Red Arrows: The joys of photographing fast planes

Red Arrows

The Red Arrows are the RAF display team for the UK, and their red jets have become an iconic symbol to see at major events. They are based out of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, and on a recent visit to family, I was fortunate enough to get the chance to see them practising overhead. Of course, this wasn't without it's difficulties, which I'll go into in a minute!

Photographing planes (and fast ones at that!): Some tips

Telephoto is your friend

Funnily enough, even when they're flying low, planes will still be quite small to photograph unless you have your telephoto zoom handy. I was using my Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II Lens, which taking into account the crop factor on my 60D meant I could zoom to about 400mm. As you can see from the photos below, that meant I could just about fill the frame when the planes were up close.

High Shutter speed and AI-Servo are your other friends

As I was trying to capture the detail of the planes, I wanted as high a shutter speed as I could. This also ensured things like smoke trails were frozen in time, rather than becoming too streaky. Of course, you may want to have some blur if you want to show how fast the planes are going; as always, it's up to you! This is especially true of propellors; a fast shutter speed can result in propellors being stationary, which can ruin the flight illusion slightly.

The second thing needed, given the planes are in motion, was the switching of Autofocus from 'One Shot' to 'AI Servo'. These may be called something different on your camera, but a general summary is:

• One Shot - focussing on stationary objects. This is the normal mode, whereby you focus on on object and retain that focus only. If said object subsequently moves around (such as closer or further away), then they may move out of focus and would require you to refocus
• AI Servo - for action shots. Here, you select the object to focus on, and the camera will try and retain the focus on that object as it moves. Certainly not foolproof, but it will at least try and keep focussing as whatever you are trying to photograph moves around

(Note: there is a third option typically which attempts to merge these, so that focus locks on something stationary but then switches to servo if it starts moving. This isn't that reliable though, and most people stick the mode they know they want)

Fast planes definitely fit into the category of moving, so AI Servo was the best option. It is also useful when doing panning shots, which would have been an option here had I wanted.

Panning and anticipation

The last tip I'd give would be to try and prepare for the shot in question, rather than just pointing and firing. The process I followed was something like:

1. Work out where the plane would be coming from. This was a mixture of listening to the engine roar and looking for telltale signs like smoke trails.
2. Work out where the plane would be going. Is the plane going overhead or across me? This helps me work out what direction I would be panning
3. Find the plane with lens at minimum zoom. This makes it easier to get the plane in position before then zooming in
4. Once zoomed in, get focus lock on the plane and start panning with it
5. SHOOT PHOTOS!
6. Keep panning in same direction after I stopped

Panning is something that comes with practice, but the aim should be to move in a smooth manner in relation to the object. You don't necessarily shoot for the duration of this, and in reality you should start panning, snap photos, then keep panning. This ensures that the first/last photos aren't too blurry potentially.

Summary

As you'd expect, the tips I listed above were what I learned as I went. I was fortunate to be able to keep getting shots, as they went around similar loops several times. I'm hoping to get to Farnborough Air Show this year, when maybe I'll be able to get some formation shots and be a little more adventurous with my framing.

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A trip to the farm to try wide angle closeups

Rand Farm

A week off work meant I had the chance to go out with the family. We opted for a trip to Rand Farm, which is a working farm that the public can visit in Lincolnshire. The weather wasn't the most inviting, but it gave me the chance to try out getting wide angle closeups of animals. This was a technique I'd seen many times in magazines, but since I don't usually find myself out in a field surrounded by cows, I haven't had many opportunities to try out!

Wide angle closeups?

Generally, in photography, you have 'go to' lenses for particular situations and subjects. For example:

• Wide angle - landscapes
• 50mm - Portrait
• Telephoto - sports or closeups

This is largely due to the impact focal lengths have on photos; telephoto zooms let you get closer to action you may not be near to (as well as blurring the background at large apertures), whereas wide angles allow you to fit more into the frame, at the price of distortion. The most extreme example of this is fish eye lenses, some of which have such an extreme field of vision that you get your feet in the shot if you aren't careful!

