Police Helicopter

[Dicky]

Flew over my house today.I'm new to photography so was playing around shooting them in AV mode.They were taken handheld with my 70-300.would i have been better off shooting in TV mode to get more of a blurring effect of the rotor blades ? All have been cropped and sharpened as it was pretty high up.Shame it flew almost directly overhead :cry:

Any tips gratefully received

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g67/dickydj/General/IMG_0925.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g67/dickydj/General/IMG_0928.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g67/dickydj/General/IMG_0929.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g67/dickydj/General/IMG_0930.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g67/dickydj/General/IMG_0931.jpg

[RadAL]

TV mode would have been better for blurr... but its twice as hard since you have to pan with the object or in this case, helicopter and don't stop when you hit hte button. Its harder but I think (and i'm still getting TV mode, getting better all the time) its worth it because of the results aren't as "stopped"

[PhotosGuy]

Your first shot was at 1/800 sec. For prop jobs, to get a nice blur you need to get the shutter speed below 1/200 sec usually. Lots of factors come into it.

Airshow guys - prop freeze? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=229542)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/PhotosGuy/Forum%20Junk/Welcome-ChargerRT_020.gif

[int3rc3ptor]

Good first attempts, when I got my Sigma 70-300 I was trying to take pics of helicopters but they still seemed far away, oh for another 100mm :)

Cheers

Darren

[Rockfodder21]

Hi Dicky.

Nice shots for first go, as the others have said TV mode and start at 320, gradually slow it down to give more blur as your panning technique improves.

I notice the Heli is Welsh, if you live near Snowdonia you should check out the RAF lowflying locations for some fast jet action.

Steve...

[Dicky]

Hi Steve

Im in south wales but would love to get up to the mach loop sometime this year.Have seen all the photos on the lowfly forum and they look stunning but im thinking of going in warmer times :D

[ies photos]

Aye slower shutter speeds will be better for rotor blur. As for Mach Loop I am certainly making a trip up there this year.

[willy b]

Cool shots mate! Where is Wales are we then?

[lev67]

Great 1st attempt... Just needs a slower shutter speed. Regards Mach Loop... Visit it once and you'll be hooked..
Hopefully see you up a hill soon
Neil

[Hogster86]

Good comments about the prop blur .... it's not something one would immediately think about when photographing aircraft ... like here when I was in too much of a hurry to think about what settings I should be using :p

http://www.pbase.com/hogster/image/91625093/original.jpg
1/640s

That's a 100% crop from my 70-200 F4 IS by the way :D


David :)

[Liberalis]

.......Shame it flew almost directly overhead :cry:

Any tips gratefully received



Quit stealing cars would be a good tip, that camera on the front looks like it looking at you!

sorry I couldn't resist, lol

[Dicky]

i just had a look at all those pics full size and you are right,the camera is looking directly at me all through that sequence :D