Photography News issue 23

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Photography News Issue 23 absolutephoto.com

Technique

Above Creative effects: ometimes the imperfect has more drama. Here, a silhouetted exposure and lots of grain add a dose of WWII authenticity.

Watch the skies Summer skies are filled with thrilling aircraft, and capturing them at an air show event is as rewarding as it gets. Wing Commander Kingsley Singleton unscrambles the action

Flying gear

To feature an aircraft large in the frame you need lenses that are capable of long focal lengths, but this doesn’t mean spending a lot – you can do plenty with an entry-level telephoto zoom like a 55-300mm on an APS-C format sensor. How much magnification you need depends on your position, so if you’re close to the flight line you’ll naturally require less reach and even a 70-200mm lens on an APS-C or full-frame body will give you plenty of scope. Further back, where most people will be, or for shots where you want to see the pilot’s fillings, a lens like the Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 will stand you in great stead and at around £850, it’s a steal. Pros also often use two bodies, one with a 70-200mm and the other with a 400mm lens which allows a quick change of options and retails the highest quality.

For me, air shows go with summer like gin goes with tonic. I love military and vintage aircraft, and the east of England where I live is so cluttered with airfields that you couldn’t ignore the lively skies if you tried. Sometimes it feels like the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight whizz past to celebrate the opening of a packet of crisps. Fine by me – I’d happily live under a Hurricane’s wing. In fact, 2015 has already marked the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, but there’s loads more to see with shows contining country wide, right up to the early autumn. Check out www.air-shows.org.uk for what’s still available. Aswell as the thrills, you’ll get a pretty stern examination of your photo skills if youwant to capture aircraft in flight; I visited Biggin Hill Festival of Flight, and it confirmed the main problems of air show shooting. Planes are fast, small (or at least far enough away to appear so), and lots of people want to see them. Good positioning and/or long focal lengths helped me overcome two of those; while shooting fast- moving subjects was a matter of setting the right focusing modes and relying on a smooth panning technique. Take a stand Alongside getting the right glass (see panel), the most important thing in achieving strong compositions and avoiding distractions is shooting position. I aimed to get close to the flight line, whichmeant arriving early, because closing the distance to the subject cuts down the focal lengths required – and the shorter you shoot, the lower the risk of camera shake. A good position also requires an unobstructed 180° view – or you can bet your sharpest shots will be those with the subject behind an ice cream truck or someone wearing the world’s largest cowboy hat. Like all subjects, the angle of light makes a big difference when shooting at air shows, and while the positioning of the flight line means you won’t have much control, try to avoid shooting directly into the sun as you’ll get silhouetted exposures (not always a bad thing,

the direction the plane is passing to improve balance. I support the lens at the end to cut down camera shake and, in continuous drive mode, squeeze off shots as the subject passes, still turning even after I’ve finished shooting – it all increases the chances of a sharp shot. Use your creativity While technique is important, remember you’re a creative photographer; a pin-sharp, frame-filling Spitfire is a joy to behold, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. Framing your subject smaller among the clouds makes more sense of its environment; including treetops in your pan adds a sense of speed, and catching a plane with a glint of light always looks great.

but only if you want them). Even with the sun in the right place, contrast between plane and sky can be high; with the subject large in the frame, switching to centre-weighted metering helped. Shooting in Raw also means you can crush highlights or fill shadows in post. Get in a spin The settings I use are governed by the subject and its speed. I find fast jets are easier to shoot than prop-driven aircraft as the shutter speed can be kept high, while on the latter you have to go slower to show the props spinning. Slower speeds and shooting at longer focal lengths mean you face camera shake, so good handling is important, and if your body or lens has image stabilisation, then use it! Shooting prop-driven planes, I start in shutter-priority (S or Tv) at around 1/250sec, and work down depending on the results. Any faster will freeze the propeller, making the aircraft look static. Checking I’d got enough blur in the props but that the rest of the subjects were sharp, I dialled down the speed until I reached the limits of my handholding and shake started to creep in. At around 1/125 or 1/160sec you should get a good spin, and avoid shake with steady handling. For jets, I set the shutter faster, particularly for higher altitude passes where there’s no background to consider. A speed of around 1/1000sec is usually enough to hold the subject still and means that I’m not pushing the aperture too wide or cutting the depth- of-field too much. If the jet is low, I drop the shutter speed to pick up movement in the background, just like a regular panning shot. On the move Whichever type you shoot, following the aircraftwithyourfocus,andpanningsmoothly is important. Try shooting in continuous AF mode and using more than a single AF point – a grouping of points (9, 27, etc.) will help you keep the focus on the subject. You’ll also need to follow it physically, which is where good panning technique comes in. I keep my feet planted at shoulder width and point them in

Whichever type you shoot, following the aircraft with your focus, and panning smoothly is important

Top right and left Include clouds, smoke, vapour trails or buildings in the backdrop to give the planes a proper environment and create a more satifying composition.

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