As some of you know, 2013 was my first year going out to photograph at the pylons after more than 30 years of being a spectator at Reno. I've had a bit of an interest in photography for years, but primarily I took photos of my military flying activities and have very little experience shooting things zooming past me quickly.
I was fortunate that Neal Nurmi spent some of his valuable time giving me some personal tutelage on pylon photography. I was floored that he would take such time passing on the lessons learned through years of pylon shooting to a new guy like me, but incredibly thankful, since I didn't want my time and effort out at the pylons to be wasted on crappy photos learning those lessons myself.
Now that I've finally had some time to sort through my photos, I thought I'd pass on the top ten "Wingman's Pylon Photography Tips" he gave me.
1. "I like to shoot the fixed 300mm lens out there."
Thanks to Nikon, I was able to get one of these babies and use it out there. Man! You can get REALLY close up!
2. "You're going to want to get the shutter as slow as possible for the props.."
So, I did some quick math, and the smallest number I could find on my camera was 1/2000, so that must be it.
3. "But when the jets get out there, you can get that shutter pretty much as fast as you want."
Sweet! Bigger numbers are better, so I figured about 1/30 oughta do it.
4. "Try and get a shot that has the pylon in it with the airplane to give some perspective."
5. "Sometimes it is interesting to show how low the racers are by having some sagebrush in the foreground."
6. "I like to have shots with multiple aircraft in them to really give the impression of racing."
7. "Don't worry about the lighting out at Pylon 8 in the afternoon."
8. "It doesn't really matter what kind of equipment you are shooting, so much as it is a combination of luck, skill, and being at the right place."
9. "Always make sure you have a nice shot of the Unlimited Gold Champion."
Bingo!
10. "...and the most important bit of advice I can give you is, 'f8 and be there'!"
...and there I was!
I was fortunate that Neal Nurmi spent some of his valuable time giving me some personal tutelage on pylon photography. I was floored that he would take such time passing on the lessons learned through years of pylon shooting to a new guy like me, but incredibly thankful, since I didn't want my time and effort out at the pylons to be wasted on crappy photos learning those lessons myself.
Now that I've finally had some time to sort through my photos, I thought I'd pass on the top ten "Wingman's Pylon Photography Tips" he gave me.
1. "I like to shoot the fixed 300mm lens out there."
Thanks to Nikon, I was able to get one of these babies and use it out there. Man! You can get REALLY close up!
2. "You're going to want to get the shutter as slow as possible for the props.."
So, I did some quick math, and the smallest number I could find on my camera was 1/2000, so that must be it.
3. "But when the jets get out there, you can get that shutter pretty much as fast as you want."
Sweet! Bigger numbers are better, so I figured about 1/30 oughta do it.
4. "Try and get a shot that has the pylon in it with the airplane to give some perspective."
5. "Sometimes it is interesting to show how low the racers are by having some sagebrush in the foreground."
6. "I like to have shots with multiple aircraft in them to really give the impression of racing."
7. "Don't worry about the lighting out at Pylon 8 in the afternoon."
8. "It doesn't really matter what kind of equipment you are shooting, so much as it is a combination of luck, skill, and being at the right place."
9. "Always make sure you have a nice shot of the Unlimited Gold Champion."
Bingo!
10. "...and the most important bit of advice I can give you is, 'f8 and be there'!"
...and there I was!
Shawn
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