If there was a silver lining to the very overcast weather for the airshow, it is that all my body energy was not sucked out of me by the sun. For the ToM 21 show, that Saturday was very hot. As such, I didn't make it to the night shoot. This year I was more prepared, drank a lot more water and was more mentally prepared for a long day.
Yep, kicking myself for not going last year. Self backslap for making the effort this year.
The night shoot is just that, photographing aircraft at night. With a little help from some strategically placed lights. And where appropriate, the props turning. Recipe for an awesome photograph.
For most of Saturday afternoon, I was pestering other photographers about what settings to use. I am the consummate fair weather photographer, the previous Wet Wednesday show not withstanding. But the nighttime environment is new to me. What to use? What to set? Will I embarrass myself?
The equipment question was easy. I made sure the tripod was packed for the show. As for the camera, the D850 with a full frame was the easy choice - as opposed to the D500 and the crop frame. Full frame in less light. The mechanical performance advantage of the D500 was not necessary. As for the lens, either of the f/2.8 lenses would be used. I guessed, and it was a guess, that I would need 50 mm for the event. I chose the 24-70. I was using it for the walk around earlier in the day and I had the distance calculated in my head. I was fairly confident. Ha.
Now, what settings? I asked around a lot - shutter speeds of anywhere from 3 to 15 seconds. Yikes. OK, I didn't ask about equipment used, but I can account for most of the discrepancies. What about releasing the shutter? I was going to use a wireless - but I saw may others doing the same. What about a cross frequency un-commanded release?
But where to start?
I started when the sun started to set.
We arrived to the location when the sun was just behind the trees. Time to practice.
First, I set a shutter delay of 1 second. With an expected shutter speed of over 3 seconds, would a delay of any time really matter?
By pure accident, I found a solution to all my settings questions. First, the ISO was 64 - the D850 base. No question there. Then, because I was using a tripod and getting the to eye viewer wasn't that easy, I activated the camera's Live View on the rear screen. What luck! I had it set up to show the shutter speed and aperture settings. Just in time to be of use. Using this, I could dial in just a bit of underexposure to get the look I was going for. For me, this was the eureka moment. It helps to know your camera - or at least fake it.
The three aircraft, F-16, Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Curtiss P-40. Yep, no prop on the F-16 but it did turn out better than I thought. Rumor had it that this was the first current military aircraft ever done with a night shoot. I'm trying to confirm.
All shots are with the D850 and 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 lens. All are EV 0, MANUAL Mode and size FX.
The F-16 was first.
The first test shot. Great sky colors. The spot lights are just starting to come in.
F-16 Night Shoot - Test
50 mm, 0.6 sec, f/4.5, ISO 64
Shortly after this, the firetruck showed up to put down the reflective layer of water. Picky photographers, eh? The spraying of the water with the longer exposure time had an interesting effect.
F-16 Night Shoot with Firetruck
50 mm, 1.6 sec, f/4.5, ISO 64
For the final F-16 shot, it wasn't completely dark. Michigan in July. Days are long. The crowd was getting restless. Still, it worked.
F-16 Night Shoot ToM '22
50 mm, 4.0 sec, f/4.0, ISO 64
Very cool.
Next aircraft in was a Messerschmitt Bf 109. My only criticism of the event was the selection of this aircraft. No paint on the props. I'm sure it isn't easy to get 'volunteers' to stay late for a bunch of photos. That being said, the shots were still OK.
Messerschmitt Bf 109 Night Shoot ToM '22
44 mm, 4.0 sec, f/5.6, ISO 64
Tough to see the props.
The last aircraft was a Curtiss P-40. This was a show personal favorite. The paint scheme was from the RNZAF. Very cool. And the prop was just right.
Curtiss P-40 Night Shoot ToM '22
40 mm, 3.5 sec, f/4.0, ISO 64
Because I was a rookie at this, I took a position and held. There was time to move around to get a different angle. That being said, there were about 70 photographers there and moving wasn't that easy. But time to think about that for next year.
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