Duxford September (non-DSLR m43) - Updated

Airshow Photography from the UK and around the world
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Hatstand
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Duxford September (non-DSLR m43) - Updated

Post by Hatstand »

What a cracking good day at Duxford on Sunday! I had no gripes about which planes were (or were not) there, whether or not it matched PR materials etc... because I bought my ticket long before I knew anything about the attendees anyway! :-D All I saw on the day, was a cracking good lineup! :-D Pure luck that I chose a Sunday ticket... fabulous weather... perhaps too good for photography - such harsh light, and atmospheric heat distortion ruined many nice shots... O_o

I loved seeing the Bearcat and Fury up close on the flightline walk - they are such beasts, huge brutish piston power!
There were several types I hadn't seen before...
so many Spitfires... the Red Arrows of course...
Great War Display Team re-enactment... etc etc.
Great day out!

1. Spitfire IX
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2. Chipmunk
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3. Bearcat and Fury
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4. Junkers CL1
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5. Fokker Triplane and BE2c
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6. Buchon
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7. Buchons
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8. Gladiator
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9. Yak-3
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10. Nimrod
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11. Harvard
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12. Lancaster
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13. Corsair
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14. Hurricane
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15. Mig 15
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16. Vampires and Mig 15
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17. Mig 15
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18. Vampires
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19. Catalina
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20. Spitfire XVI
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21. Spitfires
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22. Sally B
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23. Sally B chasing a Jumbo off her turf
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24. Spitfires
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25. Spitfire Vb
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26. Mandatory Red Arrows crossover shot
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27. Red Arrows
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All taken with my little Panasonic GX80 micro four thirds camera, and Panasonic Leica 100-400 lens (200-800mm equivalent). Red dot sight fitted as usual:

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I've abandoned posting 1600px images and gone back to 1200px, since I find it annoying that they don't fit in my browser window at full size, they take up too much space on my web site, and they can slow down page loading too much... :-/

Well, hope you saw something you liked! More to come from the ground displays...

EDIT: MORE ADDED BELOW
Last edited by Hatstand on Wed 14 Sep 2016, 7:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

You're not obliged to post at 1600px. Do what suits you. I'm posting at 1500px personally, as it better fits on my screen res, and the file sizes are much the same as they were at 1200px - I aim for around 400-500KB.

I look forward to your static/flightline photos.
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Hatstand
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by Hatstand »

aknott68 wrote:There are some great photos there I can only look in admiration as to how you get the shots with the complete propeller circles -I understand the concept of using slow shutter speds to get that impact but I just don't know how you achieve that stillness with a large lens, any points would be appreciated.

I can tell you how I do it, but bear in mind it's not necessarly the "best" way, and may not work at all for you personally...!

I use "shutter priority"... shutter speed 1/60th or less depending on the type of plane, and how many propeller blades it has (more blades allows you to use faster shutter speeds). The full-disc prop blur photos above all used 1/50th or 1/40th. As you already realise, it's devilishly hard to get a clean shot of a moving plane at such slow shutter speeds!

It starts with your panning technique. I use this method (devised aeons ago, and not by me): stand legs apart for stability... face where the plane will "pass" you... lock your arms, head, camera, torso together and turn them as a single unit, from the waist... either hold your breath, or breath out slowly... turn towards the plane and pan smoothly with it... shoot while you are panning, as the plane passes in front of you, and follow through afterwards (keep panning smoothly even after you stopped shooting).

I normally shoot bursts of 2-3 photos for planes in flight, but for full-disc prop blur, I'll use much longer bursts eg. 5-6 shots, and probably multiple bursts in a row as well - because the probability is, a very high percentage will be duds. I don't really expect more than one or two "keepers" in each pass.

But you can also shoot when planes are revving their engines but not actually moving. Then with good image stabilisation, it becomes relatively easy to get a clean shot. You could also use a monopod/tripod when they're moving if you've got a clear view of the section of runway where where they take off/land (I wouldn't try to pan over too wide an area with a monopod/tripod - trip/fall/collision hazard)

Take-offs allow faster shutter speeds, because the planes will use higher revs... and faster shuttter speeds means more keepers. (planes may use lower revs during display passes, and may be practically idling when coming in to land).

I find the best results are when the sun is shining "on" the propellers (sun is not behind them). It makes for good contrast between the propeller/tips and the background.

And I also find my red dot sight helps with accurate panning. I use it instead of the camera viewfinder, so I can watch the show with both eyes and a full field of view, while still taking photos. I hold the camera strap taut against the back of my neck to make a "tension tripod" with my two arms. Then I put the red dot on a spot on the plane and keep it there by panning - to me, it's rather like pointing your finger. I use quick glances at the rear screen to check zooming when needed. I find that much easier than looking through a viewfinder, and trying to keeping the plane from moving around inside the frame. But perhaps that's just me.

