op5e 0 #1 February 21, 2005 Hi all, Sorry for intruding on this forum as I am not a camera flyer etc.. On the weekend I will be going to my first boogie. Pretty much I am grounded (broken leg) so I want to film and take photographs of landings. Has anyone got any tips for taking photographs for landings, or just some funky things to try out to learn more about photography. I am trying to skim read as many books over the next few days but hopefully you guys/gals might have some tips that will help me out. I will have a Nikon D100, Sony PC101, Cannon Ixus 440. If I get enough warning I can also obtain lenses or filters if you have any "must have" items. I will be bringing a few sets of batteries for all cameras and 20gb flash card backup unit. I guess I would set the camera to shutter priority 1/125 or so. I also want to try ~1/30 and move with the object to get a blur effect. I have fast compact flash cards so I could try burst firing 12 shots or so. Also I guess the light behind me would be best placement? Any suggestions of places to be to get interesting shots etc.. Thanks in advance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #2 February 21, 2005 Hi, Take a look at my website for like a couple thousand pics taken with a D100, D70, Canon D30, 300D and Kodak pro/N. With the D100 and D70 I tend to just use the P setting, or depending on the light 1/350 or 1/500. 1/125 is too slow. I usually use a tele zoom 28-105 (a cheap Sigma one but f2.8/4.0) which usually gets me what I want. ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skysurfcam 0 #3 February 21, 2005 If you're planning to stand/sit in the landing area, especially at a boogie, do yourself and the people you want to shoot a few favours. Firstly, work with the organisers. Make sure they are happy for you to be there, and advertise your presence to the organisers, jumpers, camerafliers, pilots, safety folk etc. Make sure they know you're incapacitated, and can't move out of their way. If they know you can't and won't move, and the swoopers will have to dodge you, they may be able to get the message out. Secondly, BE VISIBLE. Get a reflecto vest, and wear it when you go out. Sure, you'll look like a lost delivery driver, but it's better to be thought a dork than branded an idiot. If possible have someone go out with you to keep you safe when you're concentrating on the viewfinder. Third, have a plan, and stick to it. You're much better off to kill a camera as you hit the dirt, that let the idiot with the two to one wingloading lose his legs as he takes off your head by misjudging his swoop over/through you. Safety rant out of the way, head out the front door an experiment on passing cars. Modern canopies land at about the speed cars travel around most neighborhoods. 1/125 is going to be to slow for most canopy stuff, but practice will let you figure that out for yourself, and on a digital, it's free. If you can, play with a good flash setup, especially remote stuff(beware of irate drivers thinking you're a speed camera...) Be careful, have fun, watch your six... C.Quote Brother Wayward's rule of the day... "Never ever ever go skydiving without going parachuting immediately afterwards." 100% PURE ADRENALENS Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
op5e 0 #4 February 21, 2005 Thanks for the advice. I had already conceded to the fact I would probably have to resort to sitting next to a tree, windsock or the hanger to keep out of peoples way. If I am further away what sort of lens would be a good one for 100-200 meters away? (have not seen the LZ yet) I just mentioned 1/125 because that is what one book mentioned they took for a cycle shot I liked. Its definitely nice to know I need a faster shutter speed. Have you found being on the side is more effective than being infront or visa versa? I know it depends what shots you are after but has anyone got a preference. What about the last load of the day. Sunset can be tricky to get a nice shot, any tricks? I mean even if the advice is RTFM and you have a good book or website I am up for it. Basically I am very new to photography and would like to learn the general rules and any tips and tricks. I mainly do not want to reinvent the wheel if some people have found some things do not work etc.. Btw thanks for the link, there were a number of great photos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dqpacker 7 #5 February 21, 2005 For video try to stay far enough away that you get the canopy and jumper in the shot. zoom in when they start the swoop and try to slowly zoom out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaGimp 0 #6 February 21, 2005 heres a few that i took......im usally on the landing area just off the swoop lane.....i use sports mod.....fully auto so lighting and speed always good, of course if you looking for a desiered effect you may need manual. i use a 100-300 lens, that way i can get good close and far shots."Professor of Pimpology"~~~Bolas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lewmonst 0 #7 February 21, 2005 I definitely agree with letting people know you will be out in the landing area before they jump. And since you are immobile, I'd suggest parking yourself by a windsock or tree like you said and using a longer lens. You can get great shots with whatever lens you choose, but the shorter the lens the close you need to be. And since you're immobile, I would no suggest trying to be close right now. QuoteI will have a Nikon D100, Sony PC101, Cannon Ixus 440. If I get enough warning I can also obtain lenses or filters if you have any "must have" items. I will be bringing a few sets of batteries for all cameras and 20gb flash card backup unit. It's very hard to do both video and stills at the same time. The only time I do it