cockpit of the Falcon 7X was a really impressive experience. Katsu wears white gloves when he works. He is calm and focused, knowing precisely what he wants and what he can get from the crews. Shown on this page are just some of the many photographs Katsu took that day.
