Airplane Pic For Critique

[crzyfotopeeple]

I got this shot at a local air show. Is the black & white conversion ok? I used lightroom and just selected black & white in the adjustment selections. Any suggestions to improve it? Thanks.

 

[tirediron]

The conversion isn't bad, but it's a bit mid-tone rich (overly grey); bumping up contrast slightly wouldn't hurt. I would also perhaps try and burn in the sky a bit to gain some more detail As a general consideration, most subjects are better coming toward the camera, rather than going away (but I understand that may not have been an option). Still a nice picture; C-47?

 

[crzyfotopeeple]

Thank you for the suggestions. Unfortunately the only vantage point was from the end of the landing runway. This is my local airport I fly out of (private pilot) so I am hoping next year I can set up in a better location. It is a C-47.

 

[crimbfighter]

I would mostly agree with tirediron. Only thing I would add is when photographing propeller driven aircraft, try to keep your shutter speed low enough to show motion in the props. High shutter speeds freeze the props making them look very static in the sky. Makes it look like it's coming in dead stick.. otherwise I like the image. The formation in the BG gives it some nice context.

 

[crzyfotopeeple]

I thought the same thing about the props being still. It takes away from the sense of motion. With the lower shutter speed would the image still remain sharp while creating motion blur in the props?

 

[crimbfighter]

It's a constant balance with the shutter speed vs. the speed of the aircraft. In your case, the aircraft is flying away from you more that it is perpendicular to you, therefore the aircraft is moving slightly slower through the frame, so it might be easier to get away with a slower shutter speed. The other trick, is to practice panning with the aircraft as it moves. If you're not familiar with panning, there are many many threads on this forum explaining techniques for doing it as well as many resources elsewhere online. Essentially, it's a technique of moving the camera with the moving subject, allowing you to use slower shutter speeds but still be able to have the moving subject remain sharp. It's also a great technique for showing motion of a subject against the background or moving parts.

This for example was an image I captured at 1/400sec, which without panning, would NEVER have been a fast enough shutter speed to keep a 150kt aircraft sharp in this situation.
EAA Airventure 2012-11 by crimbfighter, on Flickr

Or propeller driven. 1/200sec
EAA Airventure 2012-7 by crimbfighter, on Flickr

Same technique applies when the aircraft are airborne. I suggest playing around with it. Set your camera to shutter priority and try different shutter speeds to see what you can come up with.

 

[crzyfotopeeple]

Nice pics. I have tried panning before at a bicycle race with mixed results. It's definitely a skill I need to practice at.