shooting from a cessna

dm50384 · September 23, 2009

Hello to all,
Are there any pilots or folks who specialize in aerial photography who visit this forum.
I would like to share techniques for getting good photos from the plane.
Being a pilot is the greatest pleasure I have had in life so far and catching it on film has been a blast!
Dan Valovich

ivar · September 23, 2009

Hi Dan, welcome to the forum

I used to do aerial photography/fly with photographers and I know for sure there is at least one professional aerial photographer out here, and several pilots.

Shooting hand-held is definitely doable. It takes some getting used to, but atleast the window will stay open on most cessna's

mtbparker · September 23, 2009

Hello Dan,

Welcome. I'm a pilot. I enjoy flying. I enjoy photography. I have yet to connect the two though. Most of my shots are from the ground looking up at airshows. I'm not sure how much help I'll be with aerial photography. But it's good to know there's another pilot out there.

Tom
PPL-ASEL Instrument

dm50384 · September 23, 2009

Thanks for the replies.
I have been shooting from the plane for several years now,mostly by myself.
Shooting fireworks from 1500 ft at 80 knots is tough.I am using topaz for noise reduction. l
Looking for a way to eliminate the noise reduction without software.I boost the iso until i get the shutter speed i need. Any better ways?

SLRdude · September 23, 2009

Never shot from a Cessna, but I did shoot from a S-58 and a S-62.
Helicopters are easy because you can fly with the door open and just sit there on the side with your feet hanging out and shoot!

ront · September 23, 2009

All I can say is to be very careful when taking photos from an airplane. My nephew was a good pilot and a good photographer. He spent the summer of 2007 up in Alaska flying his Piper Cub around and taking pics a lot of that time. He went back up the summer of 2008 and had been there a very short time when he crashed his plane while taking pictures. It was all very sad. In the end, it was pilot error, but we still lost a good man who was doing two of the things that he loved most. Here is a link to the blog he did in 2007:
http://shaunlunt.typepad.com/
One of the stories of his crash:
http://aprn.org/2008/06/07/california-pilot-dies-in-crash-troopers-seeking-second-pilot/

This is Shaun and my wife the Fall before he went to Alaska.

Shaun and his plane.

Just be careful!

Ron

dm50384 · September 23, 2009

Thank you Ron for telling me about Shaun. I am truly sorry for your loss. I would bet if he walked through your door tommorow he would say let's go flying!

ivar · September 24, 2009

Hi Ront, I'm sorry to hear about Shaun. I have lost several friends in plane-crashes. Regardless of the cause, it sucks.

For the pilot/photographers here, it's kind of a given, but DON'T go shooting when flying solo! The instructor side of me is going to kick your butt when I catch you doing that! If you go shooting from a plane, shoot as a passenger or make sure you take a safety-pilot with you. It's just too easy to be away from the plane and instruments for just a second too much, get disoriented, etc. (Also, if something were to happen, you're most likely not insured.)

dm50384 · September 24, 2009

Thanks Ron and Ivor for your comments.
Taking photos while flying the airplane can be done safely. I use a safety pilot when i can but one isn't always around. I don't want anyone to think that i am reckless when i fly. I am not. If it can't be done safely it doesn't get done.I have spent many hours with my instructor practicing slow flight for the purpose of taking photos when i am alone. After an aircraft is trimmed for level hands off flight it can be done safely.
What makes me nervous as hell is drivers on cell phones!!

dm50384 · September 29, 2009

Here is a kool image I captured while decending through the clouds.
Looks to be a wing mounted camera but actually I opened the window and held the camera outside. It takes a fast shutter speed to get a good photo.

ront · September 29, 2009

dm50384 wrote:

Thank you Ron for telling me about Shaun. I am truly sorry for your loss. I would bet if he walked through your door tommorow he would say let's go flying!

You bet he would. He loved to fly!!

Thanks, Ron

ront · September 29, 2009

ivar wrote:

Hi Ront, I'm sorry to hear about Shaun. I have lost several friends in plane-crashes. Regardless of the cause, it sucks.

For the pilot/photographers here, it's kind of a given, but DON'T go shooting when flying solo! The instructor side of me is going to kick your butt when I catch you doing that! If you go shooting from a plane, shoot as a passenger or make sure you take a safety-pilot with you. It's just too easy to be away from the plane and instruments for just a second too much, get disoriented, etc. (Also, if something were to happen, you're most likely not insured.)

Shaun was a good pilot, but made a fatal mistake. You are correct ivar, no matter the cause, it sucks!! Shaun was a really great guy!

Thanks, Ron

nofate · September 29, 2009

Shooting from a Cessna...I do that often. The following pics were taken by a friend while I flew the plane. The pics of the Beaver floatplane happened without any planning except for me contacting the pilot as he made an approach to land and asking if he was OK with me forming up on his left side to take some pics that he will be able to use on his website. All pics are through the plastic windows.

The Cessna in HDR...

Beaver on approach...

Beaver closeup...

Beaver near touchdown...

A long train...

Interesting patterns in the spray from the floats....

I often take pics while flying solo, but they are done safely with lots of altitude, airspeed and no traffic.

dm50384 · September 30, 2009

Thanks for the photos Nofate,
I love seeing other peoples aerials
Aerial photos are very rewarding with the results you get.
Alot of times i get to do things for the first time like this powered wing flight,

or this powered parachute,

I get to shoot a balloon festival for the city in october and they want photos from the balloon during flight.

shooting from a cessna

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