Wide angle shots don't tend to get used for things like closeups or portraits, due to this distorting effect. In particular, when used closeup it has the effect of exaggerating the distances between points. This means if, for example, you take a picture of a person with a wide angle lens closeup, things like noses can suddenly seem a lot larger (and funnily enough, some people feel this is a little unflattering!)

Of course, like anything photography related, guidelines are not hard rules, and sometimes you can get much more interesting results by going against them, mainly because it provides a different perspective. Case in point is using wide angle lenses with animals. For starters, animals don't tend to take offence if you take their photo with the 'incorrect' lens, which is a big help. More importantly, animals like horses and cows who already have long faces can look even more interesting and compelling through a wide angle than if you'd stuck to a more traditional lens.

In reality, the shots I've been trying aren't exactly new and original (and in the case of the cow photo are borderline cliched), but it's still a fresh view on things for me!

General tips (from my experience so far)

Choose your subjects carefully

As mentioned already, not everyone (or thing) is suited to wide angle closeups, or wants to be taken in that manner. Think about subjects that would benefit from the distances between points being magnified. Animals with long snouts, for example, are great choices, whereas something like a cat's face may not be so well suited. 

Think about the angle

The purpose of this sort of photo is to maximise distances for impact. Therefore, you need to ensure you get at a good angle to the subject to allow the other points in the photo to trail off. A great example of this is photographing a person in wide angle; straight on and you may not get that much effect, but shoot above them or from the ground and you can make them seem gigantic.

Move slowly when photographing animals

The animals at Rand Farm are fairly docile, given they are regularly in contact with noisy humans. You should still approach slowly though, if you don't want them to dart off when it comes to the photo. The clue is in the title 'close-up'; you may be getting a lot closer than you (or the animal) is used to with a camera. This is where having a flip out screen like on my 60D helps, as you can get yourself into position before finally snapping the photo.

Cool 'Fro

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This was my favourite of the alpacas, all down to the 'fro which he happily sported. He was actually quite happy to have his photo taken, more so than this photo suggests. However, I liked the level of contempt that this photo gave off. Here, the wide angle means his head seems out of proportion to his body, as well as helping to provide focus to his nose (and his cool 'fro of course).

Cow in closeup

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This is the more cliched wide angle shot, mainly because cows will play along with being photographed up close a lot more than some animals. I was fortunate in this case that the cow was having a drink, which gave me a chance to set up the camera low and wait for an opportune moment. I also made sure I didn't actually come between the cow and the water, as for all cows are generally considered peaceful creatures, it's worth remembering they're big enough to do damage to something like a camera with their heads!

In summary

I liked the shots I managed to get. Given I have an APS-C sensor coupled with a generic kit wide angle (both of which means it isn't really an 'extreme' wide angle), I think the effect comes across quite nicely still. Now I just need to find more willing subjects to get more practice with!

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Fine Art America: taking the plunge

I'm taking the plunge

After much umming and ahhing, I've decided to take the plunge and create a page dedicated to selling my photographs:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/mjm-images.html

What made me take the plunge? Well, the past few weeks have been eventful, and gave me time to reflect on things.

Miles Hilton-Barber

Recently, I was invited to an event through work where Miles Hilton-Barber gave a motivational speech. If you haven't heard of Miles or his achievements, I would strongly recommend checking out his site and looking them up. The title he gave himself on his pamphlet was 'blind adventurer', which still doesn't fully prepare you for some of the feats he has attempted. What followed was a fascinating talk delivered with great humour and fun. The tips Miles provided weren't certainly revolutionary; in fact, they were almost a little cliched if they had been delivered by most other people. However, coming from somebody like Miles who had tackled adversity head on, they suddenly took on new meaning.

The overriding theme was the notion of not holding yourself back when it comes to trying things. Okay, actively creating a website to sell my photos on doesn't exactly compare to flying a microlight from London to Sydney, but I always managed to find excuses beforehand like "that's a bit too serious" and "I need to get better photos first". I'm not proclaiming my photos couldn't improve, but in reality it came back to the fear of rejection; if people didn't buy my photos then that somehow meant they weren't good enough.