is with my camera helmet with them both mounted, and even then, if I'm focusing on the video, the still suffer. When you talk to the jumpers before they go up to let them know you are there, ask them if they would be more interested in seeing video of themselves or stills. You might be able to sell some, cheap, as most ground stuff is cheap. Or if you are doing this more to learn, then I would suggest just working with the stills. Since you don't know much about photography yet, you should literally play with the camera as much as possible and see what happens. P or Sports mode will give you generally good frozen image shots, providing there is enough light. But you won't learn much by using any of the Auto functions. Play with Tv (Shutter priority). I've managed to shoot some good panning (motion blur) shots (by luck i think) of landings, but it's easy to screw up. It was my only option with very little light at sunset. I'll see if I can find that one and scan it. But with digital, who cares, keep trying. If you have a tri-pod, it will be easier to play with stuff like that. Anything 1/60th or slower will blur something, and if you are just holding the camera in your hands, you will most likely get camera-shake, blur from your hands shaking. So you'll want a tripod. You can also play with Av (Aperture priority). The wider the aperture (that is the smaller the number, like 4 or 2.8 (even 1.8 on a really good lens)), the shorter the depth of field (focal range) will be. This is good for portrait effects and the background will be out of focus. This effect is even nicer when you are further away using a longer lens. It makes the background appear closer. QuoteI guess I would set the camera to shutter priority 1/125 or so. I also want to try ~1/30 and move with the object to get a blur effect. I have fast compact flash cards so I could try burst firing 12 shots or so. Also I guess the light behind me would be best placement? Light from behind you is the safest. Light from the side can create some shadows, which can be artistic or annoying however you perceive them. Whats the burst of the D100? I didn't think it was very high, correct me if I'm wrong... With my old 10D I could burst 3fps for up to 9, and I can't find it right now, but I'd posted a piece of Fiala carving by stitching 9 shots together... It's cool and also a good photoshop exercise. Take the manual with you to your 100D, and read it and play with the options in it. good luck lew edit to attach photostitchhttp://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
op5e 0 #8 February 21, 2005 Thanks for your post, I definately will try a few of those out. I also want to learn to psycho and pro pack. And definately I am debating if I wish to do more still or more video. I might not even get time, or there might not be appropriate spots to sit but if I do not get to try these tips this weekend I am sure I can practice with cars or try another. The D100 only appears to have 6 frame burst at highest quality. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond100/page2.asp Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #9 February 22, 2005 Ya know...since you came to 'school' and reaped information from a few of the masters here, you'll have to post your pics and let them critique you when you get back from the boogie. Another learning curve for you. ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aerialcameraman 0 #10 February 22, 2005 Hey lew loved the stiching effect... Can you tell me how you accomplished that . I have tried that in the past but could not get it to work right... Whats the best way of doing that... Loved it agian bad ass pic.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lewmonst 0 #11 February 22, 2005 Thanks. It took me about 4 hours of photoshopping it... I basically copied and pasted each photo one at a time, starting with the right-most shot. The next shot I would copy and past in a transparent mode and match up the backgrounds and clean up edges as best I could. I had a hard time with the suspension lines, and in some places they just aren't there. The sky and the grass also progressively got darker because of the varying light as I panned. So I played with adjusting the light balance, levels and other things until it looked acceptable. I also basically magic stamped most of the sky in. Those clouds are mostly copied off of one smalle cloud, but it was the best I could do to blend the sky, maintaining some texture to it without smudging it to death. It's not perfect, but unless you're looking for the detail of the photoshopping, it's not obvious either. So that's good enough for me. There's also a tool in Photoshop under File-Automate-Photomerge that sort of does the same thing. It will take several panned shots and lace them together. What it doesn't deal with well in the moving subject, or a subject in front of the background in one shot and not in the other. It's more for taking landscapes and making it a panoramic. But you can play with that too and see what you get. There's a good tutorial with cars that I did to learn how to use it. It's pretty intuitive anyway. peace lewhttp://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #12 February 22, 2005 Burst rate of a D100 is 3 fps for 2 secs (6 frames): plenty quick. It's still faster then a digi rebel for the first 2 secs, and after 4 secs too, so it's not ONLY 6 frames I always thought it's a great camera. Only now my D70 is faster ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #13 February 22, 2005 Cool picture! I saw a couple by Wendy Smith in the French ParaMag a couple months before and was wondering how to do it.... Another thing on my list for those bad-weather weekends ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
