Air Show Ideas

<p>We're going to the Abbotsford Air Show, near Vancouver tomorrow. I shoot a lot of racecars and some other sports but its been a while since I've been to an airshow (over 20 years, actually) and when I look at those shots now they are quite pathetic. There will be a lot of vintage planes, some parachute teams, Canadian CF18's and of course the iconic Snowbirds; and apparently the static displays are quite good. Any suggestions/ideas/examples on what to shoot and how to best set-up? We've got a Canon 50D, a Canon 7D (new to us so still learning that one) with a 10-22mm, a 24-105mm and a 100-400mm. I plan to carry a monopod, as opposed to trying to figure out where to setup a tripod.</p>

<p>David, as a personal preference, I'd forego stills and shoot video. Air show photos are among the most boring stuff to look at even for aviation enthusiasts; almost as bad as car show photos - but that's just me. :-) </p>

<p> </p>

<p>There's some truth in that Michael - there's a couple of shots that you want to get at this show with Mt Baker in the background that are "required" however. And I do love vintage planes and having a few good shots of those would be nice to cycle through the screensavers. </p>

<p>David, what I find fascinating to look at in still photos are the raw complex mechanics - landing gear, cockpit, that sort of thing. Static wide shots are all over the net and mostly much better than what I can shoot.</p>

<p>I'd definitely shoot video for anything flying, especially stunts, but might be a challenge with a DSLR - I've only done it with camcorders that are probably more responsive.</p>

 

<p>For me...hand-held, 100-400, single focus point, high frame rate, and a bit of plus side exposure comp (to lighten up the shadows under aircraft in-flight). Lately I've been opting for the Sony NEX-7 w/70-200mm over the heavier DSLR's...shot Paris air show this year in this manner, and I'm pretty happy with the results.</p>

<p>Thanks Paul - for the 100-400 were you using shutter priority? I'm assuming that for shooting passing planes it's similar to passing racecars, where getting the speed right is most important; taking advantage of image stabilization of course. </p>

<p>My basic setup for ground-to-air::</p>

<ul>

<li>7D with 100-400mm</li>

<li>All focus points (there's only one thing in the frame and I'm not steady enough to keep the center-point on the plane all the time)</li>

<li>Servo AF</li>

<li>High frame-rate</li>

<li>All Prop planes: ISO 100</li>

<li>Small prop planes: Tv with 1/320s to 1/500s</li>

<li>Warbirds: Tv with 1/250s (maybe 1/320s)</li>

<li>Chimp for acceptable prop-blur and exposure</li>

<li>Jets: ISO 200 (or higher) and as fast a shutter-speed as you can get while not running the lens wide open</li>

</ul>

<p>I tend to leave the IS on mode 1, although I will change to mode 2 if I know there's a fast photo pass coming up, or if I'm trying for panning shots.<br>

I use the "AF Start" or "*" button to control the AF.<br>

I put the center AF point on the plane when it's relatively far away, start the AF, and then shoot bursts of 3+ frames as I see compositions I like.<br>

If sun-angle and prop decoration is good and you see the prop-disk, you can try much slower shutter-speeds to get a "full disk" prop-blur. Usually 1/30s works in-flight, and lower for landing/taxing: http://moving-target-photos.com/2011DacyAirport/slides/IMG_4171_screen.html<br>

Note that you probably will end up with a small aperture and some diffraction softening.</p>

<p>For static displays, I generally look for more abstract compositions, often with a WA lens:</p>

<ul>

<li>http://moving-target-photos.com/2012Oshkosh/slides/IMG_3290_screen.html</li>

<li>http://moving-target-photos.com/2012TotL/slides/IMG_2884_screen.html</li>

<li>http://moving-target-photos.com/AirVentureCup/2012/album/slides/IMG_0946_screen.html</li>

</ul>

<p>Geoff - thank you for spending the time describing your approach. Some great results there.</p>

<p>David - Thanks!<br /> For more info. specific to the Abbotsford show, you might check out the thread at:<br /> http://www.fencecheck.com/forums/index.php/topic,23141.0.html</p>

<p>Also, I forgot to mention that I hand-hold for all air-to-ground shots. I know some people who use mono/tri-pods, but they are a small minority.</p>

At Abbotsford now about twenty years ago I got all nine Snowbirds into the frame turning low into the sun's light on film with a Canon 650 and 70-300. I still have the 20x30 print. You can make out each pilot rather crisply. It is still the best aviation shot I have gotten and as an aviation careerist and pilot I have been to a lot of airshows. . Michael speak for yourself for after forty years flying and working around airplanes they still excite me. If you have preflighted as many airplanes as I have peering into a landing gear well doesn't excite.me. Solo flight a single engine jet airplane would still excite me if someone would still let me do it at my age. Read High Flight, the poem. I hand hold a 100-400 these days. There are some pictures in my PN gallery. Most important to me is to start tracking way out so I don't lose the airplane(s) as they pass over or by. I have tried both multi frame and single shot and do just as well with single shot. I track usually with single focus point and am careful about DOF because I have gotten outside aircraft OOF with the inside in, in formation pictures. Sometimes I cannot fully blur a prop at 1/200th. I was shooting choppers last weekend and was frustrated because I could not blur the rotor at 1/80th and when I did the subject itself was blurred. I made out all right because I shot plenty of pictures.

<p>The problem with using either a monopod or tripod at air shows is your subject is often high above, requiring a rather extreme upward tilt of the lens. Trying to get "under" a monopod or tripod becomes futile. For landings and takeoffs, they might be slightly better. The first airshow I attended, I took my tripod; never took it out of the bag.</p>

<p>Like Geoff, I favor the 100-400 on my 7D and use it most of the time. Use AI Servo and track your subjects smoothly. I think you could get some interesting static shots with the 10-22 on the 50D.</p>

Thank you all - a very good day and a

few good -looking shots as a result.

Really appreciated the insights and

links - it made a difference today.