digital aerial example

[rooky]

what i do, for those that want to see.

 

[skieur]

Looks good! What are the details...plane, open cockpit, camera equipment, lens, shutterspeed, filters? Did the plane vibrate?

skieur

 

[rooky]

Sure, I'll give you guys an aerial 101.

I know differnent people approach aerials differently and that there are ups and owns with different approaches. But I have taken thousands and sold thousands, so I guess that my opinion might carry a little weight.

The plane- always use a high wing plane. A Cessna 172 or 152 is best. Although the 172 is usually a bit faster and has more power. It will allow you to travelt o place to place with less time and therefor save u money.

Also, If you are right handed, you will need to sit in the front left seat in order to be able to turn and shoot. If you are left handed, you'd be in the right seat.

And, NEVER, EVER try and shoot through the glass. It will be horrible. Most places will allow you to remove the bracket holding the left window so it can be raised. The wind will hold it in flight except in a steep left turn. Some people will actually tape this window to the wing, but I rarely do.

Camera - I have shot photos from a plane using everything you can think of to try and guage the results and limitations. SLR's are best, obviously. I even tried an instant cheapo camera once for fun.... one of those $10.00 cameras...lol Horrible pictures, but I know we all saw that coming. I have tried both film and digital cameras. The Nikon D80 works great and so does film slr's like N50, N55, N65, F-series, etc.... they are all sufficient. But the better the camera the better it will handle the volume of usage on a commercial basis and I'm sure the better your product will be.

Lenses - Well, This is important. You will need two lenses or one that will do at least a 28mm-300 mm AF. I have tried a 55mm-200mm lens and it was ok but I prefer the reach of the 300mm since some house set further off the roads and its a waste of time and money to try and fly to each one. Obviously, the better the lens, the better the end result.... I'm not a lens expert, I simply buy as decent of a lens that I can. I havent had an issue with any I've used, but I always try and improve. But sometimes a wide angle lens is very helpful, thats why 2 lens sometimes is better so you cover all your potential needs.

Camera adjustments - Well, when you are sitting in the front left seat(if u r right handed), you will experience some vibration. How to deal with this. Well, I have two main pieces of advice. There are others but these two are key. 1. ALWAYS when taking shots, you'll need to lean back just enough to keep the lens out of the wind passing by the plane while the window is up. If you forget and get the lens in the wind, it will ruin a lot of shots. 2. Shutter speed. Never set the shutter speed higher the 1/500 of a second. It's gets to be too much on the average. The faster the shutter speed the more it will effect your exposure. Pictures will tend to darken and such. A good starting point is 1/250 sec. And just see how it goes. But I generally start there.

The strap - I always wear a strap when in the plane. I dropped one camera right out the window once. And it landed on a man's driveway and basically busted into tiny little pieces.

Film - I have some film advice in case you need it and are still using or prefer it. I have tried both expensive and cheap film and believe it or not, when I was using film, I used walmart film... fujifilm 200 spd. LOL Can u believe that? And of course, I liked others too, but there was one basic reason for that particular kind. Well, it was cheap, but thats not the reason... that was just a bonus. The reason is that for aerials, it worked great because it, for whatever reason, exaggerated the greens well. And thats a big deal when there are trees.

Time - Well, this is another subject that takes a little prep. It is typically better to take shots between 10am and 2pm when the sun is somewhat overhead. The last thing you need in your shots are lonnnnnnnng shadows. and if you are just taking 1 prticular place you can be more flexible so long as you make SURE that when you are going to be up in the plane that the sun is either overhead or preferrably, slightly facing the front of the target if possible. You'll get a better result. Now if you are into scenery then you can do whatever suits you to provide the desired effect.

The weather - Well, this one is going to get all kids of arguments. LOL It is better to take shots on sunny days but there is an exception to this rule. Assuming it is a fairly nice day, you can take shots and get good general result if the clouds are MOSTLY but PARTLY is not good. It will leave you lots of light and dark spots. With MOSTLY, you'll actaully get some nice shots and they seem to be softer.

BUT NEVER EVER take shots on a HAZY day. Thats the Killer.

Well, I know this doesnt tell everything, maybe someone can ask what they want to know. Rather than me typing a book. LOL I hope some of this helps somebody.

And of course, I used photoshop 7.0.1 to correct the above picture.

 

[Socrates]

Sure, I'll give you guys an aerial 101.

I know differnent people approach aerials differently and that there are ups and owns with different approaches. But I have taken thousands and sold thousands, so I guess that my opinion might carry a little weight.

