Tag: philosophy about photography

“The Art of Spotting: Techniques to Improve Your Aviation Photography”

The nature of photographing aircraft is far different from other genres of photography. And require a different approach and skill set to master. Having to handhold a large telephoto lens and steadily aim it at aircraft flying at speeds well over 600 miles per hour in a brightly lit sky is challenging, to say the least. Then there is the struggle of getting the right amount of rotor blur while photographing helicopters. There are many hurdles that one must overcome in Aviation photography. You too can better your results with a little bit of time and practice. So, how does one learn these techniques and knowledge? Spotting. That’s right, Spotting offers a wide array of opportunities to help you rise above the obstacles in a predictable and repetitive manner.

During peak hours, depending on how large the airport is, you’ll have a constant supply of subjects to test your abilities on. This is a wonderful chance for you to learn more about your gear and discover what settings work best for you. Does that mean you prefer shutter or aperture priority? At what F-Stop is your lens the sharpest? What autofocus mode do you prefer? What ISO do you like? When should you over or under-compensate for your exposure? The more time you spend experimenting and learning about your gear, the more knowledge you’ll have about getting the results you’re looking for and you will understand your gear’s limitations. It is crucial that you develop muscle memory when it comes to changing your settings quickly and effortlessly so that you’re not missing shots in the heat of the moment. Spotting gives us the luxury of try, fail, learn, and repeat with little to no worries.

Another helpful aspect of spotting is that it allows you to practice and learn new techniques in a predictable and repetitive environment before you go to your next aviation event. Such as trying to get better at panning airplanes at take-off or landing. It could be that you want to practice framing aircraft better. Or maybe you’re trying your hand at getting better prop blur. Perhaps you want to work on and feel more comfortable with your shooting stance. Before I went to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) last year, I knew I had to get comfortable with shooting while seated. The package I got came with a grandstand seat which you can’t shoot while standing. So, I spent as many hours as possible spotting while sitting on my tailgate just so that when I got to RIAT, I would be more comfortable with shooting from the grandstands. And I’m glad that I spent that time beforehand, and I can see it in My Results.

Due to the predictable pacing, spotting gives you a chance to test new gear. See how features and functions can help or hurt your shooting skills. As well as trying out new gear in different lighting conditions because Mother Nature is not always going to be nice to us when we are out photographing something that we have been waiting to see. The more lighting conditions you familiarize yourself with, the greater the understanding you will have of how your camera exposes aircraft in those conditions.

My experiences while spotting helped me not only develop my knowledge and skills but also to continue to nurture them. Spotting offers an incredible opportunity to hone your skills in a predictable environment, allowing you to experiment, learn, and grow as an Aviation photographer. With each outing, you not only gain a deeper understanding of your gear and technique but also develop the confidence to tackle more dynamic and challenging ones.

Happy Spotting,

S.Lewis

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Philosophy about Photography Part Seven: Choosing Light over Available Subjects

Choosing Light over Available Subjects

Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” These wise words are so true even in aviation photography. The repeated attendance of aviation events based on a list of demonstration teams and performers over an event with great lighting conditions is crazy to me. And let’s face it, we go to events to see and experience living breathing aircraft take flight. Shooting static aircraft is really just a matter of waiting for the right time of day. We don’t get to choose what flies or performs in whatever light we want. But we can choose events with better overall lighting conditions. That we choose light over available subjects.

Such stunning light in the late afternoon

In this episode of “Philosophy about Photography”. I want to talk about choosing an event with purpose over subjects of opportunity. After attending countless aviation events over the past 17 years, I’ve become very critical about what show or event I will attend. Just because there’s an event nearby, doesn’t mean I’m going to it. I have a tried and tested trifecta of reasoning for attending an aviation event. For me, it takes great lighting conditions, multiple shooting locations, and subjects I want to see. And having only one doesn’t cut it.

Light and location go hand in hand. The quality of light at an aviation event is directly proportional to your shooting location, show/crowd line, and the path of the Sun. There are numerous other factors that must be considered. Such as, where’s the show/crowd line? And what direction is it facing? Where’s the Sun now? And where will it be later? Does the event cater to photographers? How late can I stay after the show ends? Also, there are events with good light only for part of the day. Wings over Houston for example, the show faces east and at the start of the show, the light is garbage. The good thing is flying tends to start in the late afternoon. The first few acts are backlit but before you know it and for the rest of the show the sun is at your back. NAS Oceana is the exact opposite. The lighting conditions are good until midday and the Sun crosses overhead and then starts backlighting the event just in time for the Blue Angels.

My reasoning behind having multiple shooting locations is, I feel one cannot capture the feeling or present the experiences of a show from one location. There’s just too much going on to show from one point of view. When you do, all your images have the same perspective and tend to look the same. And you quickly lose the interest of your viewers and they either click away to some other interest or continue scrolling past the rest of your photos. My remedy for this stagnation is to shoot the first half of a show in one location and then the second half in another for one-day events. And for multi-day shows, to switch up locations on different days. The results tend to show a more complete picture of the show and I’m able to tell a more complex story with my images.

How many of my sought-after aircraft are supposed to be at one of these well-lit events? I may get to see two or three per show if I’m lucky. But for me, I’m in it for the long game. And with warbirds being my jam, I tend to gravitate towards the larger warbird events like the Planes of Fame air show in Chino California, EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh, and Thunder Over Michigan in Ypsilanti. And even when I make it out to a show with quality light along with the aircraft I want to see, there is still no guarantee that I will add any unique images to my portfolio. Events get canceled, Mother Nature likes to start tripping on show weekends, and unfortunately, accidents happen as well.

Yeah, you can use Lightroom and Photoshop to add filters and layer masks to correct for crappy light. But those images will not be as good as ones shot in superior conditions. And the workflow of processing a set of images from a poorly lit event is tedious and time-consuming. I’ve been there, done that and no thank you. But at least we can pick events that are more in our favor to produce better results.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven

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Philosophy about Photography Part Eight: The Art of Spotting