Contrail Spotting - 30/12/2010

Caught some contrails today, it was a mix of sun and dark skies. Biggest highlite was the KLM 747 from Amsterdam-Toronto, I was wanting to see it for a while!

C-FITW (AC873 - FRA-YYZ). This photo is from 2 days ago.

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Hi Jan
not an easy subject to get images of.. I guess you must have an SBS box or Radarbox to get the aircraft info
the KLM 747 is the pick of these.. what set up did you use
Chris

Buttkicker wrote in post #11556840
Hi Jan
not an easy subject to get images of.. I guess you must have an SBS box or Radarbox to get the aircraft info
the KLM 747 is the pick of these.. what set up did you use
Chris

It sure isn't easy! I actually don't have any radars at all, what I do is check what YYZ is getting (time span of a aircraft passing over my house and getting to YYZ is about a 30min flight left.) and if I see, oh KLM 744, supposed to arrive in about a half hour, then I go on this flightstats, find the flight, enter it here: http://www.libhomerada​r.org/databasequery/in​dex.php and I get the flight, registration, aircraft, etc. I was using the Rebel XS/1000D and 55-250 IS. Now I don't know what to do for next year, I could buy a 100-400L or a 1200mm telescope which I can mount my DSLR to, except that thing isn't transportable, it weighs 15kg but only costs 700$CAD.
Cheers

It's easy to get obsessed by a project like this, but lets take a big step back & consider what your results are going to be... a closer shot of the bottom of an airliner, probably with a lot of haze between you & it? Is this really what you want to dedicate your time & money to get?

PhotosGuy wrote in post #11557739
It's easy to get obsessed by a project like this, but lets take a big step back & consider what your results are going to be... a closer shot of the bottom of an airliner, probably with a lot of haze between you & it? Is this really what you want to dedicate your time & money to get?

I need a upgrade anyways, it's most likely to be a 100-400L which I can get for 1K next year because I don't get that much contrails over my house and I don't think it would be worth it.

adding to the above I really do take my hat off to you guys sat shooting these contrail shots using telescopes

and I remember browsing that extreme spotting site about a year ago and thinking what an enormous effort
I still dont think the quality is there yet though with the heat haze and distance etc
when I had a Canon 500mm F4 hooked upto a 2x converter I tried this and never got anything I was remotely happy with

but as I said good luck to you guys for doing it
my 2p
Chris

PhotosGuy wrote in post #11557739
It's easy to get obsessed by a project like this, but lets take a big step back & consider what your results are going to be... a closer shot of the bottom of an airliner, probably with a lot of haze between you & it? Is this really what you want to dedicate your time & money to get?

depends, you can make some amazing shots from the underside of an airplane

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

Rick Denham wrote in post #11558105
depends, you can make some amazing shots from the underside of an airplane

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

http://www.airliners.n​et …7926299e82a30b1​ae4f62375e

Exactly
Or this that is currently on the front page of Jetphotos.
http://jetphotos.net/v​iewphoto.php?id=701099​8

Only a 55-250? Hm, gonna have to remember try this next time it's clear enough. Have seen the Emirates A380 en route to Toronto pass over us on the flight tracker many times now.

You got the KLM colours pretty good.

Kekumba wrote in post #11562149
Only a 55-250? Hm, gonna have to remember try this next time it's clear enough. Have seen the Emirates A380 en route to Toronto pass over us on the flight tracker many times now.

You got the KLM colours pretty good.

Thanks man! I only saw EK once when I was coming back from the bus stop, but it was already too far. I never see it anymore, I hope to be lucky but Mon, Wed & Fri always seem to be cloudy :P

http://www.airliners.n​et/photo/Emira...30b1a​e4f62375e

Cool, but you're going to need a taller tripod!

N408MC (cn 29261/1192)After some serious neck twisting I eventually got this shot of this EK/Atlas Air 747 (2000ft above us) being "chased" by EK B777-200 (A6-EML, 4000ft above us) right at its' tail. Captured out of a EK (now that's coincidence...) B777 flightdeck (through left #1 window upwards - that's why the neck was twisted . Us at FL340, 747 at 360, other B777 at 380. Canon S50 max zoom.

Okay, so I'm out today flying model airplanes (and mostly photographing others! LOL!!) and I look up and see a phenomenon that I have NEVER seen before.

At first I thought it must be an optical illusion. I WAS wearing polarized sunglasses. Took them off and, nope not an optical illusion.

So I grabbed the good ol' XS and snapped off three. I was dumbfounded as to whether or not this WOULD show in a photograph!

It does.

The only explanation I (we) could arrive at is that the jet contrail was old and had spread and most importantly was in perfect alignment with the setting sun to cause this!

Pictures posted here for your perusal are of a jet contrail left by a jet traveling either from LA to LV or visa versa. The contrail really isn't what's interesting though. What is interesting is the SHADOW it leaves in the blue sky!!!

Check it out - and YES PLEASE comment with a correction or explanation for this "oddity" as I as stated before am just amazed!

Info. The photograph is taken on the Calico dry lake bed about 12 miles east of Barstow, California. Barstow is almost in a direct line between LAX and Las Vegas, NV..

We get about 30 or so overflights from commercial jets daily not to mention we are within spitting distance from Edwards AFB (Muroc) and get some very interesting sonic booms at times! So my point is that contrails are nothing to me as I see them daily. But this was "different"!!

Canon XS with a 55-250IS mounted.

Hillbille

Hillbille wrote in post #11589959
Info. The photograph is taken on the Calico dry lake bed about 12 miles east of Barstow, California. Barstow is almost in a direct line between LAX and Las Vegas, NV..

We get about 30 or so overflights from commercial jets daily not to mention we are within spitting distance from Edwards AFB (Muroc) and get some very interesting sonic booms at times! So my point is that contrails are nothing to me as I see them daily. But this was "different"!!

Canon XS with a 55-250IS mounted.

Hillbille

That's actually pretty normal for a contrail to be smokish black after, i've had a few incidents that I saw it like that.
Look at this picture as well:

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Isn't that dark look just a shadow from the contrail?