What’s Your Preference?

equilution · #1 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 05:31 AM

I just wanted to share some of my lessons with some fellow aviation photographers. I took 5300 pictures Saturday and Sunday at the Reno Air Races this weekend. I learned a lot on Saturday on how NOT to take aviation action shots...3500 pics worth on Saturday!

The pics below are from Sunday after I learned what NOT to do on Saturday!

Rule #1: Don't shoot in "Vivid" mode. I spent a lot of time post processing it out. You can always increase color and contrast later in PS.

Rule #2: For the fast action shots, use full field focus...not spot focus. I missed some great shots on Saturday because they were slightly out of focus. The camera is smarter than you and will focus on the closest object...in most cases anyway...i.e. the plane instead of the mountain behind it.

Rule #3: Use Shutter Priority to achieve the effect you want..ie. blur in a propeller at 1/50th sec, or if shooting a jet, use a fast shutter speed...there's no prop to freeze. I used aperture priority on some. The aerial action shots were all shot hand-held with my Nikkor 80-400 VR (with VR turned off...a must). This lens is sharpest at f/11, so I just bumped up the ISO to 400 to get the shutter speed I needed to stop the action where I wanted it.

Rule #4: If you want to get a perfectly timed shot, start shooting the action about half a second before you THINK it's going to happen, then release the shutter a half second after you THINK it's happened. The pics below are the best of a 12 or 13 shot sequence. My D3 shoots at 11 frames per second, so I was able to get some well timed shots.

Rule #5: If you wear your hat backwards to take the shots, put some sunscreen on your forehead so you don't have a dome-shaped sunburn on the front of your head like me!!!

Thanks for looking!!!

Here's a link to the thread with the rest of my shots: http://digital-photography-school.co...9-preview.html

Marcuscarcus · #2 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 09:31 PM

why no Vibration control???

equilution · #3 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcuscarcus

why no Vibration control???

Because it's a little slow to react, and the shutter release may not fire at the exact moment you want it to. VR is also null and void when you're panning, so there's no benefit. If you're taking a still shot waiting for the subject to come into your field of view, then VR may be just fine. However, I would have the VR engaged (slight pressure on the shutter release), then when you're ready to shoot, then shoot. However, if your focus point changes, then all bets are off, and you'll have to re-engage AF and VR all over again.

5*!0!5 · #4 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 03:32 AM

Hi, nice pictures. Why do you recommend not using Vivid mode?

equilution · #5 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5*!0!5

Hi, nice pictures. Why do you recommend not using Vivid mode?

I shot a few non-aviation photo shoots in vivid with spectacular results, but it only works well with certain color combinations. I wholly do not recommend it as a universal setting for all the pictures you take. The blue of the sky sometimes does not ring true when other colors are in the field of view that are not suited to vivid. Vivid seems to work best with the primary colors, as shown below in this P-51A Mustang pic. Vivid mode worked well with THIS sky because, I believe, I was using my 14-24 at 14mm:

However, in the picture below, it just doesn't look right..the blue of the sky was OFF in most of them. Compare the Vivid to Standard

Vivid:

See how the sky has an almost green color shift?

Standard:

The blue sky here seems more true to life.

...and sometimes, red seems almost TOO red...almost shifting toward pink. Although this was done in vivid, and seems a little over the edge, it works for this shot:

Thanks for the question.

steaminhaggis · #6 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by equilution

Rule #5: If you wear your hat backwards to take the shots, put some sunscreen on your forehead so you don't have a dome-shaped sunburn on the front of your head like me!!!

Brillliant tip!

smay24 · #7 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 03:56 PM

The shot of the 4 Blue Angels going from right to left caught my eye. I have a similar shot from the Omaha Air Show.

equilution · #8 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smay24

The shot of the 4 Blue Angels going from right to left caught my eye. I have a similar shot from the Omaha Air Show.

Welcome to DPS, and thanks for sharing the shot. Aviation photography is a blast. Way back in the day, I was stationed at Offutt while in the AF. I'm a UNO class of '92 alum. Keep the shots coming!