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Who goes to airshows?

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herb kauhry

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I asked in another forum a couple days ago, with no reply...

I know several people have talked about airshows in here and shown their work.

Well, there is one In Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend. I know nothing about it or if it's even worth going to it. I figure it's probably one of the smaller affairs.

Anyone familiar with and/or going to it? It would be nice to know where the preferred position might be from someone who's been before.

Then again it may be raining, still, and none of this will matter :-)

Don

--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
 
DBevis said:
I asked in another forum a couple days ago, with no reply...

I know several people have talked about airshows in here and shown
their work.

Well, there is one In Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend. I know
nothing about it or if it's even worth going to it. I figure it's
probably one of the smaller affairs.

Anyone familiar with and/or going to it? It would be nice to know
where the preferred position might be from someone who's been
before.

Then again it may be raining, still, and none of this will matter :-)

Don

--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
Click to expand...
--
Matthew
 
I actually live under the flight path of many of the Planes that partake in the "Miramar Air Show" although I have never attended. I have seen the "Blue Angels" praticing in the years pass - they are awesome to watch. This year armed with my new 10D and 100400mmL IS I will see what I can capture.

I just did a search and this year the Air Show starts October 17th and they are selling reserved priority seating - although GA is still free. Over a Million people attend each year.
Here's a link to the Miramar Air Show's website:

http://www.miramarairshow.com/

--
BigDaveSD
...DSLR Rocks.........
http://www.pbase.com/bigdavesd
 
The usual stuff: D60, 100-400L IS, poss the 2x TC, 24-70 for tarmac shots.

Don
matthu said:
DBevis said:
I asked in another forum a couple days ago, with no reply...

I know several people have talked about airshows in here and shown
their work.

Well, there is one In Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend. I know
nothing about it or if it's even worth going to it. I figure it's
probably one of the smaller affairs.

Anyone familiar with and/or going to it? It would be nice to know
where the preferred position might be from someone who's been
before.

Then again it may be raining, still, and none of this will matter :-)

Don

--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
Click to expand...
--
Matthew
Click to expand...
--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
 
blink , blink holy (expletive) batman

Don
--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
 
I'm headed north to Abbotsford, British Columbia in August to see that airshow. One of the best in N. America.

I will photograph the acts using my old Canon Pro 90 IS ZLR. Used it at an airshow near Portland, OR, where I live, and got great results.
--
Jim A.
 
Robin here - so I exaggerated it a bit - golly gee Batman

The freeways are tied up for miles and there are hours long wait to get into the Base - Security checks really slow things down. What I have seen from my view is a great show. I checked I actually thought they had over 300,000 each day - guess not.

--
BigDaveSD
...DSLR Rocks.........
http://www.pbase.com/bigdavesd
 
Don,

Though I found people on this forum not believing it, use AIServo to hunt the planes. Even at them right coming to you, my D60 did it perfectly (70-200 4L). What does it mean ? forget about the TC !

Don't be afraid to get as near to the strip as you can get, assuming the show will happen in the length of the strip.

Note that I found the best part of the show, planes running at eachother, passing by at some 10 meters or so (well, as it looked). I was at some 100 meters from the strip, giving you the planes about filling the frame (200mm). Tip to shoot the passings of two planes running into eachother :

AIServo on one of them, coming right to you. In general the planes pass at about the same point each time. Once you know that, you know where about to press the shutter. Follow the plane trhough the viewfinder and press once you see the opposite plane ... In order to get your chances (on your response) better, stand at an angle of some 30 degrees from where they pass. I mean, at 500mph and more, it could be too difficult when they pass right in front of you, hence the time time you'll see the opposite plane coming would be about twice as short (45 degrees vs 90).

I got 450 shots, only 6 or so failed. All tack sharp. You don't need the 1D for it, but again, this was my D60 and it was the 70-200 4L (which is really fast for focusing).

Good luck ! Peter
DBevis said:
I asked in another forum a couple days ago, with no reply...

I know several people have talked about airshows in here and shown
their work.

Well, there is one In Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend. I know
nothing about it or if it's even worth going to it. I figure it's
probably one of the smaller affairs.

