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RV-4 as a Photo Ship

Jvon811

Well Known Member
I took some photo's of my neighbor's who have a pair of 90hp Super Cubs recently. Stuck another neighbor with very little camera experience in my backseat and handed him the DSLR (Canon Rebel T4i) and showed him the shutter button, we briefed the crews, went flying, and things turned out alright! Now I am no where near a professional photographer, I just happen to own a decent camera and know what I think looks good.

The big problem with the RV as a photo ship I've noticed over the years though is glare and reflections off the inside of the canopy. Maybe more specifically, I'm using my RV-4 with the bubble (applies to -8's as well) I've seen devices such as wide rubber boots or something that can be mounted to the end of the lens that acts as a shade around the lens and reduces glares in the images.

Does anyone else have any creative solutions they've seen or used for shooting air to air pics from the back of an RV-4/8?

Here's some pics from last evening. Pics are too big to upload here, so I'll post a link. Sorry no RV pics... I was the one carrying the camera!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tl_15kjuGOBj4M-aIg0Npx5x7B_57p81/view?usp=sharing
 
My hanger neighbor does A LOT of air photography. He just opens the window on the 172:D If you are serious about it, it might make sense to build a small opening in the canopy that can be open and shut, like the piper or bonanza acrylic air door. I suspect that at slower speeds this will not be a problem opening it, but have no experience.

Larry
 
I take a lot of photos out of RVs.

I have considered Larry's idea for a door. Glider people do this kind of thing all the time, e.g. this one. But gliders are a lot slower - i.e. aerodynamic forces on their canopies are much much lower than on RVs - so I decided against it due to the non-negligible chance of ending up with large cracks in the canopy (i.e. of having to get and install a new canopy).

I think the best solution is to cut a disk of black foam or black paper, maybe a foot or so in diameter, with a hole in the middle that's 2" or 3" in diameter to poke the lens through.

I remember once reading about a guy... lemme do some Googling... John Scurlock seems to be his name... who takes beautiful pictures of the North Cascades from his RV-6. The photo below (from here) shows how he does it.

lLUqF4s.png
 
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Take care of the bubble!

I have the same glare experience in my -4 as you, and all other RV's. Backseaters love the view and go picture crazy, my wife being the main photographer, and the last 11 years have kept me a wreck trying to keep the inside unscratched. I've seen the foam boots for a lens camera, but there will still be collateral scratch damage. As others have mentioned, a windowless platform is best..skydive jump planes with doors off are hard to beat, but they arent easy to get.
 
Aircraft with canopies that open really are preferred. T-6, T-34, CJs, Yaks, etc. For bigger budgets, I use a B-25 with the tail taken off. Shooting through Plexiglas almost isn't worth it in terms of quality.
 
Our host Doug Reeves used to sit backwards in Danny King’s back seat (RV-8) and got some great pictures- how he managed to turn around in there after takeoff, I don;t know….

For magazine shoots, we always try to get a photo ship with at least an open window, better an A-36 or Cherokee 6 with the back door off. My favorite ship was a Murphy Super Rebel on floats with the huge baggage door removed. With a harness, you could actually step out onto the float in flight if you needed a better shot!

Canopies are really limiting, but you can work around them if you’re clever with subject positioning and framing.

Paul
 
Like most things with airplanes, it's a compromise. No doubt that a canopy is not ideal for photography.

I've found that shooting away from the sun and putting the camera lens as close to the canopy as possible both help significantly. I take a LOT of photos and keep moving the camera around while doing so (due to reflections/glare but also bugs/imperfections in/on the canopy). I tend to toss about 75% (or more) of the images.

I think the key to eliminating glare/reflections may be a skirt/hood on the lens. Get the lens close to the canopy and skirt/hood touches the canopy and blocks out all glare. Since the lens is never 'square' to the canopy, the skirt/hood has to conform. I've toyed with some ideas but none of them worked out.

You can find silicone lens hoods on Amazon but I've never tried one as the reviews are so bad.

The best option may be to get the camera outside the cockpit! ;) :D
GS010114-4-600x338.jpg
 
Thanks for the info guys. I know canopies are limiting and open air is best, and I have done photo work from other airplanes with those capabilites. I was just wondering if someone had some sort of whizbang contraption/hood that makes it easier to shoot air to air pics from the -4/8 since, that's what I have to work with...

Although the tailgunner seating config that Paul mentions does pique my interest... hmmm...
 
I've shot a lot of architectural and construction progress photos from my -8. Try a circular polarizer and wear dark clothing. That black disk is a good idea too. And practice flying with your knees... ;)
 
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