Stu1978 From United Kingdom, joined May 2005, 121 posts, RR: 4 Posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 2996 times:
Very shortly ill be off to Tokyo of a 2 week stay and hope to take full advantage of the various viewing decks that can be found out there on me trip.
Ill be visiting both the Tokyo airports and have done me research in finding that these decks, are open till 2000 local time....having looked on various weather sites it also mentions that the sun set's at roughly 1830ish....if this is true then it gives me a hour to and half to get some night shots of the various aircraft that I may encounter.
I've tried some night shots before but have had average results with what I've got.....some of the pictures that I have seen recently on Anet is far superior to what I have ever achieved.
I have heard that shooting RAW at night far out way's, shooting JPEG due to the fact your able to play with the image more when viewing/editing on your PC.
The equipment that I'll be using to experiment with will be 10D + 100-400L and a 28-105EF.
So what I ask is for your tips / thoughts on what's the best way to achieve these shots or even settings that you may use.
Gary2880 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 2984 times:
Always use a longer shutter speed over a higher ISO, I normally use between 20-30seconds exposure. Keep your sensor clean as night dust spots are the biggest pain in the arse ever, if you have a lens hood put it on, you can still shoot into the light in the dark so try to avoid bright lights being behind your subject, use your body as a wind breaker and contrary to what most people say they turn out fine with IS on.
And use a shutter release cord!
Edit :
to illustrate my point. as you can see here the antonov is on the correct side of the bright lights and the tornado I am shooting into the lights, however both are nice in their own right. But a better effect comes from using your light correctly, the antonov was taken from the hill that is visible behind the tornado
I personally always use manual focus, as that tornado was in pitch black and I used a 40 second exposure I had to focus on a small glint coming off its nose and there's no way the autofocus would have hut it.
Clickhappy From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 9444 posts, RR: 72 Reply 2, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 2969 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW PHOTO SCREENER
read and learn about white balance, and practice before you get there.
Gary2880 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 2963 times:
and hope that they don't use bright orange lights like the BAA do. otherwise you`ll be lucky if you can find the correct balance to turn orange into white.
Dehowie From Australia, joined Feb 2004, 1044 posts, RR: 38 Reply 4, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 14 hours ago) and read 2928 times:
G'day Stu
You willl get some awesome results.
The decks at Haneda are open until 2200 which will give yo uplenty of time to practice.
For most of my shots i settled on shutter speed around the 10-20 sec mark using auto as a guide but shooting full manual.
Sometimes you will be lucky like this when they pop the lights on just prior to commencing taxi.
Take a good tripod as one of the things about shooting off the decks at Haneda and Narita are you will have to learn to deal withthe holes they cut for lenses in the fences which willmean a good tripod is a must.
Given the frequency of departures you will get plenty of practice but try starting around the 10 sec/F8 range on some parked aircraft before you shoot goodies toget a feel for the lighting n different parts of the ramp.
Have fun mate Japan is a super place for aviation photography with great access to ramps rwy ends etc.
You will have a great time.
Darren
Stu1978 From United Kingdom, joined May 2005, 121 posts, RR: 4 Reply 5, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 2876 times:
From what I have gathered from the above I'll be shutting manual and varying my shutter speeds for different lighting effects until I find a pleasing one that I like.
Reading about the white balance and color temperature setting does this make much of a different from using the AWB to say going to the Tungsten setting on the white balance.......
Results that I'm looking for would be the ones similar to Darrens above, where it looks more natural.
I know the airport lighting will be a major player on this and the results that I will achieve, from what I remember from the majority of the UK airports that I have visited at night they seem to portray a yellow/orange affect.
This can not be said for the country that I'm soon to visit as I do not know what effect they will have at night. From looking and admiring Darrens pictures I can only assume that they are a lot better than the ones in the UK.
With regards to using a shutter release cord, I do not have one of these at the moment....but hopefully the 10sec delay function that is avialable on the camera will compensate for me not having this. Providing the aircraft stays stationary for up to 45sec max, depending on my chosen shutter time.
Dehowie From Australia, joined Feb 2004, 1044 posts, RR: 38 Reply 6, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 2828 times:
Stu
Before you head out get on the train and head into Shinjuku to go shopping.