Anyone familiar with and/or going to it? It would be nice to know
where the preferred position might be from someone who's been
before.

Then again it may be raining, still, and none of this will matter :-)

Don

--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
Click to expand...
 
I love going to airshows. My picture taking is limited to 2 shows.

Millville, NJ I was using the 10D, Sigma 70-200 w/1.4 TC and Tamron 24-135. I did a little research before I went and took quite a few good pics. Performers were the Blue Angels and Canadian Snowbirds. I was lucky enough to snag a spot at airshow center (point of reference for their crossing maneuvers). I read that 1/1000th shutter speed is recommended for jets. Result, jets moving in the same direction all come out nice and sharp.

For jets doing a crossing maneuver I put the camera in drive mode (should always be in drive mode during flying), and start tracking, when getting near show center hold the shutter release down and start snapping. Result, very hard to get the ideal pic of the planes crossing but verry possible. The plane I was tracking would be sharp and in focus, the plane going the other direction would have motion blur. If you want both planes sharp, you may want to try something faster. depends on the effect you want.

For prop planes, you want to keep shutter speeds @ perhaps 1/400th at most when flying or during take off to show prop blur, lower the speeds to about 1/250th when they are landing or taxiing. A stopped prop on a moving plane looks really bad. Pretty good guidelines to follow as recommended in the links I provide below. However not always the rule. For example, a B-17 flying at 1/400th showed just about stopped props. (That was the WWII Weekend in Reading, PA) SInce, I have learned to change 1/2 to 1/3 exposure steps and get wider variety of shutter speeds.

At Reading I was using 10D, Sigma 50-500, Tamron 24-135 and a monopod. I would strongly discourage lugging a tripod to an airshow unless you have a special place to set up.

Hope this helps and these links (check the exif data on the one guys plane pics for setting ideas)

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Me/Photography/Airshows/index.html
http://www.intsysint.com/photos/motegi2002-individual/index.php
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=4943373

Kevin

But what the hey, I am learning, it's great, mistakes and all.
DBevis said:
I asked in another forum a couple days ago, with no reply...

I know several people have talked about airshows in here and shown
their work.

Well, there is one In Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend. I know
nothing about it or if it's even worth going to it. I figure it's
probably one of the smaller affairs.

Anyone familiar with and/or going to it? It would be nice to know
where the preferred position might be from someone who's been
before.

Then again it may be raining, still, and none of this will matter :-)

Don

--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
Click to expand...
 
Don't forget to get something like a Digibin and an extra CF card. Take a spare battery or 2 for the camera also.

Kevin
KevinM said:
Millville, NJ I was using the 10D, Sigma 70-200 w/1.4 TC and Tamron
24-135. I did a little research before I went and took quite a few
good pics. Performers were the Blue Angels and Canadian Snowbirds.
I was lucky enough to snag a spot at airshow center (point of
reference for their crossing maneuvers). I read that 1/1000th
shutter speed is recommended for jets. Result, jets moving in the
same direction all come out nice and sharp.

For jets doing a crossing maneuver I put the camera in drive mode
(should always be in drive mode during flying), and start tracking,
when getting near show center hold the shutter release down and
start snapping. Result, very hard to get the ideal pic of the
planes crossing but verry possible. The plane I was tracking would
be sharp and in focus, the plane going the other direction would
have motion blur. If you want both planes sharp, you may want to
try something faster. depends on the effect you want.

For prop planes, you want to keep shutter speeds @ perhaps 1/400th
at most when flying or during take off to show prop blur, lower the
speeds to about 1/250th when they are landing or taxiing. A stopped
prop on a moving plane looks really bad. Pretty good guidelines to
follow as recommended in the links I provide below. However not
always the rule. For example, a B-17 flying at 1/400th showed just
about stopped props. (That was the WWII Weekend in Reading, PA)
SInce, I have learned to change 1/2 to 1/3 exposure steps and get
wider variety of shutter speeds.

