My first air show - Southend

Canvey Carl

Canvey Carl

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Name
Carl
Edit My Images
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Hi all

This was my first go at a air show, these were taken with a 100-400mm Canon Ef on a 400D. I am looking to do the air show next year, comments/feedback, Tip's and tricks of shooting this subject most welcome.

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Southend was a difficult air display to shoot at because you face south into the light. Some of the displays were a bit far out, too. However you have coped well with this.

On a point of criticism, the shutter speeds are too high to capture prop and blade blur. You could also apply a bit of sharpening in post processing to add some impact.

Ed
 
Edward Bancroft said:
Southend was a difficult air display to shoot at because you face south into the light. Some of the displays were a bit far out, too. However you have coped well with this.

On a point of criticism, the shutter speeds are too high to capture prop and blade blur. You could also apply a bit of sharpening in post processing to add some impact.

Ed
Click to expand...

Thanks Ed for the advice on this. the light was a bit of a sod on the day.
 
Southend was a nightmare for light, come up to Clacton next year - you can get out on to the pier still, so can be right under the flightpath.

Ed's given you some pointers which will stand you in good stead. When you start off on airshows (and likewise motorsport) there's comfort to be had in keeping the shutter speed high to keep some clarity, drop it down when you're sure you have a steady hand.

I see you're on ISO 100, but the shots seem grainy - how much have you cropped these shots?
 
muppetdave said:
Southend was a nightmare for light, come up to Clacton next year - you can get out on to the pier still, so can be right under the flightpath.

Ed's given you some pointers which will stand you in good stead. When you start off on airshows (and likewise motorsport) there's comfort to be had in keeping the shutter speed high to keep some clarity, drop it down when you're sure you have a steady hand.

I see you're on ISO 100, but the shots seem grainy - how much have you cropped these shots?
Click to expand...

They have quite a lot of cropping due to the sky, the one below is a example of one of those shot as is.

sosairshow24-5-09111.jpg
 
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Carl - personally I would say don't crop quite as tight as you have - from the original you've just posted there, they're nice and crisp so you have no problems there. I'm not great, but have a look at my set from Southend and see if it gives you any ideas: http://www.flickr.com/photos/muppetdave/sets/72157618793782734/
 
Nice pics Dave, I see what you mean by leaving in the sky add's more to it, I was always in the thought of cropping the pics tight.
 
Each to their own obviously, but sometimes it's good to have a little more 'white space' - it then focusses you on the actual subject.
 
my 2p
Not a bad effort for your first time, however they are all pretty much not in good focus... you need to practice getting a good panning technique along with choosing the right settings for your camera, and practice practice practice

add with that
most seaside shows are not very photography freindly with the aircraft being a long way from the crowd line, which obviously does not help

as for the cropping and leaving the space to fly into, thats a matter of opinion and I prefer tighter crops, which in turn make for much more dynamic images

shot 1 is OOF along with a pretty unflattering angle
shot 2 is the best of the bunch but again its pretty soft with the prop frozen, frozen props will always get aviation togs pulling you up for it, so keep the shutter down
shot 3 is too soft and with the smoke obscuring most of the aircraft makes it a pretty mediocre shot
shot 4 is all OOF and should be sent to the recycle bin
shot 5 and 6 are heavily backlit and as such have no detail whatsoever along with frozen props

My tips for you would be take a look at dedicated aviation sites and check out lots of airshow pictures etc and you will get to see outstanding images with the light working for the photog, along with trying to find good angles rather than the straight side on approach

you have good equipment there and have no doubt at all that your next airshow images will be far better than your first
stick at it and practice really will help you
Chris
 
The Spit is good!
 
I would practise tracking things, it really helps....and if you can plan your shots. It is easier at an airshow with a runway/flight line than a seafront one.

As said above play with the shutter speed to get the blur but allow for the tracking...
 
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