Aerial Photoshoot - soliciting advice

I'm so excited, I am getting to ride along in an air show and take pictures of the Blue Angels soaring over downtown this coming weekend.

What I'm hoping for is some advice as far as lenses, settings, etc. I'm planning on packing my Tamron 17-50 (on a 40D) hoping to get some really close by shots with downtown as a landscape, and also my Sigma 150-500 hoping to get a few tight crops of the Angels near landmarks. I was planning on shooting at ISO200/400 (it's supposed to be sunny and cloudless), f/8, Av mode, RAW. I'll be packing all my memory and batteries. I figure Live View may be useful so I won't have to track through a viewfinder as much.

Anything you can advise to bring, think about, etc?

What will you be flying in?

Paul Bowen is an incredible air-to-air photog. http://www.airtoair.ne​t/

Tyson Rininger: http://www.tvrphotogra​phy.com/
Eric Hildebrandt: http://www.vulturesrow​.com/
Jim Koepnick: http://www.koepnickpho​tography.com/

More world-class A2A shooters worth having a look at.

Eric especially has done some unique projects involving the BA's

Most likely Fat Albert, Jay has given you a great list of shooters to look up!!

Actually, the Red Bull helo that can do 360's, from what I was told tonight. I'll check out those sites.

Thanks.

if you are flying Fat Albert airlines, you are going to have some some issues about air to air. The reason is there is limited visibility. The dome on top of the fuselage is probably your best shot if your goal is to shoot the view outside. If you are in the fuselage, you have a few windows but that can get difficult given the flight profile etc. If you are in the cockpit, you can get the flight deck action and if you expose it right, the simultaneous view out of the cockpit windows. By the way, Fat Albert has the flight box to itself so the other Blues will be on the ground when you are up...

Here is what it looks like from the cockpit.

Fat Albert ride from the cockpit jump seat

Nope, not Fat Albert.

This guy: Charles Aaron in Red Bull Helicopter

Look at the references Jay gave you. These are all great photographers. I'll add on more (my favorite) John Dibbs: www.planepix.com

Since you'll be shooting out of the helicopter it all depends on how close you'll be. I'm guessing a helicopter going <125 mph won't be flying formation with 250+ mph FA-18's so I'd say you'll be using your 150-500 a lot more.

Since you are shooting jets, keep the shutter speed fast, minimize the camera shake! ISO, whatever works for the day. I'm not sure about your liveview idea, I've tried liveview a couple of times a2a and it's never worked well for me. Good luck though! Oh, and clean the windows of the photo platform if you have to shoot through windows! Make sure you show us what you get!

Got canceled! Haven't got a reason, yet. I was SO!!! looking forward to this, but the lady I work for told me "we'll get you up in one someday," and I plan on holding her to it.

The live view was intended as an idea for shooting out of a faster moving plane, but once I found out it was the helicopter I changed my mind on live view. You're right that the longer lens (as I suspected) would've been better for the speed differences.

Ah well, maybe they'll call me tonight for tomorrow? I can hope.

I have a hunch the larger lens will give you some "ease of motion" issues in a Bo-105 cockpit.

If you were shooting from the rear seat, you'd probably fare better.

Just a thought.

That is ridiculously exciting, best of luck!

godzakka wrote in post #8971843
Nope, not Fat Albert.

This guy: Charles Aaron in Red Bull Helicopter

I've seen this guy perform. He does things with a helicopter that are... Well, unnatural...

JWright wrote in post #8985722
I've seen this guy perform. He does things with a helicopter that are... Well, unnatural...

Helicoptor <----> Unnatural

Redundant

Of course! They asked me while I was working at an event downtown Saturday night if I wanted to go, and said it was canceled due to some technical issue or something with the Blues.

And then Sunday, nothing happened...but I did get to photograph the Blues on the beach and the weather was excellent, so it didn't entirely suck

I'm going to have to plan out 2 years from now (it bounces back to the City and the beach every other year) and see if I can't get a helo ride/photo gig. I want to hang a ridiculously huge image on my wall with the Blues over Jax.