At Reading I was using 10D, Sigma 50-500, Tamron 24-135 and a
monopod. I would strongly discourage lugging a tripod to an airshow
unless you have a special place to set up.

Hope this helps and these links (check the exif data on the one
guys plane pics for setting ideas)

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Me/Photography/Airshows/index.html
http://www.intsysint.com/photos/motegi2002-individual/index.php
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=4943373

Kevin

But what the hey, I am learning, it's great, mistakes and all.
DBevis said:
I asked in another forum a couple days ago, with no reply...

I know several people have talked about airshows in here and shown
their work.

Well, there is one In Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend. I know
nothing about it or if it's even worth going to it. I figure it's
probably one of the smaller affairs.

Anyone familiar with and/or going to it? It would be nice to know
where the preferred position might be from someone who's been
before.

Then again it may be raining, still, and none of this will matter :-)

Don

--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I live about 20 miles from the Oshkosh airshow which is very large (750,000 people for the week) and one problem is your background. Pick your "spot" carefully or you end up with factories and or other undesirable backgrounds during takeoff:



Airshows are fun but they take a little planning...have a blast!

Paul
 
Cant help you wuth the show you are going to but maybe give some pointers

I go to the Ft Lauderdale Air & Sea Show which is visited by about 3 Million people each year. It is almost impossiblt to imagine that many people on a beach.

Go there early and know where to go (i know this is hard the first time but you'll do better the second time around).

If lighting is fairly even and doesn change drastically use manual exposure. Use Servo AI and a good fast focussing long lens. A tripod with wimberley head will make your life a lot easier.

For planes passing each other which is really quite easy to shoot you simply follow one plane through the viewfinder and watch the other plane coming in from the other side with your other eye and take the picture when they meet.

Propellers and helicopters need slower shutterspeeds so the props are blurred. Something around 1/250 to 1/400.

For Jet planes just use the highest shutterspeed you can with a decent aperture.

Dont forget to either adjust your exposure or if you use AV ajust exposure compensation based on the planes color.

Right and here are some of my results with a 1D and 500 F4.5 L

http://www.salzlechner.com/photo/galleries/airshows/Ftl2003/index.htm



--
Michael Salzlechner
StarZen Digital Imaging
http://www.starzen.com/imaging

photos at http://www.salzlechner.com/photo
 
The only one we go to is SF Fleet Week. These images aren't great because I was using an ultra portable camera. I didn't want to carry my good one, this year I'll use the 1D. How often do you get shots looking down at the planes? The second photo shows you where I was when I took these.



 
I am with you on the TC part. I've got one but rarely use it, never do get relly good results. It's a question of "how far?" Surely the 100-400 will be sufficient. I'll pack the 70-200 too, which might be al I need anyway.

Don
Peter@O said:
Though I found people on this forum not believing it, use AIServo
to hunt the planes. Even at them right coming to you, my D60 did it
perfectly (70-200 4L). What does it mean ? forget about the TC !

Don't be afraid to get as near to the strip as you can get,
assuming the show will happen in the length of the strip.
Note that I found the best part of the show, planes running at
eachother, passing by at some 10 meters or so (well, as it looked).
I was at some 100 meters from the strip, giving you the planes
about filling the frame (200mm). Tip to shoot the passings of two
planes running into eachother :

AIServo on one of them, coming right to you. In general the planes
pass at about the same point each time. Once you know that, you
know where about to press the shutter. Follow the plane trhough the
viewfinder and press once you see the opposite plane ... In order
to get your chances (on your response) better, stand at an angle of
some 30 degrees from where they pass. I mean, at 500mph and more,
it could be too difficult when they pass right in front of you,
hence the time time you'll see the opposite plane coming would be
about twice as short (45 degrees vs 90).

I got 450 shots, only 6 or so failed. All tack sharp. You don't
need the 1D for it, but again, this was my D60 and it was the
70-200 4L (which is really fast for focusing).

Good luck ! Peter
DBevis said:
I asked in another forum a couple days ago, with no reply...

I know several people have talked about airshows in here and shown
their work.

Well, there is one In Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend. I know
nothing about it or if it's even worth going to it. I figure it's
probably one of the smaller affairs.

