New photographer to Reno

[Technophile]

Hello, everyone. This weekend will be my first time to the reno air races, and i am very much looking foward to getting some great photos of all the planes and other demos, and activities.

most of all though i am interested in getting shots of the planes in fight, yet i am not sure where would be the best location to do this. i have a Canon 30D and 400mm f/5.6 L lens that i will be using to get some flight shots.

will i be able to get good shots from anywhere inside the event? is there someplace i can go to get better shots?

i have seen many shots posted from the air races, so i know about prop blur, and that i should be shooting at around 1/320 for planes in flight.

any other advice would be appreciated!

[wolfee]

Re: New photographer to Reno

ROFL

The Ringer is looking to expand his skills from the alien...

Whodathinkit....

[Victor Archer]

Re: New photographer to Reno

Com'mon Vic, share some advice. Photos + advice...the two go great together.

TY... Man your still one of my insprations!
The top of the grandstands is an awesome place... need a ticket though.
Flightline in the pit area!!!
Blurry subjects??? as low as 1/25 of a sec...
There are so many interesting ops in the pit area, but you just have to look for them... be a poppa nazi

[Victor Archer]

Re: New photographer to Reno

ROFL

The Ringer is looking to expand his skills from the alien...

Whodathinkit....

LOL ... SMOKE screen... I asked him many a question... Reno is just my passion...

[wolfee]

Re: New photographer to Reno

And to help answer the question at hand.

Unless you have press creds. You will be limited to the dead line. That is as far as you can go.

One of my favorite spots to shoot from in the past, was the static display area. All the way down at the East end.
Get there early, and plan on camping out. cuz it fills up during a race, and certian acts. You also will want to look around to find the best vantage point (closser isnt always better). They park the military acts
(Snow Birds) there, and they can get in the way of a nice shot.

[G. van Dyk]

Re: New photographer to Reno

most of all though i am interested in getting shots of the planes in fight, yet i am not sure where would be the best location to do this. i have a Canon 30D and 400mm f/5.6 L lens that i will be using to get some flight shots.

will i be able to get good shots from anywhere inside the event? is there someplace i can go to get better shots?

i have seen many shots posted from the air races, so i know about prop blur, and that i should be shooting at around 1/320 for planes in flight.

any other advice would be appreciated!

Hi Technophile
I'm really not too well qualified to answer, but I have a few observations that may help.

1/320th is pretty quick for all classes except maybe the formula ones. It will pretty much stop the props dead in flight on the unlimiteds. I shoot about 1/125 to 1/160 and bang off many shots, a few actually come out in focus. The F-1s, Bipes and Sports all turn direct drive so the props are turning much higher RPMs, the T-6 and Unlimiteds are gear driven props and turn much slower.

I'm taking a whole lot fewer air shots this year because I can only take so many pictures of the bottoms of the airplanes before getting really bored. There are many opportunities for interesting shots in and from the pits so be sure to get a pit pass.

I shoot with a Nikon D70 at 500mm. The small airplanes are still pretty far away, but the T-6s and Unlimiteds fill the frame nicely when on course. You should do very nicely with the 400mm, and the airshow performers should give some great opportunities for flying shots as well.

Cheers
Gerry

[Technophile]

Re: New photographer to Reno

thanks for the replies guys, i will try shooting from 1/125 to 1/320 or so, and see what i can get. im going with a friend who has been to the races a few times already, so maybe we will walk around and find a good spot.

surely, i'll post some photos once i get home to process them!