Peak of Action is an old technique to capture a sharp image of a moving subject. I’ve written about it many times but this is the first time I actually mentally thought of it as a way to capture an image in an air to air photo mission. The best way I know of explaining Peak of Action is a basketball. When you are dribbling a basketball, it travels up and down. Peak of Action happens twice during this travel. It happens when at the top and bottom of its travel as it stops for just a heartbeat before changing its course of travel. That moment for example when it hangs in the air before falling, that is the Peak of Action. Photographing the ball that moment, it will be sharp because it is not moving anymore. This is the technique I applied to this photo.
There are two directions of movement in this photo. Direction A is the direction the subject aircraft (Zero) and the photo platform (A36) aircraft are traveling. Since they are both traveling at the same speed, as far as the film plane is concerned, they are not moving at all. The Zero, the subject, as the film plane sees it is not moving so not matter the shutter speed, it’s sharp. So shooting still at 1/40, the Zero is sharp but the prop is blurred. That’s because the prop is traveling perpendicular to the film plane. With that opposing path of travel, you can effect the props sharpness with shutter speed. Direction B in which the prop and the Spitfire are traveling is perpendicular to the film plane, their motion can be frozen or blurred by the shutter speed. Since I want the props blurred I shot with that 1/40 shutter speed but the movement of the Spitfire caused it to be completely blurred at that 1/40. How to freeze the Spitfire in its attack then? Yep, Peak of Action! It was that easy! As the Spitfire would arc up in its attack, there was a moment when it stopped, it hung for a moment before sliding back under the Zero. I was in a A36 shooting with the D4s / 80-400VR3, I was “fixed” so it was up to pilots to make the photograph come to life. I just turned to an old technique to freeze the motion while still showing the motion with shutter speed. It’s the craft of photography in action.
It was simply an amazing flight! The best part was it wasn’t planned, not even hinted at. It just unfolded. What you’re looking at is a piece of living history, a Spitfire mkIX built in 1944 that flew over Normandy D Day +9. But is actually is much more than that because the reason I’m able to be photographing it in the United States is a story of passion. It starts with the person who restored it then continues with the person who wanted to own it but missed it when it was available seven years ago but didn’t make the same mistake last week. It goes further with the pilot flying the plane who, since he was a teenager and painted one on his bedroom wall wanted to fly one and me who only for the moment, continues the circle.
I received a couple of days notice that the Spit (a gorgeous plane!) would be at Wings Over Houston. Acquired by the Texas Flying Legends Museum, its chief pilot Warren Pietsch knew I would want to photograph it air to air especially after our April trip to England. When we hit the ground on Friday, we started planning which meant getting a photo platform. And like all things planes, on Saturday, the photo platform we found developed a mechanical and the shoot was off. I sent off a text to our dear friend Flydaddy and asked if the A36 Bonanza was available and a couple of hours later, it was landing at Ellington Field. When Flydaddy heard the photo mission was a Spit, he couldn’t get their soon enough (the passion continues). So Sunday night, with the brief done for a longer than normal photo mission, props turned at 18:00. With GoPros mounted, Jake sitting next to me in the back (great bonus!) and Spit owner SIC, the D4s / 80-400VR3 locked and loaded, off we want!
Now the photo you see here was taken near the end of the mission. What makes the Spitfire is that wing, it’s one of a kind. To get that wing, I either had to have the Spit high overhead or way underneath. Since I wanted water, under Warren went. To get the shot, I leaned out of the plane with have my torso hanging half out of the plane. As in, the wind is pounding my back as we do 140kt indicated with lens pointed straight down. Shooting at 1/80, the odds of getting a tack sharp image are nill. The answer was simple, suck it in and hold tight, hit the hammer and let ‘er rip! After 223 frames in a few seconds, I could take no more and came back inside. As you can see, I did get one sharp image. When Ansel Adams was asked, “How many images does it take to get a good one,” he answered, “One.” What he didn’t mention was the passion that MUST go into that one. I have a LOT of folks to thank for making this ONE photo come true. I hope telling this story serves for now as a good enough thanks.
