Alaska aerial photography

[krmhlz]

Is it possible to get high quality aerial shots without IS or other specialized photo gear?

 

I will be spending time in Juneau, Valdes, Cordova, and Seward this July and am wondering

about the possibilities of aerial photography. I've never tried it before, and have only my

Pentax 645NII + 5 lens system (covers 35-300mm). Flightseeing tours sound so

appealing that I'll probably try a couple regardless of the photo possibilities, but I'd really

appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience to share about shooting from helo or

fixed wing aircraft in the coastal AK area. Types of aircraft with the best views, technique

tips, recommendations for tour companies and flights...anything would be helpful and

most appreciated.

[kferris575]

Gordon,

 

This may be helpful if you never did any aerial photography before:

 

Don't keep your eye to the viewfinder the entire time. You may start to feel motion sickness if you don't take your eye away from the camera periodically.

 

See if you can get them to take a window out so you can shoot unobstructed. If you shoot through the window, you may have some trouble if the windows fog up.

 

If you want shots of a bush plane against a great landscape, you will need to charter two planes. One to shot from and one to be your model. The pilots cannot fly close to another commercial plane (I think it is an FAA rule), but if you charter two planes it is permissible (and expensive).

 

Have a polarizer with you and expect to use it.

 

I hope this is helpful.

Good luck

[gloria_hopkins]

I don't have experience in that specific region and that type of craft, but I can offer some general aerial photo tips:

 

1) If photographing through glass or plexiglass, wear black or dark colors to avoid reflections showing up in the photo.

 

2) Don't touch any part of the craft with your body or the camera while making the exposure. Vibrations will transfer to the image.

 

3) Don't use a polarizer through glass/plexiglass. This will cause unwanted patterns, though someone else would have to explain exactly why. I've never seen the results, just heard that I shouldn't do it...

 

Good luck and have fun. I bet it will be gorgeous.

[greg s]

If shooting through a glass window, you might try draping a towel over your head to eliminate glare and reflections from behind. Good luck!

[ron_niebrugge]

Shooting from a helicopter is much easier then a plane, and for the best results, personally I don't think you can be shooting through the Plexiglas.

 

I have used Alpine Air out of Girdwood. They are happy to remove the doors from their helicopters, and they are about an hour flight to Seward, probably similar to Valdez. Most the plane charter operators will let you fly with an open window. I have also used Scenic Mountain Air in Seward, they are used to working with photographers and flying with the window open.

 

You may have a tough time finding a helicopter charter in Cordova, but there are a number of small air charter operators there.

 

I have used Wrangell Mountain Air out of Chitna / McCarthy. You could probably hit Cordova and Valdez from there with them. They have a Super Cub in which the windows open, but your shooting area is limited.

 

Juneau has a lot of helicopter charters, but they tend to be the larger ones used for cruise ship passengers. This makes them very expensive for private charter, and they won?t remove the doors for you with other passengers.

 

Good luck!

[alastairjamieson]

Gordon, You should be able to get great results with the Pentax 645 gear you mention. No need for IS/VR as long as you keep your shutter speeds up around 1/500s or so (less for a wide lens, more for the tele end). Plenty of magnificent aerial photography's been done without stabilized lenses or gyro-stabilizers. I prefer to use Fuji Velvia 50 for aerial photography (especially for 35mm format), but the higher shutter speeds needed usually dictate Velvia100 which will be excellent for 645 format in terms of resolution and graininess.

 

If you have zoom, I'd be inclined to use that, or with any luck you might have two bodies to take different prime lenses? Otherwise, you can waste a lot of time trying to change lenses, while different views and angles pass you by outside. Likewise, use 220 film so you don't have to change that too often and risk missing shots. I'm not quite sure exactly how the Pentax film insert system works, but if it's possible to preload some extra inserts to make changing film quicker, I'd recommend it.

 

It's worth taking a polarizer, but be judicious in it's use - if you're flying at low altitudes it's less necessary to cut atmospheric haze, and in some instances you might want to retain reflections off water and ice for creative effect.

