Super Cub (C&C welcome)

[Low_Sky]

The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is the work horse of the Alaska bush. My brother and I just returned from a trip into the Alaska range and I managed a few good shots of our taxi. This was my first time shooting a plane and I learned a few things. I'm looking forward to taking another stab at this next year!

1. The sweet spot for shutter speed is slower than 1/1000s and maybe slightly faster than 1/250s to catch the right amount of prop blur.
2. My Sigma 30mm DN lens doesn't support continuous AF on my Sony a6500 so I stopped down aperture and increased ISO to try to compensate for lack of AF-C with more depth of field. Next time I'll just bring a native lens that supports AF-C.
3. White planes look best against dark backgrounds (mountains).

C&C is welcome, especially if anyone has pointers on shooting prop planes.

#1
a6500-6503871 by Low_Sky, on Flickr
f/9, 1/1000s, ISO 800

#2
a6500-6503927 by Low_Sky, on Flickr
f/16, 1/250, ISO 800

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Very nice sharpness in these. For my taste, I might have changed crop just a small amount on both. Again, this is just me talking, I think maybe cropping a small sliver off left side so you could take some of the foreground out on #2, and #1 needs more space on the left wing. It is very close. I like the amount of prop blur on #2 best, I think. I had to enlarge #1 to see the blue with my eyes. The cloudy light works for me. I like slightly dark photos. Nicely done!

 

[Low_Sky]

Thanks for the feedback, Dean. I'd have to go back into LR to see exactly how much cropping I did on these, but it wasn't much. Mostly just a little straightening. No room at all to the left on #2. These were shot really close at 30mm on an APS-C camera. Did I mention that I REALLY trust my pilot? Haha


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