Photography from a helicopter?

Has anyone done it? Things to watch out for? I will be shooting a stadium pre-concert.

skifurthur wrote in post #14978252
Things to watch out for?

falling

I did it once to shoot a golf course for a real estate company. Pilot had the door open, I had a harness on with my feet on the landing pad things underneath and he flew sideways for me. I also asked for a couple of near rolls to get a real birds eye view. Made a few passes, shot lots and it worked out very well.

It's loud and a little difficult to communicate with the pilot, you'll most likely wear a headset to give instructions. You'll have the ability to vary heights, angles and to simply stay stationary if necessary. Fair amount of vibration in the helicopter that I was in, but all in all not bad.

As an aside, I also shot a helicopter once. I was shooting a landing/take-off as part of a business park's new helipad. After a few shots, I left the camera/tripod to walk toward the landing pad and the prop wash blew my hasselblad over even though it was on a heavy Gitzo tripod... straight into the ground, lens first. The force pushed the lens through the body, which all came out the back Fortunately, I had a back-up.

were the lens and hasselblad company provided equipment, or personal?

Flew about 1000hrs in a Chinook before crashing in one. Make sure to get a good safety brief and follow the instructions of the crew. Harness is a good idea. Keep the strap short. IS on your lens or fast shutter speed. Make sure you have a good strap on the camera, keep its leash short too. If you arent on a headset, good ear protection in nice as well. Most important, enjoy the ride!!

ewheeler20 wrote in post #14978759
were the lens and hasselblad company provided equipment, or personal?

Well, I *am* the company! Funny thing is, I did get it repaired, but it always had this slight twist to it that reminded me of why I should have been more careful.

Bought the camera in 1989 and just sold it just last year...still had that little tiwst

Don't use a lens hood. The wind will rip it straight off.

I was a CH-46 crewchief when I was in the Marines. No hood fast shutter speeds because there is a constant rocking motion when flying.

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Shooting from a Helicopter

http://sanfrancisco.cb​slocal.com …gh-roof-of-petaluma-home/

Some good suggestions here and I appreciate them. I would have never thought about the lens hood being ripped off by the wind but immediately, upon reading, knew that was a real possibility. As for camera and lens hitting some home, that would be the least of their worries. The next crash they would hear would be this photographer after he went after the combo.

I've done some shooting from a helicopter a couple of times, but with the door on, so I was shooting thru the bubble. Keep shutter speed over 1/1000 (I used TV mode). I had 2 cameras, with a 70-200 and a 24-105, and hardly ever used the 70-200, we were low enough that the 24-105 was lots. Also because we were shooting thru the plexi bubble, I wore a black shirt to reduce reflections - worked good most of the time. Don't hesitate to guide the pilot on what angles you want etc but you may have to yell even thru the headphone system, it's really loud! And you have to put the microphone RIGHT beside your mouth, even an inch away is too far and the pilot won't hear you. Get it all set up right and tested before you take off so you're not fussing with it in the air. Hope this helps!

I did it to take pics of the USS Iowa. We had the door off. Are you going to shoot with the door off? If you do, do not stick your lens out very far as you will definitely feel the wind pushing around. I would recommend using black rapid straps. With a concert I am sure you will have a Temporary Flight Restriction zone if at a major venue. Find out what your TFR is going to be and then pick the appropriate lens.

Here is a shot from 700 AGL:

IMAGE LINK: http://seansydnorphoto​graphy.zenfolio.com/p4​28195986/e3800fcb

seaninsa wrote in post #14983014
I did it to take pics of the USS Iowa. We had the door off.

Here is a shot from 700 AGL:

IMAGE LINK: http://seansydnorphoto​graphy.zenfolio.com/p4​28195986/e3800fcb

Hey seaninsa, is this your copter? We were out there on the same day - me in a boat. This copter was making several passes over the Iowa.

Perfectly Frank wrote in post #14995704
Hey seaninsa, is this your copter? We were out there on the same day - me in a boat. This copter was making several passes over the Iowa.

Nope we were using a Robinson 22. We had the doors off as well.