ND could work.
Polarizer - i wonder how that would work since you're panning the planes on the sky. You can get strange poli. effects on the sky. Will try poli. next time, can't hurt.
If the airshow is set up so that the sun is at your back during the performances a polarizer won't give you strange effects. The other factor is that your generally framing a small part of the sky so an graduated polarization should be minimal. The only problem you might encounter is an oversaturated blue occasionally. A 2 or 3 stop ND will work, but you lose the benefit of a polarizer for haze reduction and sky saturation. Just experiment and see which you like best. My guess is you'll use both of them depending upon conditions.
I was out shooting a couple of air shows last month, first at McGuire AFB in Wrightstown, NJ and then later the Jones Beach (NY) show. I rented the Canon 100-400 lens for the month, and I definitely need to get myself one of those.
This is from the McGuire show; the Heritage Flight was a P-51, an A-10, and an F-4, and since I was lucky enough to have staked out a spot near shot center I was able to snap this one as they went overhead:
The first day of the Jones Beach show, my girlfriend and I went to the beach, which was very disappointing. There was so much haze that it basically wasn't worth shooting. We ended up leaving as the Thunderbirds came on, to beat the traffic. The second day, I decided to head over to Republic airport in Farmingdale, where most of the performers were based. I had a much better day there, and got lots of different angles with the ability to shoot the planes on the ground, too.
The Skytypers return from the beach, and put on a little show at the airport:
One of the two P-40s in the area, returning home after its turn at the show:
This time, I got the Thunderbirds; they came out of nowhere with all six in formation, then made a couple of passes over the airport, landing one at a time:
Nice shots - particularly #2 & #5 caught at just the moment of touchdown.
Anyone going to the Gathering of Mustangs? ...still trying to decide to go - probably will - just depends on work. Got an email today about how they are up to 102 P-51s. Are you who are going just buying general admission tickets or grandstands and if so are you pre-purchasing. Also wonder how different the shows will be day to day. The airshows here in Atlanta seem to be fairly similar with the only changes being the weather.
jbear2000 wrote:
Anyone going to the Gathering of Mustangs?
I'm definitely going, already got my plane tickets. Have not bought an admission ticket yet, since I was waiting to see if we could get a group together and buy a box or something. If we can't get some group together in the next couple of days, though, I'll just buy my individual box seat (don't want to get left out in the cold) and we can hook up once we get there.
How many of us are going? Any chance we can get a group together and buy an entire box? I'd even be willing to pay a little extra if we only have 7-8 people instead of 10, so we have more space for cameras and gear. Besides, with an individual seat you can wander into any box with available seats, but when you buy the entire box you get to specify your box in advance.
Post here, or email me! Let's get a group and get a front-row box together!
Edited by Rodolfo Paiz on Jun 12, 2007 at 06:39 PM GMT
MarkoB wrote:
Polarizer - i wonder how that would work since you're panning the planes on the sky. You can get strange poli. effects on the sky. Will try poli. next time, can't hurt.
When using a long lens, you're getting a very narrow slice of sky. On a Nikon DX-format camera, for example, a 400mm lens is capturing just 4-degrees of sky. Even on a 35mm-format camera, the same 400mm lens is just 6.2-degrees wide. So differences in polarization are not likely to cause major problems.
In the bright sun at the Red Bull Air Race, I needed both my 1.7x TC (1.5 stops) and my polarizer twisted to maximum effect to drop most shutter speeds down to 1/125.
So it can come in handy...
Rodolfo Paiz wrote:
I'm definitely going, already got my plane tickets. Have not bought an admission ticket yet, since I was waiting to see if we could get a group together and buy a box or something. If we can't get some group together in the next couple of days, though, I'll just buy my individual box seat (don't want to get left out in the cold) and we can hook up once we get there.
How many of us are going? Any chance we can get a group together and buy an entire box? I'd even be willing to pay a little extra if we only have 7-8 people instead of 10, so we have more space for cameras and gear. Besides, with an individual seat you can wander into any box with available seats, but when you buy the entire box you get to specify your box in advance.
Post here, or email me! Let's get a group and get a front-row box together!
Edited by Rodolfo Paiz on Jun 12, 2007 at 06:39 PM GMT...Show more →
Saturday would be a good day for a box. $55 each if we get 10 people. I think I'm going to pony up the $350 for the special access on Friday, should be less people to shoot around. If we get a box Saturday, then I'll just do general admission on Sunday.
I just spoke with one of the key organizers of GML about options for less restricted shooting areas for you all. They are going to look into what might be available, and at what cost. I should have something for you in a few days.
I don't have great news re: a central, unobstructed site at the show. The plan right now is not to provide a fixed location foe any group of photographers. They are scrambling to get and keep things organized and are going to stick with the access and fee structures previously announced. I'll let you all know if anything changes. You can imagine the logistics of putting this event on, they really have their hands full.
Sorry I don't have a more encouraging report. I know you guys though, you'll get great mages wherever you are!
I don't have great news re: a central, unobstructed site at the show. The plan right now is not to provide a fixed location foe any group of photographers. They are scrambling to get and keep things organized and are going to stick with the access and fee structures previously announced. I'll let you all know if anything changes. You can imagine the logistics of putting this event on, they really have their hands full.
Sorry I don't have a more encouraging report. I know you guys though, you'll get great mages wherever you are!
Jim
Jim, we appreciate your efforts.
On some lighter news, I just asked my father if he would like his fathers day & birthday present to be a road trip up to Columbus for this show. Its been years since we've just hit the road together. He said he would love it, so looks like I'll be swinging some glass up there with you guys.
That's great news! What a wonderful Father & Son trip!! I look forward to meeting you both. You know, I think you all will be able to get some incredible images just by roaming where your instincts point you. It's going to be a great event, but I think I'm more excited about the number of you guys I'll get to see.
Well done Sagar! That's an incredible Heritage Flight image. Everyone thinks those are easy to get, but the truth is the formtions are hard to hold symmetricaly for the pilots and harder to capture in camera.
Thanks Jim! Yeah, there is a fine harmony that needs to exist between shooting jets and props together. Trying to get the prop blur, adequate depth of field for all the planes, and the volatile movement of multiple planes. Sharpness, clarity, and cohesion. It really is a challenge.