And of course, lots of practice will help! It may help that I spent half my life with film SLR's back in the days when there was no such thing as image stabilisation, and nothing on your camera had a name prefixed by "auto", "e-" or "i-" :-D Without the crutch of IS, you simply learned to hold a camera very steady! :-D On my compact cameras, I routinely turn off IS for airshows anyway, because they either don't have a panning mode, or the IS still gets fooled by panning anyway and I get better results without it...

Anyway, I hope that gives you a few pointers. Experiment and see what works for you! Take some some nice "regular" shots of a plane, before trying some shots with slow shutter speed panning. Then at least you'll still have some nice photos even if the slow shutter shots don't work out!

LN Strike Eagle wrote:You're not obliged to post at 1600px. Do what suits you. I'm posting at 1500px personally, as it better fits on my screen res, and the file sizes are much the same as they were at 1200px - I aim for around 400-500KB.

I look forward to your static/flightline photos.

Thanks, yes. I do like that 1600px shows better detail, and I persevered to see if I would simply get used to it... but nah, I think 1200px is more preferable and "practical" for me :-D
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sdad
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by sdad »

Why haven't I seen any GWDT/Pyrotechnics shots when several people have mentioned it? :-)

qwerty
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by qwerty »

Fine views and thanks for taking the time to explain your methods for the wonderful prop blur and panning shots ,Hatstand.

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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by Hatstand »

Thanks qwerty!

sdad wrote:Why haven't I seen any GWDT/Pyrotechnics shots when several people have mentioned it? :-)

LOL :-D OK, just for you:

Image
Last edited by Hatstand on Tue 13 Sep 2016, 6:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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sdad
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by sdad »

That's a bonfire!

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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by tankbuster »

nice set especially number one.
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Hatstand
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by Hatstand »

aknott68 wrote:Sorry I meant to ask about red dot sight not something ive heard of before is this something suitable for nikon dslr do you know?

It's like a miniature heads-up display, that shows a targeting reticle (the red dot). As you look through it, the red dot will magically always appear over the place your lens is pointing at. This lets you instantly point your camera at a subject and track it, even with a long zoom, even without achieving focus... and without having to zoom out first to find the subject, then zoom back in to take the photo.

It can be useful on any camera, including a DSLR. But it's especially good for birds/insects in flight which move fast and unpredictably, and for older compacts that have rubbish EVF's. I mainly use it these days because it lets me watch airshows with both eyes and full field of view, while still taking photos - instead of spending half my time peering through a restrictive viewfinder....
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by Hatstand »

Here's a few photos from the ground displays...

28. Mustang chaps
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29. Spitfire chaps
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30. Seafire
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31. Spitfire
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32. Mig 15
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33. Fury
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34. Bearcat
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35. Spitfire
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36. Corsair
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Panasonic GX80 micro four thirds camera again, with Panasonic 12-60 lens (24-120mm equivalent)
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Stu
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43) - Updated

Post by Stu »

Thats a cracking set of shots :clap: Love my m43 cameras :up:
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captchaos
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43) - Updated

Post by captchaos »

Glad you had a good day and some cracking shots. We enjoyed the Sunday after Sat weather.

Hi res copies of the GWDT would be appreciated.

Interesting comment re GWDT and pyros. It must be a challenge with timing and framing to get aircraft and pyros in the same shot. We have been sent a few crackers with aircraft surrounded by Archie but we are thinking of running a completion based on that shot to get some more.

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PanamaMan
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43) - Updated

Post by PanamaMan »

You've nailed it again :clap:
I was there on Friday to video in 4K, but the gamble didn't really pay off, not too much going on - but I learned a lot, as always.
Just need to stop repeating silly mistakes now - like remembering to press that little button again when I've got the sequence... :sad:
Anything less than 900mm is wide angle

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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43) - Updated

Post by gralee »

Your opening shot is stunning :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Thanks for the panning technique detail you provided...super!

Hatstand
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Re: Duxford September (non-DSLR m43)

Post by Hatstand »

.
Many thanks for all the comments above, everyone!
.
aknott68 wrote:Thanks for the information hatstand could you give the details as to where u got it from

You can buy red dot sights online from places like Amazon, or from airgun shops etc. Sometimes they are called "tactical gunsights" or somesuch. I favour ones like this which are available under many different brand names (and prices!). The key features:
-Big mirror
-Thin frame around the mirror
-"Open" design (not "tube")
-Selectable reticles (I favour a dot in a circle)
-Multiple brightness levels
-Red/green colour selection

Then to mount the RDS in your camera's hotshoe, I use Photosolve's mounting
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