Going to National Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH

[k4show]

Got any tips or advice? Tripod is allowed, but I think I will just use a monopod so it is lighter and smaller to lug around all day. I am staying overnight and will have two days so I can go thru the entire museum. I have at my disposal

40D
Tamron 17-50 F2.8
Canon 55-250
Canon 50 f1.8
Tamron 90mm macro
430EX and wireless triggers
Gary Fong

Thanks!

[JackLiu]

Consider renting/buying a 10-22 wide angle lens. Possibly won't use the 90mm macro and 430EX and wireless triggers. Just my 2-cents.

[FlyingPhotog]

If they allow tripods, use a tripod (and a cable release)

Unless they've spent a ton of money raising light levels and balancing it out better, parts of the joint are seriously cave like.

The 10-22 isn't a bad idea but it's a slower lens than your 17-50 and it can also cause noticeably more distortion when shot at 10mm.

[P51Mstg]

Jay is right it is a CAVE... 2 of three hangars are black inside. The third is painted white...... Forget the wireless triggers and 90mm

Tripods are OK, no problem..... I use it over the monopod

The Fong works good. You could use a wider lens there.

If you are there on the proper Fridays you can get into the restoration area (call them in advance/ see the website).

When you get there, head to the desk that is past the book shop outside the art gallery near the tail of the B-29 Bocks Car and get on the list to go across the field to the Presidental planes and X-Planes (IE B-70). They haul you over in a bus and give you like 40 minutes to do the 2 hangars and then take you back. Well worth it.

Been there a LOT of times over the last 34 years (live 3 hours away), so more questions ask here or PM me........

Mark H

[k4show]

Okay, renting is out of the question since I am going tommorow. I tried to get into the restoration areas but it was full(emailed ahead). I thought you could just go to the presidential hangers and x-planes? No need for a special list or bus ride? I am not sure though.

[ChunkyDA]

I think I'd recommend the trigger and remote flash. The lighting really does suck and the planes are so wedged in (especially in the presidential & experimental hanger) that it's hard to isolate the incredible specimines there. I think it's here on POTN where someone got a great shot of the B-2 with gelled flash. I'd love to bring all my equipment there but I usually am in town for work and need to travel light. I took these with a crappy Nikon P&S and was very disappointed. The staff is very helpful and you might get lucky enough to see a promotion or retirement ceremony.
Enjoy yourself and be sure to post what you get.

[ChunkyDA]

If you can get on the base, you can get there. You'll need a sponsor or the tourbus. The rest is free to the public.

[P51Mstg]

Again to get to the Presidental and XPlanes, you need to make a reservation when you get there in the morning (desk near B-29 tail). They will bus you across the field. They do fill up fairly quick so by 11am or so most seats are gone in the summer..


Mark H

[k4show]

Okay I will do that then. Is flash allowed there? I would probably use my Gary Fong, just so I don't have to deal with second long exposures. Also what ISO do you think would be best to stay around on the 40D, I was thinking 800 maybe? I will bring a tripod and cable release.

[FlyingPhotog]

Okay I will do that then. Is flash allowed there? I would probably use my Gary Fong, just so I don't have to deal with second long exposures. Also what ISO do you think would be best to stay around on the 40D, I was thinking 800 maybe? I will bring a tripod and cable release.

If you're on a tripod with a cable release (and using mirror lock up even) then the flash and high ISO are not necessary. Why introduce additonal noise if you don't have to?

The only reason you might want the flash is to open up really dark areas with a little fill.

I'd just hold it in my hand (not mounted on the camera) and pop it once or twice on low power during a longer exposure. Minor light painting as it were.

Just watch your viewfinder and try to avoid hot spots from direct light sources in the frame (when able) and shoot in manual mode so your meter isn't fooled by the wide contrast ratio in some places (eg, polished aluminum plane with a dark, dark, background...)

[k4show]

Okay thanks so much. Do you think lugging around a tripod is worth it? And is flash allowed by them for shots? Also is my telephoto worth bringing? (maybe there will be some planes flying on the base...) ?

[FlyingPhotog]

Okay thanks so much. Do you think lugging around a tripod is worth it? And is flash allowed by them for shots? Also is my telephoto worth bringing? (maybe there will be some planes flying on the base...) ?

The musuem is a ways away from the active part of Wright-Patterson AFB but the views accross the field from the museum to the research areas are kind of interesting so the telephoto might be handy. You can also isolate details on aircraft in the museum with it as well as those hanging above.

Can't see why flash would be a problem. I'm sure you'll see 1001 folks with P&S cameras flashing away (who'll then get home and wonder why they got one bright spot surrounded by a sea of black...)

One other suggestion: Bracket your exposures. Two reason...
1) Getting the right exposure in some parts of the museum is tricky so don't be afraid to burn some 1s and 0s to get a solid keeper.
2) You just might get a set of images that you can combine via HDR or Exposure Blending in post when you get home. Just don't bump the tripod between shots so your frames stay registered.

Heck, a nice collection of just the Nose Art alone would be worth the visit even if I couldn't get the entire B36 in one shot! ;) Have Fun!!!

[ChunkyDA]

Another nice thing about the tripod is you could shoot a real long exposure to remove the rest of the visitors that are moving around.
Now I'm gonna need to head to the Air Armament Museum (http://www.afarmamentmuseum.com/)to try some of these ideas.

