Aircraft Photography

[marke]

I just got a new Nikon Digital camera, the one with interchangable lenses . D5000. Went to the CAF air show in Midland and shot some stuff. Had a problem with the Props being stopped in flight. What Shutter Speed should you use to make the prop blur. I changed the f-stop etc to adjust the speed. Usually then resulting underexposer. Please help, fellow Air Show & Air Racing Photographers.

Mark G. Ehlers

[wingman]

Re: Aircraft Photography

Mark, as a general starting point, try using a shutter speed of 1/250. Set the mode button to "S" which should make the camera set the appropriate aperture to give a reasonably good exposure. Your camera should shoot quite well at an ISO setting of 400, which should give you plenty of depth of field for what you're trying to do.

Spend some time with your manual, and learn to use the LCD diplay on the back of the camera to judge what you are getting as you go through an airshow day.

Not all your shots will be sharp, so shoot a lot -- each exposure costs you nothing, so keep trying and keep experimenting.

PRACTICE! Go to your local airport, and shoot Cessnas for a day. Go to a busy highway and shoot cars going by. Never try to learn new equipment in a critical situation. The more you have control over the machine BEFORE the airshow, the better your results will be!

You've spent a bunch of money on the machine -- now it's up to you to make the machine do what you want it to do. It does not know what you want to do -- you need to know how to tell it what to do. You have a very good camera, but you need to do your part. PRACTICE!

Neal

[kiwiracefan]

Re: Aircraft Photography

Neal makes some damn good points, me when i shoot airplanes, i use ISO 100-400, if its a nice bright day then 1/250th normally gives me around f8-f16 and this creates lot of depth of field...

and the point about going to the local airport shooting cessnas etc is brilliant, i know when i went digital i spent a longtime shooting surfing etc to get used to the speeds..

[Air Boss]

Re: Aircraft Photography

Good stuff, fellas. On a bright sunny day, you should be able to shoot at ISO 200, f11 or so, at 1/200 or less, depending on lighting direction, color or aircraft, etc.

Another thing to consider is type of a/c. In general, shooting a T-6 or smaller a/c the prop rpm's are higher so you can get away with a highers shutter speed and still get the holy grail of a/c photogs...360 prop blur. Unlimited, not so much.

Examples:
Spirit of Texas, full sun from over shoulder, ISO 100, f/16 at 1/125.
Jelly Belly, full sun from over shoulder, ISO 100, f/16 at 1/100.

By contrast,
September Fury, full sun from over shoulder, ISO 125, f/7, 1/500.