Tiny Helicopters

I must admit, I'm weak.  I had decided a while ago I was going to by no toys that were not photography related.  I was doing pretty well too.  However, I have a fascination with Radio Control models.  I spent years racing the cars, and I was bitten by the R/C aircraft bug too.  If anything was going to break me, it was going to be this enticing combination of a model and electronics.

I saw this little bugger back before Christmas.  I came home and Tobias and I watched some videos of one flying around.  It is fast, and nimble.  Tobias loved it.  I must admit, I thought it was pretty darn slick too.  It isn't a co-axial, it is FAST, it can bounce off brick walls (not recommended), and it has plenty of room to roam inside of a typical sized room that is devoid of furniture.

Fortunately, we have a room with no furniture.  Who uses formal dining rooms now-a-days anyway?

We saw one again in the store yesterday.  I asked Tobias if he remembered the video.  He said "YES!  And now we can BUY THIS AIRPLANE*"!  I was on the fence about buying it up until that point.  I won't say I bought it for him, because that would be a blatant lie, but he convinced me.

One of the best pieces of advice I've seen about getting better at photography is to shoot what makes you excited.  This is how so many "Moms with cameras" become excellent child portrait photographers, even though they never touched a camera until they had their little ones.  They are so passionate about their subjects, that learning how to photograph them becomes easy.

This little (Yes, there is no trickery in the photo above.  It is shorter than a soda can. In fact the picture makes it look larger than it is.) toy makes me smile a bit, so I shot it. 

If you are interested in looking it up it is an E-flite Blade mSR.  I bought the model with no included radio, but they box it with a radio for those that don't have one.

Unfortunately Tobias is down sick now, so it will be a few days before he will be interested in watching it fly about.

Oh, and to keep this post topical.  This is a two light setup.  Background is a gelled flash.  The main light is a beauty dish in close, camera right.  ISO 200, F9, 1/200.

*If it flies, it is an airplane to Tobias.