Aircraft Photography

Hey Keyda, almost missed your post. My lens of choice is the Nikon 200-400 f4. Incredible but expensive and borderline weight for hand holding. Another thing I would consider is a used 300mm 2.8. Still somewhat expensive but you always get what you pay for. The advantage of a 300 2.8 is you can use a 2x teleconverer on them for a 600mm total. In reality your 300 is long enough and the advantage of a zoom is good. I guess there's no easy answers but cost is a big factor for all of us. Being a photographer I can somewhat justify expensive lenses as I use them daily and they are tax deductions in my business. Good luck on the air show season and show us some of your shots!

Max

Ok, great!  Thanks guys!  My cousin will also be attending the air show with his Nikon camera, and he knows a lot more than I do.  We plan on getting together and going over some things with the cameras before hand.  So I'm sure between the two of us we'll have plenty of great shots!

Keyda81

With the airshow fast approaching I'm wondering if you guys can reccomend any lenses that might prove to be useful?  I have 2, an 18-55mm, and 70-300mm.  I feel like I need something that will zoom in further.  I would like to be able to get some good shots this year.  It's not usually an annual thing, I have no idea when the next one will be, and it's looking to be an awesome line up this year.  So what can you guys reccomend that won't break the bank? 

 

Good luck!

I do most of my airshow and model airplane flight shots with a 55-300 zoom, which with an APS-C Sensor on my Pentax K-5 is the same as a full frame sensor 450 mm lens.  It is good enough for me.  It's really hard to hold a longer lens steady enough, and most times airplanes that are so far away that you need a longer lens will also have a lot of  issues with haze and other atmospheric issues.  I have a 600mm equivalent lense but it was difficult to use and not that good of a lens (Vivitar) to begin with.  I almost always crop the image, and then there is always the tradeoff between getting a sharp image with no noise which is influenced by lighting conditions.  And then we alway want to blur the prop or rotor blades which throws in another monkey wrench. 

Here's one I took yesterday at our clubs spring float fly.  Fairly high ISO (3200) was used because the lighting was mixed due to clouds moving in and out, so there is a little more noise than I would like but the image is pretty sharp and the prop is still blurred.  Easier to keep the prop blurred on a model than full scale so it was.  The full image info:

shutter 1/1250

F16

ISO 3200

300mm/450 equivalent focal length

original image 4928 X 4364, cropped to 3156 x 2173, further reduced for web viewing and storage to 1600 pixels wide.

With the airshow fast approaching I'm wondering if you guys can reccomend any lenses that might prove to be useful?  I have 2, an 18-55mm, and 70-300mm.  I feel like I need something that will zoom in further.  I would like to be able to get some good shots this year.  It's not usually an annual thing, I have no idea when the next one will be, and it's looking to be an awesome line up this year.  So what can you guys reccomend that won't break the bank? 

Max, I don't get my hands wet anymore in photo chemicals. Not that I wouldn't but finding darkroom space these days just isn't happening. I send my film to a processor out in California whose pricing is pretty reasonable. I get digital files and they send my film back.

Hey Frank, nice shots, they do have the era look! I'm Tri-Xed out after developing zillions of rolls of that stuff in my life as a professional photographer, lol. Power to you on the film!

Max

A couple more pictures of the B-25 Killer B, taken on the day I flew on the Ford. These two pictures were shot on Kodak Tri-X film. Tri-X has some grain that gives the pictures "texture." Photographing old airplanes on black and white, to me, gives them context. Yeah, color is nice but black and white is so much better. Especially film!

Here's EAA's Ford last week at TICO after a tourist flight.

I mighta posted this one already, but anyway here's Tom Reilly's B-25J at TICO last week.

I should have plenty of pictures to contribute this summer.  I bought a new camera, Nikon D3400 with a couple different lenses.  I just need to learn how to use it!  Lol.  I plan on attending 2 airshows this year, and am looking to get VIP tickets for the Thunder of Niagara show, so I have a prime viewing location.  It promises to be a good show with the USAF Thunderbirds, Canadian Snowbirds, the F-22 Raptor Demo team, and a C-17 Globemaster all performing.  That is just what has been listed so far as performers.  Less than 3 months to go! 

Whoa! John! I almost missed your bump. We all need to get on with some shooting or at least do some more digging in the files!

Max

BUMP!

Well, the next time I go over to American Aero Services for an open hangar day, I'll be sure to get some pix of 909 and Witchcraft. In the meantime I'll go through my photo files to see what I can post for y'all to see. We need to keep this thread near the top of the list.

Hey Frank, all up to you but I did like your airshow pictures. This post will probably give you more exposure, so to speak, than off site viewing. We'd like to have you!

Max

So this is the thread where I shoulda put my pictures from the Moody airshow?

I was the photographer at the Society of Antique Modelers Championship at Boulder City, Nevada in September, had a good time.  About 200 photos are on a link at the SAM website but they are actually hosted on my web site, here:

http://goldeneramodel.com/SAM/SAM/2017SAMChamps/2017SAMChamps.html

The way the SAM site is set up I could only give you the main page, then you'd have to navigate to breaking news and one of the links on that page.  But here's the main page, just in case you are interested:  http://www.antiquemodeler.org/

Here's some I like.

