Small, dark happy places....

cw318is

cw318is

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Name
Caleb
Edit My Images
Yes
Or cockpits. I'm struggling with cockpit shots at the moment so will accept any ideas, the combination of too much external light and not enough internal light. These were all taken with the Sigma 8-16mm. Flash is not really viable due to the wide field of vision and a tripod isn't possible either mainly due to space. I've tried composites before (as seen in the last one) but can never get it quite right? The first 4 are work related, the rest whilst on hols. Free hot cross bun to anyone who can identify what they are all from!

1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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Well I can tell you 7 is a B25..?

I've done a few but mostly single seat warbirds. Helps to have the sun behind you for those. Also had a go at a B25 which I did late in the evening.

Perhaps fire off 3 exposure bracketed shots in quick succession, even handheld you should be able to alighn and crop them in post, then make a HDR?

Framing them dead on centre is a tricky business though. Maybe try a lower POV, here's one I did on a B25:

http://flic.kr/p/pFmuwf

Edit: also 5 has to a be a Victor?
 
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Thanks everyone for the responses.

mark richards said:
they are all from aeroplanes...please send bun to.......
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Correctomundo! We have a winner......

Mark Johnson said:
Look very good to me, such detail. Do you fly or just photo?

MJ
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Thanks, both but I mainly just sell them.

Hazza said:
Well I can tell you 7 is a B25..?

I've done a few but mostly single seat warbirds. Helps to have the sun behind you for those. Also had a go at a B25 which I did late in the evening.

Perhaps fire off 3 exposure bracketed shots in quick succession, even handheld you should be able to alighn and crop them in post, then make a HDR?

Framing them dead on centre is a tricky business though. Maybe try a lower POV, here's one I did on a B25:

http://flic.kr/p/pFmuwf

Edit: also 5 has to a be a Victor?
Click to expand...

Wrong and wrong. 7 is a C119 and 5 is a Nimrod. I'll be honest Harry, the shot you posted is pretty terrible. Bad angle, very badly exposed overall and only really shows the throts. I'm trying to get a good clean image of the entire cockpit.

Doesn't really matter which way the sun is facing with these, or even if there is no sun at all as during the day it's always going to be brighter outside then in. I did try bracketing but generally I can't bracket far enough apart to get a reasonable image - hence having to use composites instead.
 
cw318is said:
Wrong and wrong. 7 is a C119 and 5 is a Nimrod. I'll be honest Harry, the shot you posted is pretty terrible. Bad angle, very badly exposed overall and only really shows the throts. I'm trying to get a good clean image of the entire cockpit.

Doesn't really matter which way the sun is facing with these, or even if there is no sun at all as during the day it's always going to be brighter outside then in. I did try bracketing but generally I can't bracket far enough apart to get a reasonable image - hence having to use composites instead.
Click to expand...

Ok, the reason for my angle was I didn't want the crap from infront of the plane in the picture. I do have more somewhere showing the whole cockpit but I'd have to dig them out.

Anyway. Maybe just blowing the outside would be the best plan? I'm only on my phone at the moment but of yours 5 & 6 seem quite dark inside, whereas compared with 7 & 8 you seem to have metered more on the internal?
 
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As a former North West regional aircraft recognition champion (age 14) I feel I should have a go at answering this!!!

1. Falcon 50 (shape of the windows, 3 engines)
2, 3 & 4. All King Airs (window shape, 2 engines, very forward props)
6. DC-7 (twin sets of throttles)
8. No idea!

As for your image problem, have you tried creating two exposures from a RAW file? Alter the exposure of one for the inside and the other for the outside, then merge them together. If that doesn't work, you could try using a film camera with something like Portra 160. It will have much greater latitude than the digital sensor so less blown highlights of the exterior.
 
Nearly! 3 of the ones you mentioned are right!

I have tried over and underexposing in raw, but end up with quite a lot of noise. I've also tried altering the bracketed raw files to give a better range but the final shot looks too heavily processed to my eyes. As an example (althought a totally different environment the "issue" is the same);
14432795110_dd7db525dc_b.jpg


14091546376_bee920671f_b.jpg
 
Now I look at it again, I see 3 and 4 are King Airs, but 2 has different windows...hmmm...

25 years since I did any aircraft recognition and I can still identify aircraft *from the inside* What a geek! :D
 
No, think I was right first time...2, 3, &4 are King Airs.

Come on, what's the last one? I'm stumped!
 
1 - Falcon 900B
2 - King Air C90A
3 - King Air C90A
4 - King Air C90A
5 - Nimrod
6 - DC-6
7 - C119
8 - Grumman C1A Trader
9 - Supermarine S6
10 - Mig 21
 
Now trust me and I am nothing like an expert in anything photographic wise but taking things very simple in that you want more light inside and less from the outside what about purchasing a roll of blue plastic sheeting from something like a builders merchants and temporarily cover the outside of the windows which would do two things

1. Allow less light from outside therefore allowing a longer exposure to pick up more intense detail

2. Create a more "in the air flying" scene with a blue look through the windows and nothing else in the background
 
Multiple exposures and blend. You might get away with a single shot and luminosity masks but it would make more sense to take multiple pictures. Fwiw I like Hazza's RB shot. The lower POV suits it and looks more like natural eye level
 
A single flash won't work as you say, but what about a handful of flashguns (depending on cockpit size) on pocket wizards with stofen or similar diffusers to spread the light out?

I don't know how long you to spend in the aircraft to know whether you'd have setup time.
 
Yes. Off camera flashes with diffusers to cover the area would make exposure differences less extreme.
Perhaps 2 small flashes both separated and positioned away from the lens axis. Try under flashing by a stop or two to see what looks best.

Or put a portable reflector on each seat squab.

But it's still also worth persisting with multiple exposure blending.

Or all of the above if you are a belt and braces person. A pop up reflector on each seat. With a slave flash laying on each seat pointing at it's reflector giving a very soft lighting if the seat cushion is out of sight.
 
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Some good ideas coming out, thanks everyone everyone.

Covering the windows isn't really possible - the first one for example is about 12' up from the ground. Time is always very limited as generally the aircraft is between taskings or in check with others needing to do bits to it. Very little space for flashes at the back as well and the amount of glass and bounceback gives some quite strange effects. I do like the reflector idea though so will certainly give that a go, any for which ones I should go for? I've seem some double sided ones with white on one side and gold on the other. Maybe if I was to use one with a circular polariser it would stop it being visible in the reflections.

Compositions may work for some but I can never get them lined up or the lighting/wb/exposure consistent across the image.
 
I use Hugin for exposure blending. It does all the aligning and everything. I use the camera bracketing on a preset. So it takes 3 different exposures in one go.
 
I have one of the 5 in 1 reflectors, not too big and quite useful and reasonably inexpensive, used it with some success in the cockpit of Spitfire once. Because they are flexible to fold away they can be twisted and shapen in the cockpit somewhat.

For flashes I was thinking a free standing hot shoe mount style flashgun, so you don't need much room. With a diffuser on and the head faced in the right direction you might not do too badly with glass reflections.

Might also be worth asking whether there is any cockpit illumination they could turn on for you which might give that bit of extra lighting.
 
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