The plane- always use a high wing plane. A Cessna 172 or 152 is best. Although the 172 is usually a bit faster and has more power. It will allow you to travelt o place to place with less time and therefor save u money.

Also, If you are right handed, you will need to sit in the front left seat in order to be able to turn and shoot. If you are left handed, you'd be in the right seat.

And, NEVER, EVER try and shoot through the glass. It will be horrible. Most places will allow you to remove the bracket holding the left window so it can be raised. The wind will hold it in flight except in a steep left turn. Some people will actually tape this window to the wing, but I rarely do.

Camera - I have shot photos from a plane using everything you can think of to try and guage the results and limitations. SLR's are best, obviously. I even tried an instant cheapo camera once for fun.... one of those $10.00 cameras...lol Horrible pictures, but I know we all saw that coming. I have tried both film and digital cameras. The Nikon D80 works great and so does film slr's like N50, N55, N65, F-series, etc.... they are all sufficient. But the better the camera the better it will handle the volume of usage on a commercial basis and I'm sure the better your product will be.

Lenses - Well, This is important. You will need two lenses or one that will do at least a 28mm-300 mm AF. I have tried a 55mm-200mm lens and it was ok but I prefer the reach of the 300mm since some house set further off the roads and its a waste of time and money to try and fly to each one. Obviously, the better the lens, the better the end result.... I'm not a lens expert, I simply buy as decent of a lens that I can. I havent had an issue with any I've used, but I always try and improve. But sometimes a wide angle lens is very helpful, thats why 2 lens sometimes is better so you cover all your potential needs.

Camera adjustments - Well, when you are sitting in the front left seat(if u r right handed), you will experience some vibration. How to deal with this. Well, I have two main pieces of advice. There are others but these two are key. 1. ALWAYS when taking shots, you'll need to lean back just enough to keep the lens out of the wind passing by the plane while the window is up. If you forget and get the lens in the wind, it will ruin a lot of shots. 2. Shutter speed. Never set the shutter speed higher the 1/500 of a second. It's gets to be too much on the average. The faster the shutter speed the more it will effect your exposure. Pictures will tend to darken and such. A good starting point is 1/250 sec. And just see how it goes. But I generally start there.

The strap - I always wear a strap when in the plane. I dropped one camera right out the window once. And it landed on a man's driveway and basically busted into tiny little pieces.

Film - I have some film advice in case you need it and are still using or prefer it. I have tried both expensive and cheap film and believe it or not, when I was using film, I used walmart film... fujifilm 200 spd. LOL Can u believe that? And of course, I liked others too, but there was one basic reason for that particular kind. Well, it was cheap, but thats not the reason... that was just a bonus. The reason is that for aerials, it worked great because it, for whatever reason, exaggerated the greens well. And thats a big deal when there are trees.

Time - Well, this is another subject that takes a little prep. It is typically better to take shots between 10am and 2pm when the sun is somewhat overhead. The last thing you need in your shots are lonnnnnnnng shadows. and if you are just taking 1 prticular place you can be more flexible so long as you make SURE that when you are going to be up in the plane that the sun is either overhead or preferrably, slightly facing the front of the target if possible. You'll get a better result. Now if you are into scenery then you can do whatever suits you to provide the desired effect.

The weather - Well, this one is going to get all kids of arguments. LOL It is better to take shots on sunny days but there is an exception to this rule. Assuming it is a fairly nice day, you can take shots and get good general result if the clouds are MOSTLY but PARTLY is not good. It will leave you lots of light and dark spots. With MOSTLY, you'll actaully get some nice shots and they seem to be softer.

BUT NEVER EVER take shots on a HAZY day. Thats the Killer.

Well, I know this doesnt tell everything, maybe someone can ask what they want to know. Rather than me typing a book. LOL I hope some of this helps somebody.

And of course, I used photoshop 7.0.1 to correct the above picture.

Some forty years ago, I did that for enjoyment. In addition to all of your suggestions, I would take the door off! I don't know if that's legal (or even possible) today. Obviously, I made absolutely certain that my seat belt was secure.

 

[skieur]

Did you get air sick or take anti-nausea pills?

skieur

 

[JimmyO]

Wow, dropping a camera....thats intense, i hope it wasnt like a D3 with a 70-200 f/2.8, haha that would be bad, very bad.

 

[rooky]

Yeah some people do get sick. There is lots of turning and twisting when taking aerials, or at least there can be. It doesnt bother me really bad but I have had times when it got to me some. Most people take dremamine(no idea how to spell that) to help with that.

And yeah, dropping the camera sucked. I had it in my hand and i accidentally got it in the wind and I didnt have a good grip and whooop... there it went. LOL

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the thread. Take it easy.