 

As others have suggested, it's a complete waste of time and film to shoot through aircraft windows - even if they're clean and unscratched, they're tinted, and you'll get reflections from anything light colored inside the aircraft - it's surprising how many lights there are on the control panels! I usually fly with a door off when I'm shooting from helicopters, but for high-wing aircraft such as Cessna 172's etc., I just open the window as the door doesn't offer a much greater view anyway. Some helicopters ( e.g. Aerospatiale Squirrels) have a large opening window in the rear which is pretty useful as door-off flying is slower and colder. This is particularly an issue if there's a lengthy transit between your starting point and where you'll be shooting. If you can afford it, charter a helicopter rather than a fixed-wing; the extra maneuverability is worth it. Hire a decent sized one - speed and stability are also helpful.

 

It's important to plan the flight as best as you can in advance. Have a good look at other work that's been done in the area. No doubt there are already coffee-table books on the scenery of Alaska that you can buy, borrow from the library, or at a pinch, peruse in a bookshop. Carefully study detailed maps of the areas you want to shoot, and figure out as far as possible where you'd want your aircraft to be to get the most interesting angles on the landscape. Find out sunrise and sunset times, and where the sun needs to be to light the features you're interested in. If your flight will be a circuit, which direction should you fly it and what side of the aircraft should you be on to get the views you want? The pilots will likely know a lot of this stuff, so see if you can talk to them well in advance to help your planning. Time really is money when you're flying, so you'll want to make the most of the time (money) you have available.

 

Lastly, don't forget to have fun. I particularly enjoy the transit between airport and where I'm shooting, when I can gaze out the door and watch the world gliding by beneath me!

[alastairjamieson]

BTW; The late Galen Rowell's very useful article on aerial photography, "Aerial Wisdom" from Outdoor Photographer in May 1996, can be read here: http://www.mountainlight.com/articles.html

[krmhlz]

Many thanks to all who responded. I really needed to hear that part about "open windows/

no doors," and I think Ron's reference to Alpine Air is going to be put to good use.

Reading the reminders about basic photographic competence ("know your subject, know

your light, pre-load your inserts...") adds to my appreciation of just how much good, solid

advice is given in this forum.

 

--Gordon

[krmhlz]

Oops. Part of my thank you got cut off during the copy & paste. Alastair, thanks so much

for that link to G. Rowell's article, and for your detailed post. I will now be using different

lenses and techniques than I had originally planned, and my odds of getting a successful

shoot are better for it. What a great forum!

[gloria_hopkins]

I don't know about it being a waste of time to shoot through glass. It's not all tinted. I've done it quite successfully, several times....

[matt_ganley]

Many folks have given you very sound information. The only additions I have are:

 

1) If possible, check and see if the infinity stop on you camera is accurate. If so, tape the lens helical there---you'll be shooting at infinty in most if not all aerial work. (Some lenses are heavy enough to pull the helical out of focus when the camera is angled downward.

 

2) If flying in a helicopter (with the door off), take along a few strips of athletic tape. Once you buckle in, wrap a piece of the tape 1 1/2 times around the buckle then fold the leading edge over so you can grab it and unwrap it quickly. Athletic tape tears easy too so you should be able to rip it with a good tug to the buckle latch. Your pilot might not like you doing this, but it sure beats the hell out of an inadvertant release of the buckle while you are leaning outward. Clothes, straps and equipment can snag on buckle releases at the damndest times.

 

3) Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, stick anything (camera, arms, etc.) into the slipstream right outside the helicopter door when flying at speed. Arms can get broken this way. Similarly, don't stick your camera out there when shooting--it will be real hard to hold in the wind.

 

4) With #3 in mind, tether your camera to something. Nothing worse than dropping your camera on Child's glacier from 5000' AGL.

 

5) Lastly, film. Provia, without a warming filter, can be quite blue. I do recommend that you use a UV filter for all films, if your lens means anything at all to you.

 

6) You can get decent (not great) photos shooting through the plexiglass. You'll need to have the lens hood very, very close to the glass and the sun completely at your back. Wear dark clothes and "blackout" any chrome or reflective surfaces on the camera, even the lettering around the front element of the lens.

 

Good luck. If you're interested in a Gyro, let me know. I'm in Anchorage.

 

Matt Ganley

Map-Alaska