Wings Over Houston, one of our favorite airshows, is this weekend and some questions about what tips I might have to offer. Below are some thoughts one bringing life to your images, motion to your stills. Realizing most learn best from watching rather than reading, I have three classes on KelbyOne that will help you: Kelby Class on Aviation Photography, Pilot Portraits and The Art of Air to Air. And if you want a sense of what’s happening at Wings Over Houston, be sure to watch Warbirds and the Men Who Flew Them which was filmed at Wings Over Houston!
These techniques apply to ALL moving subjects not just planes! Start with understanding that shooting unrestricted is essential! My airshow set up this year consists of the D4s, 200-400VR2 (could be substituted with 80-400AFS which I’ll have for my air to air work), 24-70AFS and 14-24AFS and that’s all (and of course AN-SBR2 Black Rapid Quick-Draw Strap). I love it being so light as that permits me to easily carry it all in my slingbag along with iPad (to show previous images to pilots) and business cards (to give pilots). The less you carry, the more mobile you are, the more mobile and limber you are, the sharper the photos and better composed they are (here is a complete listing of the gear that’s with me, most in the vehicle just in case). And don’t forget the basics, handholding and panning which are a must (start practicing now!)! With that in mind, here are some tips that you can apply to any action photography and in particular airshows.
Put yourself in relationship to the action in a position where it performs around you. At airshows, aircraft often make a “photo” pass which is often done in what’s called a “banana pass.” If you can picture a banana with your being inside the curve of the banana, that’s basically a banana pass. When you’re on the INSIDE of that curve, the aircraft or athlete or motorcycle will will be MOVING into your frame which gives a feel of not only speed but also intimacy. Keep in mind that being on the inside of the curve, the subject will be going faster in relationship to your position so your panning has to be spot on.
Taking your shutter speed down below your comfort zone is key! Shooting in Shutter Priority to be in control of shutter speed and then the blur puts action into your still. In some cases the shutter speed is arbitrary based on how you feel. In some cases it could be a very specific shutter speed to blur props of aircraft or blades on a helicopter, in this case 1/20 to blur the blades of this Cobra. Keep in mind that your panning blurs the background and the degree of that blur is a function of how fast you’re panning vs. your shutter speed. Now if your background is all blue, bald sky, there is not a slow enough shutter speed to show motion. You need something in the background to scream movement.
When you’ve got the light, forget everything else! Ya, there are lots of rules, ideas, suggestions and sexy action that can grab your attention but when you’ve got light, ditch them all for that light. This gorgeous P-51D is a great example as the light brings out the fuselage and the dark skies sets is all off. The light also brings the prop blur to life making it feel like a bat out of hell. The angle of the light makes all the rivits pop and creates a shadow that just makes it seem like it’s going faster. You can’t go wrong with great light!
Go for the ass! Any subject that is going away from you in the frame sets the mind to thinking movement. While this seems obvious, ass shots in themselves can be tricky. There is the matter of proper social protocol (not my speciality) along with attractiveness. There are a couple of aspects of subject positioning that goes along with this. Lower and centered in the frame is the place to start and then based on other elements in the frame can be moved about accordingly. When shooting the ass of an aircraft, the blurred prop is required to speak of movement. The slower the shutter speed, the more blurred the prop and the more blurred the prop, you change the position of the aircraft in the frame.
This one is real simple. When you have a great background, think of smaller subject size in a slightly awkward placement in the frame. Yeap, that’s all it takes for the mind to see the placement and move the subject through the frame against that background. I like simple!
Let the path set the movement. A track, street, sidewalk or trail of smoke communicates movement when you place the subject on that path. This again is another real simple one to employ but to take it to the next level, put the subject on the path again in a slightly awkward place.
Low angle with a wide angle is a great way of communicating motion! Here is a classic example considering the only thing moving in the frame are the props. The rule of thumb is to leave enough room in the frame in front of the subject for the mind to give the subject motion. You can enhance this mental path by getting down low with a wide angle. This technique is great when in reality, you’re crammed up in a crowd and can’t get physically where you want to. In the case of aviation, think of slow shutter speed and not keeping the horizon plum. Here, it’s slightly slanted up hill and the sun is included (lens closed down all the way for a sunburst) to finish the feel.