Anyone familiar with and/or going to it? It would be nice to know
where the preferred position might be from someone who's been
before.

Then again it may be raining, still, and none of this will matter :-)

Don

--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
 
Yep, got a Tripper and love it. Thanks for the tips.

Don
KevinM said:
Kevin
KevinM said:
Millville, NJ I was using the 10D, Sigma 70-200 w/1.4 TC and Tamron
24-135. I did a little research before I went and took quite a few
good pics. Performers were the Blue Angels and Canadian Snowbirds.
I was lucky enough to snag a spot at airshow center (point of
reference for their crossing maneuvers). I read that 1/1000th
shutter speed is recommended for jets. Result, jets moving in the
same direction all come out nice and sharp.

For jets doing a crossing maneuver I put the camera in drive mode
(should always be in drive mode during flying), and start tracking,
when getting near show center hold the shutter release down and
start snapping. Result, very hard to get the ideal pic of the
planes crossing but verry possible. The plane I was tracking would
be sharp and in focus, the plane going the other direction would
have motion blur. If you want both planes sharp, you may want to
try something faster. depends on the effect you want.

For prop planes, you want to keep shutter speeds @ perhaps 1/400th
at most when flying or during take off to show prop blur, lower the
speeds to about 1/250th when they are landing or taxiing. A stopped
prop on a moving plane looks really bad. Pretty good guidelines to
follow as recommended in the links I provide below. However not
always the rule. For example, a B-17 flying at 1/400th showed just
about stopped props. (That was the WWII Weekend in Reading, PA)
SInce, I have learned to change 1/2 to 1/3 exposure steps and get
wider variety of shutter speeds.

At Reading I was using 10D, Sigma 50-500, Tamron 24-135 and a
monopod. I would strongly discourage lugging a tripod to an airshow
unless you have a special place to set up.

Hope this helps and these links (check the exif data on the one
guys plane pics for setting ideas)

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Me/Photography/Airshows/index.html
http://www.intsysint.com/photos/motegi2002-individual/index.php
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=4943373

Kevin

But what the hey, I am learning, it's great, mistakes and all.
DBevis said:
I asked in another forum a couple days ago, with no reply...

I know several people have talked about airshows in here and shown
their work.

Well, there is one In Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend. I know
nothing about it or if it's even worth going to it. I figure it's
probably one of the smaller affairs.

Anyone familiar with and/or going to it? It would be nice to know
where the preferred position might be from someone who's been
before.

Then again it may be raining, still, and none of this will matter :-)

Don

--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
 
thanks, Mike, very nice work. I don' t think we'll get Blue Angels or Thunderbirds - if there was there'd surely be something advertising that and I haven't seen anything. So I may be shooting a lot of props.

Don
Mike Salzlechner said:
Cant help you wuth the show you are going to but maybe give some
pointers

I go to the Ft Lauderdale Air & Sea Show which is visited by about
3 Million people each year. It is almost impossiblt to imagine that
many people on a beach.

Go there early and know where to go (i know this is hard the first
time but you'll do better the second time around).

If lighting is fairly even and doesn change drastically use manual
exposure. Use Servo AI and a good fast focussing long lens. A
tripod with wimberley head will make your life a lot easier.

For planes passing each other which is really quite easy to shoot
you simply follow one plane through the viewfinder and watch the
other plane coming in from the other side with your other eye and
take the picture when they meet.

Propellers and helicopters need slower shutterspeeds so the props
are blurred. Something around 1/250 to 1/400.

For Jet planes just use the highest shutterspeed you can with a
decent aperture.

Dont forget to either adjust your exposure or if you use AV ajust
exposure compensation based on the planes color.

Right and here are some of my results with a 1D and 500 F4.5 L

http://www.salzlechner.com/photo/galleries/airshows/Ftl2003/index.htm



--
Michael Salzlechner
StarZen Digital Imaging
http://www.starzen.com/imaging

photos at http://www.salzlechner.com/photo
Click to expand...
--
'Have you lived there your entire life?'
'No, not yet.'
 
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