2013 APRIL / Vol. 5 / No. 4 /
GA
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planning and preparation for shoots.
"You can't just jump in an aircraft and
shoot. It's not like editorial photography
or an air show for that matter. So many
photographers seem to think that an air-
to- air shoot is no different to shooting from
the ground ... just higher up." he says
He always briefs with the camera ship
and the subject aircraft pilots. He discusses
his plan for the shoot and then if the client
wants a particular shot, if it's possible, they
will go ahead to discuss a plan for the shoot.
The pilots need to be formation trained, Justin
stresses. He is in charge of the shoot and makes
the calls. If anything is unsafe, his pilot will
make the next call as he is the lead aircraft. Even
during the shoot, there is constant communication
between himself and all the pilots involved.
"Air-to-airs are dangerous, the last
thing you need up there are cowboys and
3 people in charge": he comments.
Minimum equipment for
aviation phtohgraphy
Justin feels that the absolute minimum would be
an SLR camera, and two lenses, probably an 18-
55mm and something like a 75-300mm. "Naturally
this is great way to start and if you know your way
around a camera you can produce some pretty
nice images. If your budget allows, go for a more
advanced body and pro spec lenses." he adds.
Light and background
"During an air-to-air, the first thing I try
to do is find the background, what are we
going to shoot against? If I have shot over
that area before, I will tell the pilots in
the briefing where we are heading."
Sometimes the background is part of the
shoot, such as during the World Cup, many an
air-to-air was shot over the stadiums. A company
may want their new aircraft photographed in
the air with their offices in the background,
or perhaps just Table Mountain so it relates
to a location. Outside of those circumstances,
he generally looks for uncluttered clean
backgrounds, nice patterns and colours.
Once airborne, he starts to look for the
light - he needs the light to fall properly on the
subject aircraft and secondly on the background.
First light and last light of the day is always
ideal, "however, sometimes the client can only
do midday ... then you just have to learn to
position your subject differently" he comments.
Lenses
"As I said earlier, a 75-300 will work, but yes,
that is the bare minimum." He feels that the
300mm has a fair range but due to the lens
being at f/5.6 at 300mm its quality of glass is
lacking somewhat if you need to crop the image
later. His recommendation for air show work
is to spend a little bit more and to get hold of
a 100-400mm, although it also sits at f/5.6, it
does this only at 400mm and being a pro-spec
lens, the picture is sharper and clearer."
Personally, he shoots with the Canon
300mm f/2.8 lens, and often with a Canon
1.4x teleconverter. The combination is perfect
as he has a 425mm f/4 lens that is razor sharp
and lets in buckets of light. Prime lenses offer
the crispest, sharpest images he feels, but
they are expensive and you will forfeit certain
images as you cannot zoom back. However
you can crop the images to a greater degree and
therefore can shoot angles that no one else can.
Air to air lenses
"My lens of choice for air to air is the Canon
24-105mm f/4 IS. It's sharp, has a good air to air
range, is image stabilized for those slow shutter
speeds and being a pro-spec lens offers absolute
clarity and sharpness. I have also on occasion used
the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 and the 16-35mm
f/2.8 for tight formations, when the camera ship is
sitting in the formation, not leading it." Justin says.
Camera settings
"Take a course ..."
"Seriously, aviation photography is challenging,
and knowing your equipment is key to a good
photograph. Understanding light, composition
and exposure is key to a great photograph.
If you don't understand the principle of
photography, in other words if you are incapable
of shooting your camera in manual mode,
looking at the screen at the back of the camera
at a bad image and not knowing what settings
to change to improve on the shot you need
to go and do a basic course," he advises.
"You can never be creative on full
auto. How good would a pilot be if the
auto pilot did all the flying ... he just
pushed a button to take-off and land.
Shooting at slow shutter speeds to show
movement and energy in aviation is vital
... this takes hours and hours of practice on
the sides of runways perfecting your muscle
memory to shoot like that. First understand
the basics and then you can start to play
and take it from there," he suggests.
Tripods
Tripods are for photographing static aircraft
in the pitch dark and for video ...they serve
no other purpose really. You cannot shoot an
airshow with a tripod. Your movements are
very restricted and you will also never develop
that muscle memory to shoot properly.
New equipment - what do we look for?
"The first question is what can you afford? Buy
the best camera you can afford, don't let your
budget spoil your fun. You will be spending
anything from R10k to R60k just for a body.
In the Canon range, in order of price range, I
recommend the Canon 60D, 7D, the 5DMk3
and the 1Dx. I'm a huge fan of the 5D3 and
1Dx for aviation, I'm not a Nikon shooter but
have worked extensively with their gear whilst
teaching my students. The D7000, D700, and
D4 seem up to the task." He recommends
Frans Dely was my mentor. He taught me
how to shoot in a way that turned my images
from the ordinary to the extraordinary. He taught
me a lot about air to air photography, about
chasing the light and even post production,
which I was amazed at how differently he
approached his editing to what I was used to.
In 2011 I became a Brand Ambassador for
Canon for my work in the aviation genre. It's
great to represent a product that you believe in
wholeheartedly, my gear has never let me down
and I'm incredibly proud to carry the name
and be a part of such a great organization.
I shoot in all genres of photography
from weddings to fashion, from sport
to corporates, but it's in the air that I am
happiest, my passion is in aviation.
Justin can be contactedon
082-4575299
"Always shoot your passion, it shows in your images.
If you can evoke an emotion in the
viewer you will have achieved a great image."