Follow your subject in the viewfinder for its entire path! You just never know what surprises you might find in the viewfinder that if your eye is not up against it, you’ll miss. In this case these Stearman finished a loop right overhead so a normal view of an aircraft from the ground, looking at the top of the aircraft, was all you see in the viewfinder. A unique perspective to any common subject begins the journey of having a unique photograph!
Cramming action into a vertical creates lots of mental movement in a still! The tension of the subject looking like it’s going to run into the side of the frame can work with the rest of the elements are in sync. Other elements? Ya, light, blur, color, placement in the frame vertically, all those elements that together bring movement to the subject. Keep in mind that as soon as you turn the camera to vertical, your panning gets more difficult and composition more challenging. At the same time, the rewards for success goes up as well.
Never ignore the common! This Huey is no warbird or screaming jet yet I would be really bummed if it weren’t in my files. When you can make the uncommon out of the common, your photograph always wins! In this case, since it’s an airplane and it’s up in the sky, the mind knows it’s flying and that in itself says motion. Use proper handholding and panning, look for the light and think motion with a big dash of fun and you will be successful! have a great weekend shooting! OH … my good friends the Texas Flying Legends Museum, Sharon, Jake will be there so if you see us, say hi. And if we can be of assistance, just ask. Cya there!
Critters being critters, just because you show up doesn’t mean they will. Up in Alaska lookin for my cous and while we found a couple of cows, it wasn’t the ladies we were looking for. The rain didn’t help matters either, but then again, it is Alaska. So as the sun came up, we had checked up a couple of place for bulls and with no luck, followed our ears.
We were in the neighborhood of Lake Hood and heard the float planes taking off. So I grabbed the Df / 300PF and headed over to the edge. We were right in the flight path so we just had to stand and shoot. They key in making the shot though were the Chugash Mtns in the background. That’s what says Alaska because otherwise, it would just be a float plane. It was so much fun with the nice light and scenery. Good to be here again!
“This flight’s for me” is what Warren said after we finished the brief. The photo mission had no specific goals other than to have a romantic sunset flight on a gorgeous North Dakota night. The plane is a rare one, a ’32 Monocoupe 110. Back in the day, it was the speedster winning many a pylon, derby and cross country race. So one photo I had in mind was that “Pylon 4” shot with the Monocoupe up on wing edge. Did we get it? You’ll have to watch and find out.
Working with a still medium, when it comes to saying “movement” in our images, there are challenges. When trying to “freeze” motion and get a sharp image of something moving, we pan so the film plane keeps pace with the subject. The element in the frame that is not moving physically and relatively is the background so that’s what we blur to say movement. And when there are elements in the frame moving perpendicular to the film plane, they will blur as well if we use a slow enough shutter speed to so that motion. This is a lot to think about when photographing a passing bicyclist or car. It gets even more complicated as you get to larger subjects and you want to say speed!
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. This gorgeous Super Cub, it’s not thought of as a speed demon but it is going at least 90mph to fly. Now we can say visually it’s moving by simply using a slower shutter speed and point the plane towards the sun. The prop will blur and from that blur, the mind takes this still image and gives it movement. But it doesn’t say, speed. Both images were taken exactly the same, D4s / 80-400VR3 (Vulture Strap a must!) at 1/60. The only difference in taking the photo is the top one, I was hanging out of the plane and shooting down, the other I was sitting back inside and shooting across to the cub. But if you look at the two photos, one looks like the Cub is a bat out of hell and the other, like it’s just popping along. The difference? The one with the bat out of hell feel, the Cub is MUCH closer to the background, earth! Both were taken with the same f/stop and while on earth and shooting down here, DoF can radically change how much is in or out of focus the background might be. Not the case once you go up and you are for all intents and purposes focusing at infinity because infinity has no DoF. So to create the illusion of speed, the subject has to be close to the background. I encourage you to do your own experiment. Get a bicycle rider to ride their bike close to a wall and then 20 feet away. Watch what visually happens visually in your photos, you’ll soon see the speed. It’s a simple technique you might want to tuck in the back of your mind for the next time you want to say speed.
