Jets

OK so you want to photograph some jet aircraft in-flight. Happily, as I mentioned in the last post, it's really the prop-driven scenario that results in most of the expletives.

The same fundamentals of composition apply - you want an engaging wing position and a background that helps tell the story of flight for a complete image. Blue sky shots are inevitable in some cases - you'll just be happiest with clouds or uncluttered terrain.

Beyond the considerations of where to shoot from in order to get your best chance at supportive background material, a good place to start with jets is f/8 or somewhere around 1/800. If panning, you can play around with slower shutter speeds to blur clouds or terrain in the out-of-focus area of the frame. Faster shutter speeds are fine - anything 1/800 or faster should freeze motion and produce a sharp result. 

Worth mentioning is an optical reality that comes from shooting at small apertures against light backgrounds such as clouds or sky: You will find that even the smallest amount of sensor dust becomes visible in the image under these conditions. If you can use a larger aperture to get the results you're after, this will be much less of an issue. Even a sensor you thought was clean will often show dust at f/16 and beyond.

In short - it's f/8 and be there with the fast movers. If you want to experiment with blurred terrain as a panning effect, consider starting around 1/125 and making adjustments as needed.

Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet #N120AU (Private)

f/8, 1/800, ISO 200

Getting Props

Aviation photography is something I really enjoy, but don't get the opportunity to pursue with great regularity. It's always worthwhile to attend the annual open house at Hill Air Force Base, which is one of the few airshows in the country that take place at an active military installation.

After posting a few shots from the show, I've received a lot of correspondence asking about the imagery, and what to consider when preparing to photograph aircraft.

In this post I'll focus on what I view as the most difficult scenario in obtaining a 5-star shot, which is prop-driven aircraft in flight. The biggest rookie mistake in this area is the belief that you are shooting a single, fast-moving object.  In turn, this leads to selecting a fast shutter speed similar to what you might use for birds in flight - say 1/1600. In reality, there are TWO key elements in play: The rotating prop, and the moving airframe. Inexperienced photographers will invariably freeze the prop, resulting in an awkward photograph that makes the plane appear to be stalled in mid-air.

Implying motion via a blurred propeller without affecting the rest of the subject is where a dichotomy emerges. On the one hand you need a slow shutter speed to allow the prop to rotate during the exposure, but on the other you have an aircraft flying at hundreds of miles-per-hour. 

In order to achieve effective prop blur, which is vital to quality in-flight imagery, you need to expose for the prop. Variables like airspeed, number of propeller blades, and engine RPM vary significantly - but ultimately you will need to shoot between 1/15 and 1/125 to get the desired effect. Solid hand-holding and panning technique is critical if you shoot without support as I do, because at these speeds camera movement greatly affects the result. Tripods can help in this regard, but can also hinder range of motion or take up excessive space at a public event.

Regarding composition, you want an engaging wing position that showcases the aircraft along with a supportive yet non-distracting background. As a general rule, blue sky backgrounds are not very compelling. Ideally you want to choose a perspective that incorporates clouds or terrain to supplement the main subject of the photograph and complete the image.

So what's the recipe?

• Blurred prop(s)
• Frozen aircraft
• Visually appealing wing position
• A background that enhances and supports the subject

Survivor TF-51D Mustang "Diamondback" 

1/60th, f/16, ISO 200

Beginnings

Wherever you go, there you are.  

I started getting interested in photography about a decade ago, and as the years have passed my passion for the medium has increased tremendously. Initially, sharing my enjoyment of fly fishing and the outdoors with family and friends got me into blogging and www.flytowater.com was born.

Later, I needed a landing page to showcase other types of work such as product and portrait photography. My skills as a developer being roughly on par with members of the tree sloth family, I put together a template-based site which predominantly used Adobe Flash but which was easily maintained.

The rise of mobile and tablet computing eventually made Flash about as desirable as crusted Norwegian scabies, but I also found that my readers and customers were beginning to become increasingly segmented.

This site will be an experiment. In theory, I'd like to consolidate various digital assets into one place and decrease the number of platforms I need to maintain. Still, there may be value in making a distinction between audiences and providing content which is less scattered.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for dropping in.

I'd also like to express appreciation for long-time friend and fellow 'tog Jason Morrison, who provided several images of me for use on this site.