747 captured by Z 9 / Z400f4.5
While there are times when flying commercial is about as unromantic as flight can be, I’m still always amazed by the planes carrying around the world. The actual aircraft get no real downtime and while we tend to get pissy when our flights are delayed or canceled because of a mechanical issue, for the hour flown, it’s really a fraction of the life of an aircraft. That’s why they are a favorite of mine for keeping my panning sharp. Na, I don’t photograph them from inside the terminal waiting for my next flight (though I have done that a couple of times), rather, I head to my local airport, MSO and others to spend time photographing the coming and goings. Be it MSO, ANC, PDX, PHL, TPA or a number of others, they have locations where you can easily photograph the airliners. I tend to go when the skies are moody and the light is rich. I get the shutter speed down in the 1/40 range and practice panning not so much level flight but the accents and decents. This is because it forces me to not only twist at the trunk, but move my arms to match the angle. With winter and the slow down of airshows, flyins and the like, there are always aircraft at the big airports to photograph. It’s a fun way to keep the panning technique sharp, at the airport, again.