Not Sure what to do for this Photo Shoot??

[Scott@HRP]

For those that know me on here, I have been asked by the owners of Houston Raceway Park to take some aerial pictures from their Helicopter of the last big race at our Dirt Oval Track this weekend 11-11-06. The kicker is it will be at Night!! I know the lighting well at the track when your at the track, but not above it. I shoot a Nikon D200 with a 70-200 f2.8VR lens. Will that Lens be OK to use?? Any pointers on what to set the camera at for a shoot like this?? I have never been in a Helicopter much less take pictures out of one!! Need some advice if you have it!! Thanks Scott Singleton, HRP Asst. Drag Race Manager/ Announcer/Photographer.

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Punch up your ISO and Shoot as fast as you can since that chopper is vibrating and moving around more than you think.

You may want to rent as fast as a piece of glass that you can get.

[zepp]

Minimum shutter speed of 1/500th a second.

Don't lean or brace yourself on any part of the aircraft as it will transfer vibration.

Sit in the rear and have the pilot remove the rear door so your not shooting through the glass and are able to position yourself for better angles.

Put a small piece of duct tape over the seatbelt latch so you don't open it accidentally. But make sure you fold a portion of the tape back upon itself making a small handle to pull the tape away from the buckle in case you must get out of your seatbelt fast.

Don't use hoods on your lens unless taped on the lens as they might blow off and out of the copter.

Any other camera gear (bags, batteries, flash cards, etc etc) you take with you secure in place by tying it off before you take off.

You might even tie off your camera as a safety or wear the neck strap around your neck.

[Angelo]

Hi Scott, I don't know much about Nikon equipment, but I don't think it's any different than using any other equipment under the lighting conditions that you will in. I recommend you set your camera to spot metering if that's possible. if not, get a hand held spot meter any way you can. I've taken pictures in theatres and you have to compensate for the heavy lights in the arena/stage. Averaging will NOT work. And avoid shooting through windows.

Since you are pretty familiar with the ground lighting, try and set your camera to those settings and see how they turn out. Also, I'd bracket the shots favoring the higher lighting.

I'm sure others will come to your rescue. especially those with your similar equipment.

O yes, make sure you strap yourself in

I'm sure you'll do just fine.
Angelo

[Angelo]

Frank, That's real good advice "1/500 minimum speed" and not to brace against the air craft. I may be taking aerials next week. Fortunately my shooting will be in daylight.

[huxley]

the new issue of popular photography has an article on this very situation. i think the guy has recommendations in it. what i can remember he said you need image stabilization on your lens because if the vibrations in the chopper. good luck

[adirty1]

if you really want to do it right go rent a gyro. that's the only way your really going to get great images. you can ask your pilot if he would auto rotate but i really dont think he/she would. you want some depth of feild just in case your not as sharp as you might think. personally it might be time to bust out the old film camera....then you know 3200 iso is going to be sharp and little to no noise. I would shoot fuji press and push it to 1600 or you might even try pushing it to 3200... if they have a harness to were you can lean out of the door the vibrations will be very small.

[Gordon]

I'd second or third the advice to be careful. Helicopter crashes are a leading cause of photographer fatalities. Not joking - the combination of generally unstable aircraft and the desire for the photographer to get lower and lean out of the windows is risky. Very little margin for error if anything goes wrong.

[Scott@HRP]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I think 500th is going to be tough to accomplish at night even with a f2.8 and 1600 ISO. My Nikon only goes to 1600!! I thought Hellicopters can hover!! Do you think that a monopod for the Lens will help??

[zepp]

Originally Posted by Scott@HRP

Do you think that a monopod for the Lens will help??

No..

The monopod will only transfer the vibration of the aircraft it is braced against.

[Bruce M. Morris]

All of Frank's suggestions are spot on. If you have a fixed focal length lens in the 60-100mm range I would recommend using that. if you ARE using the 70-200, remember that at 200 all vibration is magnified. Honestly a 50mm f1.8 or faster lens might be your best option for a night time shoot.
Also remember to make sure that the Helo is not turning while you are shooting. I have lost several images because the pilot was making sure I had the whole door looking at the subject and had props going through the image.

Just occurred to me, is there a chance of you going up in the daytime just to get a feel for the needs of the job ahead of time? Then all you would need to worry about would be the exposures.
Look forward to seeing the results.

[LadyShutterBug]

hi scott! can't answer your question, but i just wanted to say hi. my husband races his black cobra out there all the time (jack marsh). you do a great job!

um, good luck with that helicopter thing. i'm definitely a ground shooter.

[PeteQ]

If they are willing to pay the operating costs for a helicopter, then do it right and rent one of these http://www.ken-lab.com/index.html

They have rentals and although they are pricey, it's nothing compared to the cost of running that helicopter for an hour and not getting a good shot.

If you want something with any hope of enlarging you are going to need the sharpest image possible and hand holding or VR/IS isn't going to be stable enough, especially in low light, regardless of the advertising....

[Scott@HRP]

Originally Posted by LadyShutterBug

hi scott! can't answer your question, but i just wanted to say hi. my husband races his black cobra out there all the time (jack marsh). you do a great job!

um, good luck with that helicopter thing. i'm definitely a ground shooter.

Hey Kasey, I am sure I have shot your Husband before!! Have him come meet me the next time he comes out to the track!! As for doing this request for the owners, I am a little nervous!! I think I need to call Robert Grice with Extreme Photography. He Shoots for Division 4 and NHRA. He Normally shoots our National Event in April from the Angel's Helo but it is during the Daytime!! I will see what he recommends!! He also shoots a Nikon but a D2X. Thanks for the help everyone!!

[Stephen H]

"I thought Hellicopters can hover!!"- They can, but still vibrate, I think is the problem.

Another thing you might need to consider is that if the stands or parking lot or other items they want in the shot are not as well lit (or better lit!) as the track, it could be a problem.