You willpick up a shutter release for not much and it makes a big difference to your quality.
Also use the mirror lockup if you have a 20D or better.Not sure if the 300D/350D have mirror lock.
I like the yellow look myself which is the color that you see when you look at the ramp with your own eye's.
Having spent so much time on airport ramps it just looks real weird to see a temp corrected shot where white is white.
Still looking to find an airport which has ramp lighting which is actually white!!
Have a greattime.
Darren
Transair737 From Canada, joined Aug 2005, 73 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 2820 times:
I have limited experience but a few things that I have found useful
- a good tripod
- shutter release as has been mentioned or I use a battery operated remote
- mirror lock up is a good feature if you have it on your camera
Senorcarnival From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 2818 times:
Quoting Stu1978 (Reply 5): Reading about the white balance and color temperature setting does this make much of a different from using the AWB to say going to the Tungsten setting on the white balance.......
I'd go for a custom white balance. When you're there at Haneda ready to go, take a clean sheet of white paper, hold it in front of your camera, and set the white balance to that.
Also, I found a macro for PS7 to reduce the excessive yellow tinge that night av photos can have. Unfortunately, I've never used it so I can't tell you how well it works. Let me know if you want it, I'll send you a copy. Good luck!
Saxdiva From United States of America, joined Jun 2004, 2382 posts, RR: 46 Reply 10, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 2791 times:
One of the more stunning night shots I've seen here. To make it even better, Wietse included his settings.
Stu1978 From United Kingdom, joined May 2005, 121 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 2734 times:
Cheers for the replies guys
The 10D does have the option of the mirror lock up.
There is a very good chance that i'll be able to pick up a shutter release cord, as one of me hotels is in Shinjuku area.
My Tripod is on the way is apparently capable of the requirements of me gear.
Is there much difference in the quality produced from say shooting in F8 like on some of Darren's shots and F22 in Weitse shot ?
Or is there pro's and cons to both.
Me personally I've only ever gone for around the F8 - F11 mark.
TZ From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2003, 1085 posts, RR: 54 Reply 12, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 4 days 17 hours ago) and read 2718 times:
Quoting Stu1978 (Reply 11): Is there much difference in the quality produced from say shooting in F8 like on some of Darren's shots and F22 in Weitse shot ?
f22 will give you greater depth of field, if that is what you want in your composition.
It has the added benefit that it (the tremendous depth-of-field) compensates for inaccurate focusing, which is always a problem with night-shots.
Furthermore, the small aperture gives a much longer shutter speed, which blurs motion in the background, giving some "life" to the image.
I recommend f18-f22.
TZ
TZ Aviation - Aeropuerto de los Banditos Team Images
AndrewUber From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 2528 posts, RR: 44 Reply 14, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 2701 times:
I end up doing a lot of night shots due to my job. The ramp lights here in FWA tend to cast a yellow glow onto everything, but it can be removed in PhotoShop. I too reccommend f22 or so, and I like long exposures. Some examples:
Clickhappy From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 9444 posts, RR: 72 Reply 16, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 2695 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW PHOTO SCREENER
Maybe Tim's 300D has some settings your camera doesn't
DC10Tim From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2005, 1405 posts, RR: 16 Reply 17, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 4 days 15 hours ago) and read 2672 times:
Hey this is all really useful info. for truely "dark" shots guys!
What would you recommend for "dusk" shots? I was out the other day shooting on ISO 400 at about f8 and 1/30 and they came out looking like I had tried to expose them in really poor daylight and didn't reflect the conditions at all.
Dehowie From Australia, joined Feb 2004, 1044 posts, RR: 38 Reply 18, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 4 days 14 hours ago) and read 2655 times:
HI Stu
I was shooting at F8 as i wanted to keep the shutterspeed down to 10 secs.
Unlike Wietse's shot which was of static arcraft the effect i was trying to capture was to have the shutter close just after the taxi lights where turned on.
With a 30 sec exposure the 744 would have been long gone.
In two nights of photography the top one was the only one to be perfect.
Sometimes the Japanese crews pop the lights on after starting moving which was a pain.
