Photographing the EAA

So thats what people ARE DOING WRONG, pointing the camera at the sun. LOL 

If you are pointing the camera at the light source  (the sun) YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG! The sun should be behind the photographer. 

I can't tell you how many pictures get sent to me where the lense is pointed at the sun.

echolmberg

Ladies and gentlemen,

I'll be attending the big EAA AirVenture event on Friday the 28th.  I'll be borrowing my wife's fancy-schmancy Canon SLR digital camera.  I know just enough to turn it on, zoom in and out and push the button to take a picture.  For the most part, the pics come out pretty good but are there any "rules of thumb" when it comes to getting good shots of aircraft in the air vs on the ground (such as f-stop settings, ISO settings, etc)?

What would you recommend to a simpleton like me?

Thanks!

Eric

PS.  For what it's worth, it's supposed to be a bright, sun-shiny day on Friday.

 

If your not familiar with how to use the manual modes of the Canon DSLR, then use the pre set modes.

The pre set modes should be more than sufficient to capture great photos, I use these modes sometime when taking photos with my Canon DSLR as its just easier.

A lens hood or lens filter may be useful in sunny bright environments to reduced lens flar, but not essential.

Use the viewfinder for All pictures, the camera is meant to be used that way, not the rear screen.

Spend a couple of hours outside taking pictures, get familiary with it how it works.

Take extra memery cards, this is dependent on what image size you set the camera on.

Lastly, dont damage it, or you will be in the dog house...

Pan with the  action- that is, move the camera to keep the flying aircraft centered in the viewfinder.  Unless you can control shutter speed, panning is a good way to get aircraft in flight.

For aircraft on the ground, automatic everything usually works fine.  Cameras with optical viewfinders make life a lot easier. If your camera only has an LCD screen, consider one of those attachments that shields the screen.