So following in Miles' words, I'm going to have a go at something I've always wanted to do!

Harry

As I posted in my previous blog, a close friend passed away recently, the man who got me interested in photography many years ago. His passing got me thinking about my photography and what I could learn from him, which I then wrote about in my blog. I have to admit, doing so was very therapeutic and the response to it was heartwarming.

In the blog, I discussed the fact I wouldn't be accepting money for photos I took of people and their family, and that the happiness they derived would be payment in itself. That hasn't changed, I won't be selling photos of people! However, I know Harry was a hard worker who would wanted people to achieve all they could. If I was to ask him about the photos, I know he would have encouraged me to sell them, to work at it, for it to be 'business as usual'. He'd also have reminded me that if they didn't sell, it didn't matter; what mattered was I'd tried and give it my all

Okay, so why FineArtAmerica?

The internet isn't lacking when it comes to sites that enable you to sell images. These range from stock photography (like Flickr), through to some options (like 500px) and finally the dedicated pages (like Redbubble and FineArtAmerica). The main benefit of using these services is that they handle all the printing, framing, delivery etc. All you 'need' to do is provide the photos and organise them on the site.

I decided upon FAA because I liked the features they provided. For example, by providing the links below, I effectively 'sponsor' these searches, which promotes my photos higher up searches:
black and white photos
hampshire photos
newcastle photos

FAA also allow you to set the commission you earn per photo, giving me the flexibilty to set what I want to receive. I've went fairly arbitrary at the moment (starting off small and going up in increments depending on size), but it's a nice option to have.

Adding links like the one above is also straightforward, and even things like watermarking is handled by them!

So...does this make me a 'pro'? Course not

I'm not naive. The internet has made it much easier to sell photos to a worldwide audience, but it has also leveled the playing field in that respect. I'm up against photographers with larger networks already in place, with better images and with more time and energy to promote themselves. It isn't as if the only thing preventing me from making a living as a photographer was that I hadn't setup a site, far from it! In reality, if I sell 1 photo through FAA, I'll consider it a success. 

What has changed is the worries I placed on it. Maybe my photos aren't good enough to sell, but that doesn't diminish my enjoyment in taking them. Maybe all I'll get is more people viewing my images rather than buying them, but that again isn't a bad thing. Maybe I'll get 'constructive criticism' (or downright abuse), but again I can learn from that. The point is, the worst that happens is I make no money at all, which is what I currently make.

And you never know...maybe this will be the start of a new career!

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Business as Usual: A tribute to an old friend

This morning I learnt that an old friend, Harry Gilroy, had passed away. I'd already known he'd been given a limited time left to live, but preparing myself for this news still didn't make hearing it any easier. Harry used to coach me in athletics, but he is also the person who got me first interested in photography, so as a way of dealing with the news I thought I'd reflect on the lessons he taught me in that regards.

If you're passionate about something, then it deserves your time and effort

Harry had two main passions above all others; athletics and photography. Coaching the younger members of the club gave him the opportunity to mix the two on a regular basis. For both, he was largely self taught, but that never held him back. Harry had a strong work ethic, which he tried to instill in those he coached. If he didn't know how to do something, he'd find a book and teach himself what he needed to know. This was 
with a film SLR as well, so without the instant feedback that I've grown to rely on from my DSLR. 

With both, Harry never let bad weather or his limited mobility get in the way of them. Even if it meant he had to stay in his car at a race, he'd still take the time to talk to the team, give advice and coach us. If the photos he'd wanted to take couldn't be because of other conditions, he'd adapt accordingly and try something else.

It's something I could certainly improve upon the next time I decide it's a bit too chilly to go out with the camera or sulk because a shot I've taken didn't quite worked out. I've started reading up more on photography and I certainly want to put more effort into not only taking photos but learning how to improve.

