Air-to-air shooting through perspex canopy question ...

8pilot said:

Hi all,

I'm in the planning stages of an air-to-air shoot that I'm hoping will result in a "cover shot" for a particular aviation magazine. The first and most easily available option for the "camera plane" is a tandem configured (passenger i.e. me sitting behind pilot) two seat low wing aircraft with bubble canopy. From the rear seat there is basically no obstruction to view behind the wings, so frames etc won't be an issue. Space definitely will be, and I'm going to have to be more of a contortionist than I think I am. It's not going to be easy but I AM going to give it a go. However, I'm in need of advice regarding elimination of reflections from the perspex canopy. The expected shooting angle will likely be almost completely down-sun, and I imagine the pilot / owner will have no issue with a careful detailed clean before flight. But I don't know what reflections will exist. If anyone has done this before, just wondering how you addressed the problem. Will / should a circular polariser effectively deal with it? Or some other solution? It is NOT an aircraft that has an opening window etc, although I'm still looking / hoping we can source one that can either open a window, or leave a door off etc. So for the time being, shooting through a perspex canopy is the only choice.

Further info if needed: I'm planning to take both my D800 and D7100, with (probably) my 80-400 on the D7100 (maximum reach if necessary, i.e. when target aircraft at longer range, equating to 600mm on the D800) and either the 70-200 or 24-70 on the D800 for when the target aircraft is in closer formation, plus also to capture a wider perspective for background scenery (it will be a coastal flight with some nice landscapes) - good thing there is all are 77mm filter sizes. I expect I'll take all three lenses as well as the two bodies and can change lenses if and when necessary.

Darren

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coreyh said:

8pilot said:

Hi all,

I'm in the planning stages of an air-to-air shoot that I'm hoping will result in a "cover shot" for a particular aviation magazine. The first and most easily available option for the "camera plane" is a tandem configured (passenger i.e. me sitting behind pilot) two seat low wing aircraft with bubble canopy. From the rear seat there is basically no obstruction to view behind the wings, so frames etc won't be an issue. Space definitely will be, and I'm going to have to be more of a contortionist than I think I am. It's not going to be easy but I AM going to give it a go. However, I'm in need of advice regarding elimination of reflections from the perspex canopy. The expected shooting angle will likely be almost completely down-sun, and I imagine the pilot / owner will have no issue with a careful detailed clean before flight. But I don't know what reflections will exist. If anyone has done this before, just wondering how you addressed the problem. Will / should a circular polariser effectively deal with it? Or some other solution? It is NOT an aircraft that has an opening window etc, although I'm still looking / hoping we can source one that can either open a window, or leave a door off etc. So for the time being, shooting through a perspex canopy is the only choice.

Further info if needed: I'm planning to take both my D800 and D7100, with (probably) my 80-400 on the D7100 (maximum reach if necessary, i.e. when target aircraft at longer range, equating to 600mm on the D800) and either the 70-200 or 24-70 on the D800 for when the target aircraft is in closer formation, plus also to capture a wider perspective for background scenery (it will be a coastal flight with some nice landscapes) - good thing there is all are 77mm filter sizes. I expect I'll take all three lenses as well as the two bodies and can change lenses if and when necessary.

Darren

Click to expand...

As you have addressed, shooting through the canopy is not ideal. If you must shoot through plexi, make sure you wear black clothing with no logos. Stay away from bright colored clothing (logos. etc) Might want to bring a black piece of fabric to hang behind you to eliminate nasty cockpit reflections. Polarizer may or may not help. Windows in my aircraft are polarized so using a polarizer is a no-go. End result, you will lose contrast and sharpness shooting through plexi. Contrast can be recovered quite a bit with PP. Sharpness is the tricky one but depending on size of your print (magazine cover) you will be fine.

Are you shooting a Prop or Jet? Mind your shutter speed. Go as slow as you can to get some prop blur. (Aircraft dependant - get pilot of plane getting picture taken to keep his props at high RPM and not pull back to cruise power settings.) Shooting from a non turbine aircraft helps as the vibration frequency is less than shooting from a turbine aircraft. (I need very fast shutter speeds to get a sharp photos in my turbine... engine rotates at 41,000 RPM compared to approx 2400 rpm)

Be careful. Way to many people are killed trying to get that perfect shot. Make sure the pilots of both aircraft brief each other. They need to have pre-planned escapes in case something goes wrong and they loose visibility with each other. That is where your 80-400mm comes in Handy. Use your length and definitely use your VR in "active" mode.

Take lots of photos with high shutter speed as well as a lot of slower shutter speeds for prop blur. The high shutter speeds will save your ass when the slower shutter shots are not sharp....

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gear1box said:

My experience is limited to a few air attempts and Corey's recommendations are, it seems to me, absolutely solid. There is no answer to shooting through the perspex: it really sucks, frankly, and, yes, you can use the steps that he cites to minimize the opitcal pain, but, really, you need to severely downgrade your resolution and contrast expectations. National Geographic images are simply not to be had through the perspex.

Without doubt the finest images that i have ever gotten in an aviation context have been from a biplane. You still have to follow the advice on shutter speed, focus, etc., but good golly are the images better. And it is a whole lot of fun.

But you still shouldn't eat anything before you go . . .

-- gary ray
Semi-professional in early 1970s; just a putzer since then. interests: historical sites, virginia, motorcycle racing. A nikon user more by habit than choice; still, nikon seems to work well for me.

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okephoto said:

I have done this a few times and agree with the previous posts. Something else I would recommend is to shoot at a fairly wide aperture so any imperfections or scratches in the canopy are minimized. I have found that shooting through slightly curved plexi also causes issues.

That said, I have got good results but shoot a lot as your results might be hit and miss. A little sharpening can work wonders however.

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Snapshott said:

Just a thought about minimizing reflections. I've not shot through a canopy but anytime I shot through glass I use a rubber lens hood. Place the flexible lens hood against the glass and it eliminates reflections from light coming in from the sides. I doubt a lens hood will work for your application but maybe you could rig up something from various materials that may help.

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