[FlyingPhotog]

Another nice thing about the tripod is you could shoot a real long exposure to remove the rest of the visitors that are moving around.
Now I'm gonna need to head to the Air Armament Museum (http://www.afarmamentmuseum.com/)to try some of these ideas.

Brilliant thinking sir...

[k4show]

Wow great idea, I will do that for sure!

[k4show]

The musuem is a ways away from the active part of Wright-Patterson AFB but the views accross the field from the museum to the research areas are kind of interesting so the telephoto might be handy.


If I also went to the actual AFB are you allowed to take pictures of the planes taking off and landing?

[FlyingPhotog]

If I also went to the actual AFB are you allowed to take pictures of the planes taking off and landing?

If they're landing at WPAFB toward the Northeast, you can actually see planes going left to right facing out from the Museum in the parking lot.

They're still fairly high though at that point.

This might be the park I'm remembering from when I lived in that area back in the mid 1980's. IIRC, there's enough of a hill to see at least part of the active runway.

http://www.aviationdayton.com/places/wright-memorial.html

It's been many years so your mileage may vary...

[DC Fan]

Handheld, no flash, high ISO. Use the museum's impressive lighting. An image stabilizer lens helps with the long exposures in low light, or take several exposures in sequence and choose the best one.

These images were from a Digital Rebel 300d and a EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/nmusaf071706a0037.jpg

Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 38.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.067 s (1/15)
Aperture: f/5.0
ISO equiv: 800
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix


http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/nmusaf071706a0056.jpg

Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 18.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.077 s (1/13)
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO equiv: 800
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix


http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/nmusaf071706a0046.jpg

Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 31.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.125 s (1/8)
Aperture: f/4.5
ISO equiv: 800
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix

[mlav]

DO NOT use a monopod.

I was going after low noise ISO100 shots. Tripod, two bodies, five lenses...580, 580II, 430...

An F-4 was a pain, I shot with two remote flashes to add fill on a rear end shot.

Shoot RAW.

It is very dark, my exposures were typically 8-15s. Make sure you have a remote shutter release.

Lots of ropes around the planes. Cloning/healing skills will help a lot with the final product.


The B-36 is a big disappointment. The protruding wing from right in the shot above is a great example.

[DC Fan]

An F-4 was a pain, I shot with two remote flashes to add fill on a rear end shot.

F-4C Phantom II at the Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

http://www.fansview.com/racing/nmusaf071706a0165.jpg

Camera Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 28.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.050 s (1/20)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 800
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix

This facility is a place where the standard strategy of using flash doesn't work well, unless you have several studio strobes and really big light modifiers. Even the smallest plane in the display is too large to be illuminated by shoe-mount flashes. The sort of lighting you get from a motion film crew handling a major location shoot -- really big and powerful lights -- would be more useful.

So, since you're unlikely to be able to carry the light you'd need to the location, you need to use the light that's already on hand. The museum's Cold War Gallery, where the Convair B-36J Peacemaker is located, already has effective and dramatic lighting in place. The trick is to use that light to its best advantage, and to adjust to that light rather than to try to control the situation.

That lack of control extends to the positioning of the aircraft. Yes, they're close together, but that the best you can expect at the museum, or at most aviation museums. (Legend has it that the building that houses the B-36J was constructed around the airplane.)

And, if you want to see a B-36 more or less by itself, you need to travel to Arizona where one is kept out in the open. (http://www.pimaair.org/collection-detail.php?cid=58)

[mlav]

The F-4 I am referring to is backed up to a wall. Not much light is required to bring out the shadow details on the tail. Two Canon Speedlites easily handle the job - again, fill, not primary lighting...

[k4show]

I just got back and it was amazing, got some great shots. EXTREMELY glad I brought a tripod, and I dont really care about the ropes around it, its a museum what do you expect? I will post my shots later

[Naturalist]

Getting onto WPAFB is not hard. Its the clearance you need to go 13 stories below ground level to the alien autopsy rooms that's a bitch! :cool:

[JWright]

Got any tips or advice? Tripod is allowed, but I think I will just use a monopod so it is lighter and smaller to lug around all day. I am staying overnight and will have two days so I can go thru the entire museum. I have at my disposal

40D
Tamron 17-50 F2.8
Canon 55-250
Canon 50 f1.8
Tamron 90mm macro
430EX and wireless triggers
Gary Fong

Thanks!

I would suggest leaving Gary Fong at home. I don't really think he'd be much help to you...:rolleyes: ;)

If I also went to the actual AFB are you allowed to take pictures of the planes taking off and landing?

Assuming you could get on the base, the military is pretty anal about photography on their bases. I'm Retired Navy and can get on most of the bases in the San Diego area, but I'm not going to walk out to the flight line at Miramar or North Island and start taking pictures without a good reason and certainly not without permission.

The best way to get pictures of flying military aircraft is to attend an airshow at one of the bases.

[k4show]

Tripod was very worth it along with a remote shutter release and mirror lock. Most exposures were around a second or so in every hangar but the presidental/xplanes, and the modern flight gallery, at ISO 200 and F2.8-8 or so.

Here are the shots.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=741008

[asysin2leads]

If you want to catch planes coming into Rwy 23R, take a look at this in Google Earth (39 50'00.33 N, 84 01'28.79"W). It's a public park and I've sat there for a while a few times. I've only been stopped by one cop and it wasn't an issue. He was more curious than anything. If you get a chance, quite often there are F-16s that fly out of Springfield-Beckley Airport. It's only about 30 min away from WPAFB.