Don't limit your knowledge to yourself, learn about others as well

One of the things that made Harry great was his knowledge of each team member's abilities, strengths and weaknesses. He may set an overall training session for everyone on a given night, but he'd then adapt it to each kid, depending on what would get the most benefit out of them. For each kid, he had a plan and knew what sort of times they were capable of (even if they weren't capable of them yet). Hearing him rhyme off the various PBs of everybody and how much they could improve them by in a year was fascinating stuff.

When it came to photography, Harry applied the knowledge had of his team to get the best photographs. He'd position himself in ideal places (rather than just where he decided to stop), taking into account if somebody would be struggling or striving at that point.

Thinking about others when photographing and using that knowledge is something I'm trying to do, because the few times I've pulled it off (such as getting a kid's favourite toy or their team in) it has added so much to the photos. Photography is still a very personal thing, both to the photographer and the subject. I just need to make sure I consider the subject as well

Seeing how appreciated a photo is can be payment in itself

One of the highlights of training with Harry wasn't just the knowledge he passed on, but the photos he took. My family and friends only had automatic cameras, so I was used to generic shot that roughly captured moments. In races, photos had amounted to me being 'somewhere' in the shot, blurry at best. Harry, on the other hand, had an SLR with zoom lenses, meaning he could fill the frame. He'd also pan as well, so that whilst I was sharp, the background was in motion, adding dynamism I wasn't used to seeing in a photo of me. He'd also attempt to time the shot for maximum effect (one of my favourite was of me and a friend side by side trying to outrace each other).

The first training session after a race usually would mean crowding around Harry as he dished out the photos from the weekend. Like coaching, he was never paid for this, not that he'd have accepted money had it been offered. Helping people achieve their full potential was payment in itself for coaching, watching as he'd help shape kids into better people. With photography, just seeing someone light up at the photo he'd taken was all he asked for,  knowing that is efforts were appreciated.

These days, everybody (myself included) wants to try and make some money from photography, to the point we can get overly precious about our work. At times I've been frustrated when I've put so much effort into photographing an event I'm at, only for people to not fully appreciate the time I've invested. In reality, looking back, they massively appreciated the photos I've taken, as evidenced by the number of photos that subsequently became facebook profile pics. 

Maybe one day I will reach a stage where people are willing to pay for my photos, but in the meantime I'm going to try and treat it the same way Harry would; the appreciation of the photo is payment in itself.

Business as usual

As I mentioned before, Harry had a strong work ethic, something he instilled heavily on those that he trained. After every training session or race, he would say to me "business as usual?" which I'd return back. This was a reference to the second World War, where people would put signs up declaring 'business as usual' despite being bombed. It was Harry's way of instilling the idea that we wouldn't let minor problems get in the way of training, that even when I got injured or wasn't performing as well as I'd like, we'd still work together to get over that problem. Even when I no longer trained and my meetings with Harry were reduced to quick catchups or letters, we'd still sign off with "business as usual" (one of the things that makes me smile now is knowing the last words were shared with each other were those).

How does this relate to photography? Quite simply the fact that sometimes things don't work out. Sometimes the weather is against you, or your battery dies, or your cards all fill up. Sometimes the shots you wanted to get don't work out for whatever reason; maybe you set things up wrong, mistimed it or just don't know why. But this is when it is just as important to say 'business as usual', and work to resolve that for next time. The more hours you put in to your photography, the better you'll get.

I definitely plan to keep on investing the time in my photos, so that one day I can produce results as great as Harry did.

Make a difference

“When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there. ”  - Jim Henson

The quote above is one of my favourites, and it immediately sprang to mind this morning when I heard the news about Harry. When it came to athletics, both Harry and I knew I'd never be running for team GB or competing on a major stage. That didn't detract from the time and effort he put in to helping me achieve as much as I could, and looking back on my athletics achievements (including representing my county and winning a county team champions medal), I know I owe that to him. When it comes to photography, he is the person who first got me interested, and I'm grateful that I can now honour his memory by continuing that hobby. As a quote, it perfectly encapsulates my view on him; he made a massive difference in my life and my world at least was better for him having been there.

Farewell, Harry, until we meet again it will be business as usual.