[Leica] Aerial Photography

[bruce at ralgo.nl (bruce)]

Donal sure took the time to give a very personal and complete, seems  
to me, description of photography from the air.

His site doesn't function though .................. it leads me to  
NL. Can anyone explain, on or off record?

B.

On 15-mrt-2006, at 3:24, John Collier wrote:

> From the archives:
>
>
>       From:     donalphilby@earthlink.net
>       Subject:        [Leica] Aerials--The Book
>       Date:   January 21, 2000 6:31:21 AM MST (CA)
>       To:       leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>       Reply-To:         leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>
> Here is some of what I know about shooting from helicopters and
> airplanes:
>
> (writing this is as good an excuse as any to delay having to start
> entering captions and cross references into the computer and  
> sticking on
> hundreds of those little labels!)
>
> STAYING ON BOARD
>
> When I?m shooting boats, especially, it is important to be able to  
> shoot
> straight down.  Sitting in the seat won?t do.  A harness is necessary.
> I have one made for working high rise buildings.  I use two  
> lanyards to
> the helicopter with quick release carabiniers.  The shortest  
> attaches to
> the back of the harness and is adjusted long enough to allow me to  
> stand
> on the skids and lean out about 20 degrees, hands free.
>
> Having been through jump school and spent 2 1/2 years in an air  
> cavalty
> unit in the Army helps develop a certain confidence--or recklessness,
> depending on your viewpoint.
>
> Because I shoot so much over water, my main fear is chopper going down
> with me attached.  So assistant gets lecture about unhooking me as  
> first
> priority.
>
> Recently I flew with a pilot here in San Diego and he had his own
> harness.  It was custom made.  The key element was a chest release.
> Those who have parachuted will recognize it.  Give the round nob a  
> turn
> and smack it.  Instant release of the two shoulder straps and two  
> crotch
> straps.  I?m going to have one made.
>
> Also, I have an inflatable life vest made by Mustang Survival.  It has
> manual or water activated release of the CO2 to inflate it.  Flat, it
> isn?t much bother.
>
> COMMUNICATIONS
>
> It is good to wear a headset to talk with the pilot, but often out in
> the slipstream it is hard to talk over the wind against the  
> microphone.
> If the mic is voice activated (VOX) tuck the mic under your chin until
> needed.  Mostly, the mic gets in the way of the camera.
>
> I also use hand signals the assistant then relays to the pilot.  Up,
> down, forward, back, circle, etc.
>
> Because I often fly very close--20 to 40 feet over or next to a boat
> moving at near full throttle--the exact position is vital: being  
> able to
> see models? expressions, keep them from overlapping and hiding one
> model, working with shadows, seeing details, etc.  So even several  
> feet
> up or down can be critical.
>
> It is vital to go over your needs with the pilot so he/she knows  
> what to
> look for.  The more you can operate without communicating, the more
> efficient.  This is the same with the skippers on the photo boats.  A
> good driver and make or break a shoot, make you look great or  
> pathetic.
>
> Communicating with people on board is difficult because of noise of  
> the
> chopper.  On larger boats we try to keep a boat wrangler out of sight
> with radio.  Otherwise, I wave and mouth words to get what I want.
> Sometimes people have to move about depending on what angle we are
> shooting from, and they have to do this quickly.  You need to go over
> this before starting, though that doesn?t always register with all the
> commotion.
>
> I once did running shots on 8 boats in 45 minutes, burning through 20
> rolls.  We had one person below on a photo boat with a list and
> organizing everthing so we would just run up and back, circle for a
> minute or two and be off again.  But there is a lot to go wrong (swim
> step down in water, a bag in a awkward place, sunglasses on, etc.) and
> it is very frustrating because it is so hard to communicate and the
> chopper is burning $500-700 an hour.
>
> PILOT
>
> The best I?ve flown with were gunship pilots in VietNam.  They can
> almost fly upside down.  The most difficult thing is to fly backwards.
> So check the comfort level of the pilot.
>
> With boats I almost always do generic running shots--aft, amidship,  
> bow
> angles and from each side--as a given.  Then we get into details and
> scenics.  I?ve flown with pilots who have difficulty going
> sideways-backwards, so we had to shoot front lit and then back lit to
> get L-R, R-L angles.  Someone who can fly backwards makes it  
> possible to
> get both directions with same light.  Other option is to open both
> doors, have no assistant in back seat and switch from side to side,  
> but
> this is easier said than done, especially with harness.
>
> If shooting air to air, be sure you have pilots that know the rules of
> disengagement.  It is scary being close and losing sight of the other
> aircraft.
>
> GYRO
>
> The most important tool to get good aerials is the gyro stabilizer by
> Kenyon.  (See ads in Shutterbug)  The small KS4 weighs about 4 pounds
> and has inside two wheels spinning at rights angles to each other at
> 23,000 rpm.  It takes about 7 minutes to get up to speed and about 20
> minutes to come to a stop.  The KS4 is about $2400 for gyro,  
> battery and
> inverter.  Battery last about 2 hours.  On the photo boat I tie  
> into the
> 12 volt circuit and let it run all day.  28 volt inverter also  
