Photographing from an Airplane

[larry_angier]

I shoot from a 172 since the pilot and I have outgrown the 150 from our bulk.

The last one had a fixed window but the plexi was in great shape and I was getting 16x24 prints from the digital camera.

The new one we have available has opening windows. You will probably need to remove the pin on the strap to open it far enough. The slipstream will keep it open.

I shoot with a D2x and in the past used the 24-120, 24-85 and the 18-70. At a speed of 400 and a shutter of 1/500 or faster you should get some pretty good pix. I usually tape the focus at infinity and turn off the autofocus since most of what I am shooting is landscape work.

I also usually set the meter to underexpose 1/3 to 1/2 stop from experience in shooting landscapes with film. Everything seems a little darker from the air and it seems to look better with just a bit less exposure.

I also make sure I'm shooting with a large card and fresh batteries.

When I used to shoot film, I'd bring 2-3 bodies and several lenses and was always changing film. Now with digital in the air, it's two bodies, two lenses a couple of extra cards and back-up batteries; about 20 pounds less junk to juggle in a small plane.

Another thing that I like while flying is early/late light. For strictly landscape, it models the land. For more commercial, early or late still works but preferably on a clear day.

Don't fill up with coffee or liquids before your flight. There aren't bathrooms on small planes. If you get motion sickness, bananas taste the same going up as going down...;-)

Another tip, get a pilot with lots of hours; there are bold pilots and old pilots. I prefer the latter....

[DouglasUrner]

There have been a lot of good threads on aerial photography here. Wouldn't hurt to see if you could come up with some of them. I think in addition to searching on aerial and some of the other obvious key words looking for "Cessna" (for fixed wing stuff) and "turbine" (for helicopters) might get you pointed in the right direction.

Doug

[DouglasUrner]

Originally Posted by jlipkin

I'm sure it's a function of how much I want to include in the shot and how low the plane can go. I would like to put the boats in context, so I don't need anything too tight. I can't say how low you can go in a Cessna 172.

Depending on how the pilot interprets the rules the plane will be limited to 1,500 feet (over a populated area, some would say the boats count), 0 feet (over open water), high enough to glide to land (altitude sufficient to make a safe landing, which could be quite low if you are on floats).

The drag about being low in a single engine plane over water is that you're in a world of hurt if the engine fails and you don't have much time to think about what to do.

Another safety factor to consider is that if you're going to depart early in the morning to fly over water in the dark (or near dark) you're heading into a very challenging environment for the pilot. It is very easy to get disoriented over the water in low light / poor contrast situations. When that happens bad things tend to follow. Ideally your pilot would be instrument rated and would understand the potential risks of flying over the water in poor lighting.

Larry's advice is good, look for a conservative, high time pilot. Floats or two engines would be very reassuring.

Doug

[LarryLetzer]

As an old, not bold pilot and long time aerial photographer I always let the window of a 152 or a 172 slide up when shooting out of the aircraft. I also take a 3 foot length of wire and tie this to the air craft and the other end to the camera. If I were to drop the camera it would stay on the wire.

Next thing do not rest your arms or camera on the airframe. It will cause vibration.

Put your subject in the middle of the frame. Don't get cute with trying to compose with the 3ds rule you'll lose pictures.

Shoot at the highest shutter speed you can as focus and depth of field are not an issue as long as the camera is on infinity.

Lastly, shoot more than you need. One of the last shots may be the best one.

[DougAxford]

There's lots of great advice so far. If I understand what you are looking for, I would want to get as low as I could to silloutte the boats against the sun rise before the sun appears. This would mean getting much closer than a plane should be and using a wide lens. If the day is decent, the sky should be awesome.

As Douglas has posted, you're into dangerous flying conditions, especially if there is fog or steam rising from the water in autumn. This would make a fabulous shot, but a nightmare for the pilot. The lower you get, the higher the shutter speed has to be and the shot may be technically impossible, even with high ISO. I'm not a pre-dawn person, but 1/1000 at 5.6 even at 800 ISO seems tough before the sun rises.

I'd re-think the fixed plane and either go with a chopper, or my preferrence would be another boat with a very tall mast you can climb up safely. Another boat can manouver very close and you'll have lots of time to get the shot you wanted.

Just a thought.....

Doug

[DouglasUrner]

Originally Posted by DougAxford

my preferrence would be another boat with a very tall mast you can climb up safely. Another boat can manouver very close and you'll have lots of time to get the shot you wanted.

If a wide angle perspective works for you it wouldn't even need to be that tall of a mast -- assuming that the fishermen are in on this and that it would be cool to be close. Seems to me that swordfish boats (IIRC) have a tower with something like a crow's nest that might work very nicely -- assuming that there are any in your area. Of course, the boat approach means that you've got a bunch of time to spend out on the water.

Is there any chance that the local press would pick up some of your photos and help with the cost of a helicopter? Or maybe somebody who flies one anyway would be willing to give you a ride on a training flight -- say the Coast Guard or an EMS operator.

Doug

[John Riddle]

I have done quite a lot in a 172 with the door off. If you were able to use a Cessna Cardinal 177? this is a better plane as it does not have the wing strut to get in the way. I always use two cameras, one with a 70-200 IS lens, and one with a 24-105 IS. I shoot RAW and Jpeg and if the jpeg is ok I use that to save a lot of time in Photoshop. I use ISO 400 or higher (depending on the day) to enable high shutter speeds and to allow for reasonable depth of field if required. It is very important to have your arms clear of the aircraft seat as has been pointed out in a previous message as the vibrations will result in blurred images

I am now shooting from a helicopter which is so much better as it is more stable, has the ability to hover and has very little vibration. I have had good results with shutter speeds down to 1/125 sec. Trouble is the cost at 7x the Cessna.

Hope you have a succesful day.

Cheers

John