Dont know how many shots i got where the aircraft just started moving or the shutter closed just before the taxi lights came on but there where a few!!
I'd shoot F22 of a static as well when there is no chance of movement but for something which is about to move you cant afford the benefit of F22.
Even at F8 the background is in focus so 22 may be a bit of overkill if simply aiming at DOF.
Have fun.
Darren
Jofa From Sweden, joined Apr 2002, 320 posts, RR: 17 Reply 19, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 2648 times:
I have some experience with nightshots, and nothing beats shooting in RAW. Like others have said a solid tripod is a must especially if its windy. Also a cable or similar release is very useful. As for the in camera settings, i usually boost the aperture to about 16-22 and choose shutter according to the histogram. No need to worry about whitebalance if shooting raw. ISO100 always. Also, perhaps the most important, you gotta know what you're doing when it comes to post processing.
ChrisH From Sweden, joined Jul 2004, 1136 posts, RR: 18 Reply 22, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 2585 times:
You dont need a cable if you've got self-release timer. On the D70 it can be set from 2 seconds or more so timing isnt a problem. Mirror lockup isnt needed on times over ~1 sec either.
Dehowie From Australia, joined Feb 2004, 1044 posts, RR: 38 Reply 23, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 2574 times:
Actually Chris you will find that mirror lockup is need all the time on any time exposure shot.
The concept is it stops the mirror moving and causing vibration through the camera assmbley by opening the mirror prior to opening the shutter and the sme in reverse the shutter closes then a short time later so does the mirror.
Darren
ChrisH From Sweden, joined Jul 2004, 1136 posts, RR: 18 Reply 24, posted (7 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 2542 times:
MLU is the option to manually lock the mirror up well in advance of releasing the shutter, so to avoid vibrations, yes, however these vibrations will only ever be seen in a shot with a shuttertime between 1/30-1sec thereabouts. Think about it, the vibrations die out within half a second. What impact will that have on a 20 second exposure, or even 5? None at all. It's not essential.
what seems to be the officer, problem?
25 Javibi: I have to disagree; if you are shooting motion night shots like the one that is currently PC (a 13 sec. exposure at f20, BTW), if you do not use mirr
26 ChrisH: Javibi, in the event of light-streaks you are right that it would be visible. What I do though is fire the shutter before the plane is visible in the
27 Aviopic: I do agree with ChrisH. Never used mirror lock up and not even a remote control. When using exp. from 10s and above I have not problem to press the s
28 Dehowie: You guys may want to tell all the landscape shooters and pro's over at FM's that MLU is not required for time exposure shots. Any blurr is evident o
29 ChrisH: Now Darren I hope you are taking the piss here, cause I know you aren't dumb. The MLU function would not have made a lick of difference in the shots
30 Dehowie: Thanks Chris interesting read. However one of the first replies talks about the situation exactly as i described with longer lenses being far more sus
31 ChrisH: The D70 does not have prerelease of the mirror no. I have the IR-remote control though, so I don't have to time pressing the shutter 2 seconds in adva
32 Dehowie: I agree fully about the wind it plays a much bigger part than almost eveything else particularly as your lens gets longer. Even my sturdy Manfrotto wo
33 Donder10: How exactly does mirror lockup work when taking night shots with 10-20sec exposures?
34 Dehowie: Hi Donder What mirror lockup does is to move the mirror out of the way well prior to opening the shutter. The comcept being that any vibration associt
35 Donder10: Hi Darren. My question was too vague in the previous post.What I meant was how does the operation of the shot work while using mirror lockup.Perform a
36 TZ: Yes. Normally when you take a shot: You press the shutter button, the mirror flips up out of the way, then the shutter opens, then closes, then the m
37 Donder10: Thanks,Tamsin. So the procedure for taking a night shot with both mirror lockup and self-timer would be to press the shutter down once to activate mir
38 TZ: Hehe! Don't wanna admit to being blonde If you operate the camera in shutter-delay mode (the one which displays the little clock on the LCD panel) WI
39 Donder10: Hehe! Don't wanna admit to being blonde Make that too blonde Thanks a lot for the reply,Tamsin.Think I've got my head around that now! Roughly how muc
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