> available
> for aircraft.  The larger KS6 is another $1500.  Can be rented for  
> about
> $50 day with larger deposit or insurance confirmation.  Drop one, and
> face $450 repair.  I have.
>
> The KS4 is fine for 35mm or even 6x7.  I own two, one as backup.  But
> plan to make a bracket to hold both, each at 45 degrees from
> horizontal.  Supposed to multiply the stability and help keep camera
> level.
>
> Remember that the longer length of the gyro goes the same way as the
> length of the lens.  Either end.  Just don?t put it parallel to the  
> long
> axis of the camera body.
>
> With the gyro I can shoot boats from chopper at 1/125 and get
> consistently sharp boats and motion blurred water.  This is magical  
> when
> shooting backlit and the sparkles become streaks.  When shooting  
> from a
> chase boat instead of chopper, I usually shoot at 1/60th.  Last  
> month at
> Lake Mead I shot down to 1/15th at 40 mph and got tack sharp boats and
> blurr to the horizon.  Beautiful.  From the water, the key is how much
> chop (small waves) are out, making the boat go up and down.  If the  
> boat
> is moving a lot up and down, I move to 1/125.  You pray for smooth  
> water
> for power boats.
>
> Shooting scenics such as cityscapes, you can get down to 1/15th and  
> even
> lower (with less consistency of sharp frames) to do twilight shots of
> distant objects.
>
> One of the hidden benefits of the gyro is that it makes it easier to
> frame and focus, since you eliminate much of the micro movements.   
> With
> boats I can literally have bow and stern touch each side of the frame
> and hold it steady, and this at high speed.  Shooting sailboats on  
> open
> sea with long lenses, this really helps, though you still might  
> shoot at
> 1/500.  I have successfully used a 300mm lens with gyro from fixed  
> wing
> and shot down to 1/125th (have a shot of baseball pitcher and hitter
> poised and white ball half way to home plate, shot from a Cessna).
>
> SHOOTING DISCIPLINE
>
> A key to using a gyro is learning to let your arms relax while holding
> the device, so that you move around it.  Anyone to has done Tai-chi  
> push
> hands will know the skill.  It does take a lot of strength to spend
> hours with gyro/camera combo that weighs 6-8 pounds.  Usually my arms
> and shoulders ache after long day.
>
> Because of all the noise and movement and restricted space (more so  
> in a
> fixed wing), you have to have things to hand easily.  I found that  
> it is
> much faster sometimes to change film with a non-automatic camera,
> because the wind keeps whipping the end of the leader out of place
> before you can get the back closed.  The most assured is the M2
> removable spool.
>
> If you change bodies, get quick release plates and quick release
> mechanism for the gyro.  I have the Really Rights Stuff clamp and it
> works great.
>
>  Remember to constantly check your camera setting.  You are so  
> assaulted
> by noise and movement that your usual sensitivities are  
> overwhelmed.  I
> instruct my assistant to constantly ask me about the camera
> settings--ASA, shutter, aperture, filter, etc.
>
> I know if I do a circle around a boat I can set aperture for direct
> daylight and as we circle to the back I open up in stages 1 1/2 stops.
> You can do this on the fly in going through a roll in 30 seconds if  
> you
> keep your wits about you.
>
> I use auto exposure only for things that don?t matter much.  But be
> careful with incident meter, because reading daylight that is coming
> through the blades of the chopper will lead to overexposure.  I  
> usually
> meter from the ground and work around that.
>
> Use the restroom as soon as you get to the airport.  Then use it again
> just before you climb aboard.
>
> When shooting air to air, a fast shutter speed can stop the propeller
> and make the plane look motionless.  Try 1/125 for both cessna and
> chopper.  How much blurr you get depends, of course, on speed of the
> blades, so bracket if that is important, but 1/125 has worked well for
> me as a middle ground.  Too slow and they disappear.
>
> Air sickness is a possibility.  I have been airsick once.  We were  
> in a
> Cessna flying circles over the local stadium and aircraft were  
> stacked 8
> deep (news and banner tows) and it was windy and we were bounced and
> thrown around unmercifully.  I was shooting a lot with the 300,  
> which is
> disorienting, and a hamburger for lunch caught up with me.  I  
> yelled at
> the pilot, a friend, for a bag.  He got a strickened look on his face
> and shock his head.  When I knew IT was inevitable I quickly  
> emptied the
> contents of the LowePro bag in the back seat, used it, zipped up  
> the lid
> and went back to work.  Bring a waterproof bag or make sure they are
> aboard.
>
> This bag is going to be on the market soon and Ted Grant and I  
> might do
> a package deal with a certain cow besmirched M6 and Noctilux.  Imagine
> owning a bit of history.
>
> TRIPODS
>
> And that?s all I have to say about them.
>
> If you've read this far you deserve a reward.  A visual reward.  Look
> either on my web site
>
> www.donalphilby.com
>
> under the boating section or check out
>
> www.baylinerboats.com
>
> www.maxumboats.com
>
> Much of the work on these sites is mine, though they don't show a  
> great
> deal of the lifestyle images that make up the bulk of my work.
>
> Hope this helps you to do, or to appreciate.  I'm sure other on the  
> list
> can add more.
>
> donal
> __________
> Donal Philby
> San Diego
> www.donalphilby.com
>
>
>
>
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