into the wild blue

Vapor trails from the wingtips add interest to this photo

into the wild blue ... dr. jeff johnson

Why would a landscape photographer spend his time shooting moving airplanes at an air show? In this photographer’s case, it is simply because he loves airplanes. Most of us have more than one interest in life. Some, like me, have too many according to certain people. I say, why not take my photography skills and equipment and see what I can come up with by combining them with my love of airplanes and flying?

Added interest here is the gear raising one at a time (normal for this plane)

I’ve been interested in airplanes since I was a kid. I used to build plastic models, balsa gliders, then control line flying models, and most recently radio controlled planes. I spent 5 years on active duty with the Air Force, 3 of them as a flight surgeon, so I got to fly in (and fly some of them myself) a number of planes including KC-135 tankers, B-52 bombers, and T-37 jet trainers. When I heard there was going to be an air show at nearby Hill Air Force Base I decided to spend some time trying air show photography.

I wasn't sure what all I would need, so I took everything except my macro and tilt-shift lenses. I arrived about an hour prior to the flying part of the show so I could spend time photographing the static displays (airplanes on the ground). I brought plenty of water and a folding camp chair and staked out a spot in the front row as far to one end of the spectator area as possible. I chose the end closest to the sun so that most of the time the sun would be behind me or at least off to the side, rather than in my face.

Left: Here the flame from the afterburner and the vapor forming on the wings increases interest Right:The pattern of the smoke shows the path of the planes and breaks up the solid blue background

I spent 9 hours at the show and shot just over 1000 frames. It was the only time I have used up a fresh 1DsII battery in less than a day. Most of my shots were made with the Canon 300mm f/4 IS or Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS lenses coupled to a Canon EX 1.4 extender. The extra reach was nice on the 300, but many times as a formation got closer I had to quickly switch to the 70-200. I know I missed a few shots changing lenses and I’m sure I picked up more dust on my sensor that way.

The smoke trail shows this plane flying more sideways than straight

Four generations of fighters,
P-51, F-16, F-4, and F-22.
The group of dissimilar planes
makes this photo more interesting.

In addition to the lighting, composition still plays a role in making a good airplane photograph. I try to have something other than just the plane in the frame. Often objects in the background can be distracting, but interesting clouds, condensation forming on fast moving planes, smoke and other planes all add elements to the composition and can make the image more interesting.

I was not as happy with my shots of the static display planes. It is difficult to get in a position that makes the plane look good without having distracting background or people in the frame. This is actually the first serious effort I’ve made at air show photography, so I’m by no means an expert. I did have a great time and got some images that I like. I plan to do it again when the opportunity presents. I hope this article gives everyone the itch to try something a bit out of the ordinary.

Comment

I'm always delighted when I see the work of others in a field that I'm not familiar with or don't do myself. It's part of the magic and intrigue of photography. There are many facets of photography that truly only have "the camera" as common ground. Having learned to do different disciplines on my journey to landscape photography, I can appreciate what goes into doing this type of photography.

The wonderful part of Dr. Johnson's pictorial essay for me is that I did not even begin to think of all it takes to do this until well after I had marveled at the photos!

Thanks again for your contributions to this website Doc!

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