After the bump, just saw Bakster's shot of the guy with his RC helicopter above, (series of 4 shots, just less than half way down the page).

Max already commented, but I want to chime in too. That is a spot perfect shot, Steve, just as Max said. Zowie. I'm impressed.

Just bringing it to the top trying to get some new pictures online here rather than there. Most of us or at least me, have run out of ammo, er pictures and we need some new some new examples old or new.

Max

Hodakamax

Hey, I taught advanced photography, college level, that was a good shot! (again, for what ever that's worth, lol!)

Hey Max, it's worth a LOT!  Thanks for the critique. That is encouraging to me. I did try to keep all those considerations in mind when I was taking the shot. It was a balancing of shutter speed to blur the rotor, and then DOF to blur the background. This was partly some luck I think. BTW. I stopped at the RC field this morning to see if the pilot was there. He was. I am sending him the image. Who doesn't like an image of himself looking cool, doing what they love doing most?

Ok ... I will be extra careful around the reactor. Yes--stay tuned to the WIP because I have a surprise in store. I think you will appreciate it most when I get it done. It will be a little humor for you.

John--I particularly like the first image. All that fuel staining on the engine cowl sure makes it look real. It could pass for a real plane.

Hey John, really cool shots on the RC stuff! New unobtainium knee waiting on the shelf, looking forward to repairs and getting on with life. I need a break from my motorcycle project which has gotten out of hand as usual. Back to model building for a vacation of sorts. 

Max

Hey Steve, the knee will be fine. My surgeon is in the top 1% in his expertise. The price for a motorcycle racing career. No complaints, best times of my life. Time for repairs, no other options or complaints for that matter.

Hey, that last shot was a winner for sure. The perfect composition, everything in place, rule of thirds working, selective focus bringing attention to the most important part, the helicopter. Spaces for action to go, a great out of focus background with layers falling into the overall composition. Hey, I taught advanced photography, college level, that was a good shot! (again, for what ever that's worth, lol!)

Keep after the Seaview but don't stand too close to the reactor. Looking forward to the wave thing!

Later,

Max

Max, sorry about the knee.  Replacement or just arthroscopic stuff?

I think R/C models make fun photographic subjects.  Here are some of my favorites, and a link to a whole bunch from years past that I have taken at our local flying field.  These three are what are called giant scale models, the second is a turbine powered model.

http://www.yolo.net/%7Ejeaton/WDA/wda.htm

Hey Max, sorry to hear about the knee. I hope it all goes well for you. Let us know how it's going when that time comes. And YES, you have my vote for the F104!

Thanks about the last image. That is my pick of the litter too. The rest are just fluff. I think the last one turned out best because the guy was I think, giving me a chance to image it. It was darn hard to follow that copter when he was buzzing around. Those things can move! It sure felt good to get the camera out again.

Ah the Seaview WIP. Yes...it is still in process, but, it is moving more like molasses. It is partly a motivation thing, and partly lack of time. It is busy at work and I often need to stay late. I don't feel like doing much once I get home. I hope to start laying down the waves within the next few days. That's if I can get my model mo jo back. 

Yikes! I almost missed this one! The bottom shot is extra cool, perfect actually!

I'm between models building a vintage 1/1 100cc Hodaka road racer and land speed attempt machine. Sounds impressive, but one must have some sort of goal to at least reach for instead of saying I'm restoring some old junk motorcycle. lol. I'm getting kinda old to drive such things but they are fun to build. Just a large scratch built model.

I've got to have a knee rebuilt in a couple of weeks and have got the model bench cleared for action during down time which will be a few more weeks. I'm sorting through the stash as we speak! Maybe it's time to do my NASA 1/48 F-104 that I've been gathering parts and decals for.

Thanks for the photo post, great shot!

What's happening on the Seaview project? I do check on that regularly.

Max

Hey Max, I thought I'd give your post a bump.

It's been at least two years since last using my DSLR, and I feel the need for some camera speed. So, I took a short drive to a local RC field to see what's up.

Now I remember why I started moving away from photography. All too often you have to wait, and wait, and wait, to get a shot. There were only two guys at the field, both RC helicopter dudes. The problem? They weren't flying. They were under a canopy fiddling with things. After a half hour I was about to hit the road when I hear the whir of blades. Giddy up!

These images will appear a little soft because I compressed them pretty heavily. 

I hope this guy won't mind me posting his pictures.

wolfhammer1

You know, Max, all of my Osh Kosh pictures were captured using an almost identical lens.  I just use a D5300 instead of the D-70.  Welcome to the world of digital photagraphy and having more pictures than you know what to do with!

John

 

Yep, this storage thing can get out of hand in the digital world. Not only does it take lots of digital space then you have to find it. I guess it's like all filing systems, you had better label it clearly! Some of the pictures I've just stumbled on looking for something else, lol.

Thanks for looking!  

Max

You know, Max, all of my Osh Kosh pictures were captured using an almost identical lens.  I just use a D5300 instead of the D-70.  Welcome to the world of digital photagraphy and having more pictures than you know what to do with!

John

Hey thanks John! I needed that, LOL!

Max

Nice one Max!

John