Went to the Toronto Air Show yesterday and thought I'd share some pics. First time shooting something like this and found it very difficult. Planes are fast. And the haziness didn't help either. Anyone with experience with Air Show's, tips?

F22 FT

 

Hey Dom, these are pretty good! I don't think I've ever shot an airshow before, but I know they're not easy for the same reasons you've mentioned.

I think I would try going with a manual white balance and manual exposure if I was shooting in the same conditions. An object against a solid blue sky will be a tricky subject for your camera to meter properly. All you can really do in this case is switch to manual and take a few shots until you get something where the plane is properly exposed, then leave it there unless conditions start to change.

Also, because there's next to no grey in these pics, it's just as hard for your camera to set the white balance properly. You can tell that it has a different white balance in every frame. If you shoot RAW, you can adjust all this after. If you shoot JPG, the best thing you can do is set a manual white balance with something like the Expodisc: http://www.expoimaging.net/product-d...poDisc_Neutral or use one of the many other white balance tools out there now. You would probably also be safe to use the daylight white balance setting that's built in to the camera. Even if it's off slightly, it would be easier to adjust all your pics if they're consistent.

Did you borrow a lens for these photos? They look pretty close!

 

I really didn't even attempt to play with many settings. I left the camera in Tv, made sure the shutter was somewhere between 1/800 and 1/1250. Metering was either spot or partial and white balance on auto. Some of these are PP but I didn't do too much. All were shot in RAW.

It was difficult was well because there was sun on one side and no sun on the other so on many shots the plane came out almost black against the sun.

I borrowed a 300 F4L IS. It was actually not a great choice IMO. It was either too close or not long enough. At times the planes flew directly above us. I think I'd have been better off with a 70-200.

 

Wow, you got some great shots there!

+1 F22 FTW.

 

Wow, great pics!

Man, the F22 never fails to impress

 

Dom, were you using AI Servo mode for focus?

 

Yes, AI Servo. Getting focus really wasn't an issue. I was quite impressed with the AF compared to my XT.

And thanks.

 

I shot the Joint Services Open House at Andrews AFB earlier this year... It was challenging because it had been rainy, so it was dark and the sky was gray. Even though I shot RAW, adjusting in PP just showed too much noise. I was also using my longest lens (55-250) which is pretty slow, so I basically just took tons of photos in continuous shutter mode and usually one or two came out OK as I panned. (link to my JSOH flickr set)

And yes, jets are fast :o
My only tip is to go to an airshow when it's sunny and bright

 

The shots turned out really good, Dom. Are most of those crops? I've heard the EF 100-400L is a good lens for this kind of shooting.

 

Can't get to flickr from work, I'll have to check out einsatz's set later.

3 or 4 are crops. I know for certain the 5th pic and 2nd to last are crops.

 

That F22 Raptor is badass. I still love the A-10 Warthog..

 

A-10, the tank killer.

 

Nice shots, dom! You did better than I'd expect to do. I think waTSX is right about the 100-400 being a more versatile lens for this king of shooting, but you did pretty well with the 300. The images are sharp and you got some nice framing. Well done.

Dan - good suggestion about setting the WB to keep things consistent, as long as the lighting stays consistent.

 

I forgot to mention that the push-pull 100-400 was my first choice as a few people had recommended it but we only have 1 available for loan and it was taken.

I was very close to taking out a 600 but then remembered my 2 kids were coming with me.

 

Sweet pics... really nice... Blue Angels FTW.... saw them in Ft Worth some years back....never seen an F-22 in person... sounds like I need to!

 

Nice pics.

 

I think they kept a leash on the F22. It never seemed to be moving as fast as the F-18 but when it did move it was much louder to my ears. When the F-18's flew directly above us which happened several times, kids began to cry. The F22 stayed over the lake for the most part.

 

great pics dom. was it a huge turn out at the EX?

 

Didn't go to the ex. I was on Lakeshore, at the most western part of the beach. And it was packed.