RIAT 2013

JulesP

JulesP

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Julian
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Hi folks

I'm off to Fairford for the Tattoo for the first time this year. I'm the first to admit that aircraft are not my thing to photograph but as the Vulcan is flying for the last time apparently, I'm not going to miss it.

On this forum I see many excellent pics of aircraft. My question is are there any "typical" settings that I should be using to capture these magnificent aircraft?
For example, metering mode etc.

I know to use a slower shutter for props and helicopters to blur the rotors but with aircraft, that's about it!


The kit I will be taking is Nikon D7000, Nikon 24-70 2.8, Sigma 70-200 OS and also Sigma 1.4x and 2x teleconverters.

Any advice would be extremely welcome:)

Thanks

Julian
 
Depends a lot on the weather as to how you shoot.

Take this weekend, at Waddington. Bright sunshine, cloudless sky, although only bright blue in certain places due to a bit of haze. I took an exposure reading off the grass/runway and dialled that in manual. The only thing that changed throughout the day was the direction of the light, my exposure was never more than 1/3 stop out unless I changed it.

For the jets, Vulcan included, I used 1/1600 F7.1 ISO320 in Manual. I also tried setting Shutter priority with +2/3 dialled in and got pretty much the same result.

If, however, there is cloud then you will find yourself having a harder time.

If you get good light, Fairford seems to me like it is a good place to shoot, as the sun will be behind you all day.
 
my usual rule of thumb for jets is 1/1000th F8 and whatever iso for correct exposure
i do the same as Richard for exposure and expose for something on the ground ( building , tree , plane etc ) and manually set the camera to whatever works

i will be there at RIAT on sunday it's a good day out
 
As slow as you can for anything with a prop. Helicopters are harder and require a slower shutter speed to get anything with decent blur in. I use around 125th - 200th for planes and lower that that if you can for helis. Expect to have a low hit rate, as practice makes perfect. (and I'm far from perfect!)

RIAT is fine for the sun, as Richard says the sun is behind you all day, just pray for good weather, as the last 2 years I went Faiford I got rather wet. I can't make it this year, so the sun is bound to shine all day!

Enjoy the day, it really is a good show, just get there early.
 
Thanks folks for the advice. I will bear it in mind whilst there:-)

What about lenses though? Do you think he 70-200 OS is long enough or would I generally be better off using the 1.4 or 2x teleconverter? I know this is a subjective question and down to personal preference but what do you consider long enough?
Thanks
Julian
 
PMN said:
Where did you hear that? It's due to be flying for another 2 years! :)
Click to expand...

Heard it last year after RIAT 2012 - cant remember where though. That's what made me book tickets this year
 
No, RIAT isn't the Vulcans last stand, it'll be about for a while yet.

The sun at RIAT isn't behind all day (although we have seen little of it for the last 5 or so years!), it ends up on the West end of the runway from about 3.30pm onwards.

Thats a pain, as the prefered take off direction is towards it, so that can mean some harsh shadow and backlighting issues.

As for exposure modes? Matter of personal choice. Shutter speeds over 1/500 if you can for jets, but I've used a lot lower and been fine. For the Tin Toblarone there's no difference. It helps if you know it's display routine, and what to expect.

Props, 250 ish, wont get you a prop disk, but the blades will be blurred, slower will be better, but you risk a blurred plane too!

Choppers, horrible, as slow as you can get, I've been down to 1/15th and (just) got away with it. but even then, with say a chinook, you wont get a disc.

Mostly, normal Evauative metering works fine, but with some aircraft, a bit of exp comp helps.
 
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JulesP said:
Heard it last year after RIAT 2012 - cant remember where though. That's what made me book tickets this year
Click to expand...

It seemed at one point they wouldn't be able to find funding to continue flying but now they're hopeful they can keep flying until the engines reach the end of their working life which is in 2 years. From then unfortunately she'll be permanently grounded but at least there are plenty of chances to see her until then. :)
 
JulesP said:
Heard it last year after RIAT 2012 - cant remember where though. That's what made me book tickets this year
Click to expand...

Actually to be honest I heard something like this last year at RIAT, although I didn't completely believe it because I heard it before that as well.
 
connersz said:
Actually to be honest I heard something like this last year at RIAT, although I didn't completely believe it because I heard it before that as well.
Click to expand...

Seems a good way to keep ticket sales up - the thought of a final flight!
 
Usually after they mention it they give out the number for you to text your money too.

In my opinion it will be around for a good while yet but if not then the trillion pictures of it that were taking while it was flying will keep the memory alive.
 
2013 was supposed to be its last year but the have done research and with funding can push a bit further. They are currently launching Operation 2015 to do a major maintenance job to make it last until then. After the 2015 season it WILL be grounded as flying hours etc on engine and airframe will have expired with no further parts that are air worthy being available.

Sad to see it finally go.
 
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