For more tips, go to the 100 in 100 Part III Homepage
Airplanes provide some unique photo opportunities. You can get some wonderful shots from the air, and at airshows and airports (with permission) you can shoot airplanes on the ground and in flight. As with any type of photography, there are ways to maximize your chances of success. Each day this week I’ll look at a different aspect of this subject.
Yesterday I talked about shooting from airliners. Today we’ll look at shooting from smaller planes such as a floatplane charter to a fishing lake in Alaska or the helicopter ride to the top of an awesome powder ski run, or just going out for a “hundred dollar hamburger” with a pilot friend.
All the things I discussed yesterday still apply, but here you can ask the pilot about the scenery and the direction of the sun. You might even be able to negotiate a slight course change to get a shot, but this should be discussed as far ahead as possible.
Vibration can be a bigger factor in a small plane than in an airliner. Don’t let the camera or even your arm touch anything. If there is a lot of vibration I go so far as to pick my feet up off the floor just before I shoot. Besides, it’s good for the abs. Image stabilization is a must.
Air turbulence can be more of a factor in smaller planes than in airliners. There is a documented phenomenon in which pressing the shutter causes you to hit a bump. It is uncanny. If the air is rough shoot in burst mode or shoot several in rapid succession. One may be better then the others. And hang onto your camera. I had a heavy SLR in my lap one day (holding it, I thought) when we hit a huge bump and it flew up and hit me in the chin, hard. I saw stars for quite a while.
And keep your seat belt fastened, tight. A plane can hit turbulence without warning. FAA regulations are not something to mess with, and no picture is worth a broken neck.
If you can afford the light loss, a polarizer will help cut through the ever-present haze. It can also quench reflections on the windows, but unfortunately it does these two things at opposite rotations. (The windows on most light planes won’t cause the color patterns that you can get from an airliner window.) But I have quit using a polarizer except for reducing reflections. With Photoshop you can replicate many of the effects of a polarizer other than quenching reflections, and the results continue to amaze me. I’ll be writing a tutorial on that early next year.
Keep the shutter speed as high as practical. And be ready. The scenery moves much faster in a small plane than in an airliner. When you see something that looks good, don’t stop to think about it. Shoot first and ask questions later.
Top: Info unavailable. Above: Shot with a Canon 20D, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens set at 140mm. Exposure: 1/250 sec at f/8, ISO 400.
Diane Miller is a widely exhibited freelance photographer who lives north of San Francisco, in the Wine Country, and specializes in fine-art nature photography. Her work, which can be found on her web site, www.DianeDMiller.com, has been published and exhibited throughout the Pacific Northwest. Many of her images are represented for stock by Monsoon Images and Photolibrary. She is also an accomplished pilot.
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