Studio V:
I'm sure over time you've developed preferences for the type of aircraft you fly. Can you fill us in on which are your preferred aircraft models and why.

Fly2e:
When I first started out, my aircraft of choice were always the big metal cigars! I loved being able to maneuver these huge hunks of metal around the airports, taxi them to the runway and give them full power as they reached to the skies. Scenery really did not matter to me, as my machine back then could not render anything that detailed and I was more impressed that I was actually flying these big old buses anyway. As time went on, I found myself being very impressed with screenshots being posted here by Michael Greenblatt, (Ramsa329) and Nick Churchill, (Joker). All of their shots always seemed to be of some GA Aircraft in some really nice airfield someplace. The addon scenery in the background was really impressive. Little cabins, small hangers, smoke coming from chimneys, and lots of eye candy. Now I knew I could not fit a 737 into one of these remote bush airstrips, so I thought that maybe it was time to try one of these aircrafts they were referring to as “GA”. So I bought my first Payware, Lago’s Emma Field and Carenado’s Cessna Centurion. Now this is what flying in the sim was all about! My problem though was my machine. To make a long story short, two machines, $2, 0000 in Payware-Hardware and countless hours with fs-gs later, I now have a machine that is basically dedicated to GA flying. Pacific Northwest, Alaska, British Columbia and the surrounding areas are jammed packed with add-ons. I can go from airstrip to airstrip anywhere in the above-mentioned areas and land at an airport that is not default. So the General Aviation aircraft have become my aircraft of choice. I also really enjoy the small biz jets. The Eaglesoft line is very nice and I often find myself climbing into one of these little powerhouses if I need blow off some steam! I still fly the bigger jets but once up in the air looking down on the world below, I say to myself, “OK, now what do I do all the way up here”. I need hands on flying. Remote airstrips, tons of autogen, roads, rails, houses, buildings, lakes, rivers, stream’s, utility poles, mountains and hills! This type of flying is much more fun to me than sitting in front of a few CRT’s while the world passes below me at 37,000ft.

Studio V:
Dave, what advice would you have for some of our more inexperienced screenshot artists to help them advance their screenshot art skills?

Fly2e:
1.      The first and foremost thing is to get the image on your monitor looking good! What you see on your “canvas” is what you will be displaying. This will require adjustments to your video card. I will not go into depth on this as there are many threads running on this topic but the 2 things that will “clean up” your image will be to make sure you have gotten rid of “the jaggies”. This will require Anti-aliasing adjustments. We have all see this problem before. A screenshot will not impress if the wings of your aircraft look like a staircase!
2.      Try to run your Sim at the highest resolution possible! The more “paint” on your screen, the more your screenshot will look real. I currently run mine at 1600 X 1200 with a refresh rate of 85htz. Since many of us need to compress and edit our screenshots to fit within forum guidelines, the more “data” you start out with, the better your end result will be.
3.      Make sure you are using a good screenshot capture program along with a good editing program. You can have an awesome “raw” shot, but if you can’t manipulate the shot to stay in it’s original form, your end result will not be impressive.
4.      Once you have the above sorted out, it is time to grab the camera. Just a few pointers that I always try to keep in mind. Try not to “cut off” part of the aircraft; it makes for an “unbalanced” shot. Don’t zoom way out; try to close in on the subject at hand. An aircraft in the center of a shot that is the small in size will get lost. I always try to keep the aircraft on center stage while creating a “buffer zone” around it. Not too tight, not too loose! Just a perfect balance of Aircraft and foreground.
5.      Once again, the environment. A detailed airport with lots of eye candy will always make for a realistic shot. Engines off, doors open, sun setting, will always catch the viewers eye as it will not be your average 5 screenshots of an aircraft flying through the air. Try to throw a shot of the cockpit in, as this will bring the person viewing your screenshots right up front with you.
6.      And once again, Unique angles! Try to be different when setting up a shot. Anything out of the norm will create a sense of originality!
7.      Practice, practice, practice!!!