Many an aviation enthusiast aspires to be a good photographer, to forever capture the fond memories of an airshow or aviation related event. It is in this way, that many professional aviation photographers start their careers.
So where do you start? First things first, the right equipment is an essential part of aviation photography, a good lens is an absolute must. The first question coming to mind is budget. But don’t be put off by this untrue notion so often put forward by certain persons already in the business. When starting off in this area of photography, one can easily purchase a decent SLR camera and a good lens for a relatively cheap price. If you are constrained by your budget, do not be afraid to go for a film SLR camera such as the Canon EOS 3000V or Rebel.
Another untrue statement put forward by certain photographers is that digital is the proverbial alpha and omega of the photography world. Although digital is the preferred medium, it is not a necessity for the beginner. But you want the photos in digital form don’t you? Technology has once again helped us in this area, with the development of scanners, being able to scan your images in strait from your negatives, making printing unnecessary. In fact, as a professional aviation photographer I would recommend learning on a simple film SLR. I am a self-taught photographer, and started on a vintage Chinon CM-7 all manual SLR camera. I had to read up on everything involved with taking an image and exactly how it worked, including apertures, shutter speeds, ISO speeds and a lot more, but we’ll get back to that in just a second. As you move on in skill level, better equipment should be considered.
So what the hell is an SLR camera? The term SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex Camera. It is a camera body, with a forward fitting allowing the removal and application of different lenses. In the simplest examples of this type of camera, the photographer points the camera by looking through a viewfinder. The image can only be viewed if a lens is fitted. The image coming through the lens is projected onto a little mirror, reflecting the light into the viewfinder, enabling the photographer to point the camera. When the photographer sees the desired image, the lens must be focussed. The modern derivative of the lens has an auto-focus system, taking away the tedious task of manually turning the focus dial to find a clear image. When the desired image is visible and clear, the shutter is fired by a shutter – button. When the button is fired, a spring loaded mechanism lifts the aforementioned mirror, which temporarily impairs the photographer’s view. When this happens, the mirror lifts, projecting the now in focus image on the film, for a calculated amount of time, set by the shutter speed.
Understanding exposure.
Controlling the amount of light that hits the film. That is exposure. The concept of exposure can be explained by a very simple demonstration usually presented to students when learning about photography. A sheet of photo paper is stuck to the open end of a box fitting the dimensions of the photo paper, that has a very small hole in the front, allowing a small amount of light to enter the box.. Press-stick is used to fix the photo paper on the box, and to keep out any amount of light that may cause the image to be over exposed. A piece of press-stick is placed over the small hole in the front. When the box is aimed, the press-stick is removed for about a couple of seconds in a low light scenario. Afterwards, the photo paper is removed in a completely dark development room, and the photo paper is developed using an array of chemicals and light. The image is visible after it has been developed. In the case of digital cameras, the film and blinds are simply replaced by a sensor.
In a simple SLR camera, the box is the body of the camera, the little hole in the front replaced by an adjustable hole called an aperture. The removing of the press-stick, is replaced by small blinds that are in front of the film. These blinds are opened for a pre-calculated amount of time, and is set by the shutter speed. To achieve the right exposure, the shutter speed and aperture have to be set in conjunction with each other. For example, in a sunny and good light situation, the aperture can be set to F-stop 11, and the shutter speed to about 125 /sec for still life shots. However, in the aviation world airplanes move quickly, and low shutter speeds make your pictures more prone to camera shake, or having the object blurred. To compensate for this, the shutter speed is set higher. However, once you get the feel for a long lens, your shutter speeds have to be set according to which aircraft is the subject. When photographing helicopters and airplanes with props, images are more pronounced when the aircraft itself is frozen, while the rotor blades or propellers are blurred. In this case, shutter speeds should be set to about 160/th sec for beginners, with the accomplished photographer being able to go down to about 60th / sec. The latter is not recommended if you are a beginner. In the case of jet aircraft, there are no visible props or rotor blades, thus shutter speeds can be as high as required. In the case of professional aviation photographers such as myself, we generally set the shutter speeds lower if head – on shots with fan blades in sight are taken, to make the image ever more pronounced.
Apertures are just as important as the shutter speed and using it to your advantage can produce spectacular images. Using higher end F-stops will make your subject seemingly pop out of the image, making the background seem blurry. Using lower end F-stops will make the background more focussed, even when the lens is focussed on the subject. This concept is called depth of field.
In modern digital cameras (and some film cameras), the task of manually setting your apertures and shutter speeds is taken away with the introduction of shutterspeed, aperture and depth of field priority settings. This means that if you would like a specific aperture value or shutter speed, the priority button can be used. Most aviation photographers use the shutter priority button, simplifying the task of setting exposures for blade blur.
Lenses
Picking the correct lens for your needs is very important. Getting used to a telephoto lens takes time, and camera shake must be expected to occur in the beginning stages. Start off using a good 200 to 300 mm lens for airshows. Also look out for zoom ranges. For example, a good 75-300 mm lens has a good scope for aviation photography, enabling you to get shots fairly close in, while being able to catch subjects that are quite far away. As your skill level improves (and your budget!) get a bigger lens. One of the best lenses out there is the Sigma 300-800MM telephoto lens. No other lens has the wide scope of this lens affectionately known as the "Sig-monster". A predominantly thick wallet is required for this lens.
What to look out for in the field
When in the field of action, always look out for sun position. Trying to photograph aircraft in the early morning sun facing you, will only provide silhouette shots. So try and keep the sun behind you back at all times. Also something to look out for is warning indicators in the viewfinder. Most camera have warning indicators in the viewfinder, warning you if you are out of shutter speed or aperture range. Not all lenses have good aperture ranges, so you can expect to be constrained by your aperture at one stage or another. This happens when using high end shutter speeds. Sometimes you just have to decrease your shutter speed if faced with a flashing aperture indication in the viewfinder.
Another concept very worthy of understanding is panning. The ability to track a moving subject through a telephoto lens can mean the difference between an average image and a great image. Learn to keep the subject steady through the viewfinder and concentrate on keeping the horizon level.
Changing lenses in the field when using a digital camera can ruin your results if not done with care. The keyword here being dust. When changing lenses, be sure to do it in a wind free environment as far as possible. Refrain from changing lenses in a dust rich environment. Also keep your lens covers on when not using your camera, it save you the trouble of cleaning your lens later. While we are on the subject of cleaning lenses, watch out for lens pens that so-called cleans your lens. Most lens pens with solution and brush ends tend to permanently scratch your lens. Using the correct soft cloth is recommended.
So now that you are informed, go out there and get those great shots!
