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Shooting a Model Aircraft Show is harder than the real thing!

Tronhard
Elite
Elite

Model aircraft still fly very fast, but are much smaller and fly a lot lower than their full-size cousins.  I had never tried to do this before and I was just getting used to my Canon 7DMkII and 100-400MkII, but the opportunity to see a show near my home in Victoria, BC was too good to pass up, especially since my camera group was offered VIP seating near the end of the runway.

 

Being somewhat constrained to one point the aircraft tended to fly by in a similar position.

 

People came from far and wide to display their eclctic range of models, the sizes of which varied from about 1.5m (5ft) to up to 4m (13ft) and they were amazingly well constructed and detailed.

 

Here is the link to a few of the photos: Model Aircraft Display - it is shared from my Onedrive location.  If you click on the first image you can get the option to see a slide show, during which, if you move your mouse you will see the aircraft description.


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris
17 REPLIES 17

Hmmm... could go either way.  you may lost light intensity, but you may also lose contrast, which may actually help.

 

In any case I wish you well in your shooting! Smiley Happy


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris


@Tronhard wrote:

Hmmm... could go either way.  you may lost light intensity, but you may also lose contrast, which may actually help.

 

In any case I wish you well in your shooting! Smiley Happy


Weather started overcast at the site.  It was a light drizzle at my house 30 miles away, east of the site.  Over the course of three hours, the threat of rain diminished, and it was merely mostly cloudy, but fairly overcast at times.

Now, I have 1300+ photos to go through.  For tasks like this, I find Microsoft's SyncToy to be invaluable. I use it to synchronize folders.  I typically download and backup all photos, and then I delete bad shots.  SyncToy saves me from having to delete files from multiple folders.

 

BTW, I think I may have a few keepers.  Maybe 10% on the fastest planes, and as high as 50% and more on slower moving planes.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."


@Waddizzle wrote:

@Tronhard wrote:

Hmmm... could go either way.  you may lost light intensity, but you may also lose contrast, which may actually help.

 

In any case I wish you well in your shooting! Smiley Happy


Weather started overcast at the site.  It was a light drizzle at my house 30 miles away, east of the site.  Over the course of three hours, the threat of rain diminished, and it was merely mostly cloudy, but fairly overcast at times.

Now, I have 1300+ photos to go through.  For tasks like this, I find Microsoft's SyncToy to be invaluable. I use it to synchronize folders.  I typically download and backup all photos, and then I delete bad shots.  SyncToy saves me from having to delete files from multiple folders.

 

BTW, I think I may have a few keepers.  Maybe 10% on the fastest planes, and as high as 50% and more on slower moving planes.


Glad the day worked out well, and congratulations on getting some keepers.  I find that the models, being still fast but very small and low, are harder to get good shots from than the rull-sized planes.

 

I hope you will post some of your photos so we can all enjoy and admire them! Smiley Happy


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

Uh, i need to downscale that keeper rate by a factor of 10.  If I count a multi-shot sequence that's in focus as one shot, then my keeper rate is probably more like 1-5%, than 10-50%.  

 

These guys are quick, especiallyt the model jets.  I think the jets may have moved to fast for the AF to keep up.  Out of a hundred shots of a little red jet, I only had 1 "keeper", which wasn't all that great.

 

1D Mark IV w/EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM - 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 100, @100mm, 50% crop.

 

EOS-1D Mark IV2017_08_120918.jpg

 

1D Mark IV w/EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM - 1/500, f/8.0, ISO 100, @400mm, 50% crop

 

EOS-1D Mark IV2017_08_120053.jpg

 

 

1D Mark IV w/EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM - 1/500, f/8.0, ISO 100, @320mm, no crop.

 

 

EOS-1D Mark IV2017_08_120382.jpg

 

 

 

1D Mark IV w/EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM - 1/500, f/8.0, ISO 100, @400mm, 50% crop.

 

EOS-1D Mark IV2017_08_120145.jpg

 

 

I shot handheld for the faster shots, and with a monopod, like the shot of the plane standing on its' tail.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."

All shots have similar settings and EXIF data attached.

 

EOS-1D Mark IV2017_08_120230.jpg

 

EOS-1D Mark IV2017_08_120872.jpg

 

EOS-1D Mark IV2017_08_121323.jpg

 

 

EOS-1D Mark IV2017_08_120242.jpg

 

 

 

My first RC air show.  The skies were dark and threatening looking, but the rains held back.

 

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."

Waddizzle I think  your shots are breathtaking! Smiley Happy

 

I could not agree more about the speed of the models - not only are they fast but lower and closer than one would normally expect of their full-size cousins and that is really hard on any autofocus system.  You seem to have coped magnificantly, if I may be so bold.

 

My favourite one is of the jet trainer model - you caught the background blur but kept the aircraft in good focus.  Thank you for sharing these!


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris


@Tronhard wrote:

Waddizzle I think  your shots are breathtaking! Smiley Happy

 

I could not agree more about the speed of the models - not only are they fast but lower and closer than one would normally expect of their full-size cousins and that is really hard on any autofocus system.  You seem to have coped magnificantly, if I may be so bold.

 

My favourite one is of the jet trainer model - you caught the background blur but kept the aircraft in good focus.  Thank you for sharing these!


Thanks.  

 

The jets were fast and so close that I had to back up a bit so that i could pan with them at least halfway through a psss.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."

I have to admit to not knowing this section of the forum existed. I'll start contributing a few from my huge inventory. I fully agree that shooting models is harder than shooting full scale because the speeds are faster than a scale equavelent for their size & they are much closer making it harder to pan with them. I'm attending a Giant Scale Event tomorrow & then a Jets event the following weekend. Last Sat was the largest Giant Scale event held in Canada & although the weather was very iffy it didn't cause any problems other than making conditions tough for bright photos. Cloud formations weren't all that helpful but did make for a few dramatic photos. This Volksplane is an easy target & really fits the "Giant Scale" class well but by definition a wingspan of 84 inches & wider for single wing & 60 inches & up for a bi plane is where Giant Scale becomes the aircraft class. If you can shoot R/C well full scale will be rather easy. 

 

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"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."
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