P-51 Quick Silver (TICO Airshow 2009)
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01-23-2010, 02:32 PM
#3
Gets Weekends Off
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Joined APC: Feb 2005
Posts: 658
She looked even prettier up close.. funny.. i've posted this image on a number of other photo sites and opinions have been mixed. Those that were negative usually lament that this paint scheme is an abomination for this model. To each his own I guess.
01-23-2010, 03:41 PM
#5
Gets Weekends Off
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Joined APC: Feb 2005
Posts: 658
I tend to shoot prop driven aircraft a 1/200th second in order to get, or as close as possible, a complete "disc" from the prop. Sometimes the prop is turning at an RPM that is to slow, even at 1/200th, to get a complete disc. I really don't like shooting airplanes slower then that as I start to lose sharpness in the aircraft itself. For Jet Aircraft i push it up to around 1/1000th if lighting permits. I always shoot airshows/aircraft in shutter priority as I'm mainly interested in avoiding the dreaded "dead prop" that you see in so many images.. it just looks lousy on an aircraft in flight.
When the aircraft are on the ground, especially the old warbirds with big props and low idle RPM's, I'll often slow the shutter speed to 1/100th of a second, or slower, to try and get a complete prop disc.
Things to keep in mind.... it is easier to shoot a prop driven aircraft at slow shutter speeds if it is passing perpendicular to where you are standing. That way you can pan the camera to eliminate relative motion while keeping the shutter slow enough to blur the prop. When a prop driven aircraft is coming towards you, or away, the problem you encounter is the relative motion of the aircraft. (sorry if this has become verbose....). If the aircraft is moving at a fast speed, but you are shooting at a slow shutter speed to blur the prop.. the distance that the aircraft moves in that 1/200th of a second can be enough to add blur to the image. To help mitigate that problem check to see if you camera has a "continuous focus" mode (on Nikons it's the "C" setting"). That basically allows the camera to continue to try to focus on a moving target. On my Nikon, when placed in the "C" mode the camera also enters a "predictive focus" mode. It looks at the rate that it has to refocus and focuses at a predictive point in space to compensate for the motion of the target.... whew... my fingers hurt.
Oh... one last thing... a lot of folks that i've taken shooting with me make a very common mistake. Most folks shoot in the "S" mode.. basically it's focus lock mode.. You press the shutter half way to get focus, then compose or "follow" your target, then press the shutter the rest of the way to expose the image. OOOPS. Big mistake. When you first focused in the "S" mode (Canon modes may be different) the camera locked onto the target and then locked the focus at that point (some DSLR's will give you a beep sound to let you know you have achieved focus lock). So, you've pressed the button to achieve lock, but the target, say a 540kt jet fighter, is moving at 792 feet per second. So, if you press that shutter button to focus, then hesitate before firing the shutter for even a second, the aircraft is no longer at the point that the camera focused. So, if you are in Single (S) point focus mode it is best to shoot at a high frame rate to minimize the time between focus and shutter release.. or try the continuous focus mode.
Hope I didn't insult or bore you with all of this.
best.. and enjoy the images.
Flyjets1
When the aircraft are on the ground, especially the old warbirds with big props and low idle RPM's, I'll often slow the shutter speed to 1/100th of a second, or slower, to try and get a complete prop disc.
Things to keep in mind.... it is easier to shoot a prop driven aircraft at slow shutter speeds if it is passing perpendicular to where you are standing. That way you can pan the camera to eliminate relative motion while keeping the shutter slow enough to blur the prop. When a prop driven aircraft is coming towards you, or away, the problem you encounter is the relative motion of the aircraft. (sorry if this has become verbose....). If the aircraft is moving at a fast speed, but you are shooting at a slow shutter speed to blur the prop.. the distance that the aircraft moves in that 1/200th of a second can be enough to add blur to the image. To help mitigate that problem check to see if you camera has a "continuous focus" mode (on Nikons it's the "C" setting"). That basically allows the camera to continue to try to focus on a moving target. On my Nikon, when placed in the "C" mode the camera also enters a "predictive focus" mode. It looks at the rate that it has to refocus and focuses at a predictive point in space to compensate for the motion of the target.... whew... my fingers hurt.
Oh... one last thing... a lot of folks that i've taken shooting with me make a very common mistake. Most folks shoot in the "S" mode.. basically it's focus lock mode.. You press the shutter half way to get focus, then compose or "follow" your target, then press the shutter the rest of the way to expose the image. OOOPS. Big mistake. When you first focused in the "S" mode (Canon modes may be different) the camera locked onto the target and then locked the focus at that point (some DSLR's will give you a beep sound to let you know you have achieved focus lock). So, you've pressed the button to achieve lock, but the target, say a 540kt jet fighter, is moving at 792 feet per second. So, if you press that shutter button to focus, then hesitate before firing the shutter for even a second, the aircraft is no longer at the point that the camera focused. So, if you are in Single (S) point focus mode it is best to shoot at a high frame rate to minimize the time between focus and shutter release.. or try the continuous focus mode.
Hope I didn't insult or bore you with all of this.
best.. and enjoy the images.
Flyjets1
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