Taking picture through the canopy... how?

[N523RV]

Any suggestions for taking pictures while flying through the canopy in our RV's? Wife and I have a tip-up canopy and have some great shot potentials but half the time we end up with some sort of glare off the canopy. Sometimes it is just a paper on the glareshield showing up, other times the light is just reflecting in some way.

Any tips appreciated!

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Hi Matt-
Not sure that this will solve your problem entirely but:
1. Put your camera as close to the plexi as possible when taking the picture--this will help block the reflections in the first place and also help the camera's focusing mechanism overlook anything on the plexi (scratches, bugs, etc.).
2. Set the aperature, if possible on your camera, to the smallest depth of field possible so that only things in the far distance are in focus.
3. Use a lens hood if your camera can accept one. Many consumer cameras (if they are of the major camera manufacturers) have adapters available that you can buy to attach things like lens hoods, filters, other lenses, etc.
4. Take everything off the glareshield you can--that's why they're often painted or covered in flat black.
Hope this helps. Good luck.

[dan]

I've heard some photographers will bring a black sheet with them in the cockpit and lay it over the glareshield and panel, covering anything that is reflecting.

[walter]

A screw-on polarized filter can help with some of the reflections. Most digital
SLR cameras will accept screw on filters as well as a standard film camera
that accepts interchangeable lenses.

If you are shooting with a point and click camera then you're basically screwed.
A good cheap digital SLR is the canon Rebel XT. Price is very reasonable.
Lenses are what make the pictures perfect. Expect to pay some bucks for
the lenses. Although, the Rebel comes with a fairly good lens for the price.
I own one. Unfortunately I haven't taken the time to learn how to shoot
from the cockpit.

Here's a link to a review

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/

[DeltaRomeo]

Hi Matthew,

Best tips I ever got was to shoot when the Sun is low and place yourself between the Sun and your subject (always in a slight turn). With the Sun under the wing/fuse of the photo ship, the glares essentially goes away. As another said....getting close to the plexi is important.

Examples from my camera:
http://www.vansairforce.net/photogra...nCoastline.jpg
http://www.vansairforce.net/photogra...lio/Scorch.jpg
http://www.vansairforce.net/photogra...SmokeStack.jpg


Best,
Doug

[N523RV]

Thanks for the tips... right now we are just shooting with an older point-n-shoot digital camera but may upgrade to a digital SLR at some point. I think holding the camera up to the canopy is a good idea and should hopefully eliminate most of that glare.

[Dgamble]

Just don't let it actually touch the canopy or the vibration will kill your focus.

[jsherblon]

If your camera allows - set it to manual focus with the range set to infinity. If your lens/camera is set on autofocus it may "see", and focus on, the canopy or part of your plane.
I was taxiing back to the hangar recently when a P-51 started his take-off from the adjacent runway. The lighting was great - clouds, sky, everything, and I had a front row seat. I grabbed my Canon digital SLR and zoomed in on the Mustang and took a nice shot of the inside window of the Musketeer.

[tomcostanza]

Any suggestions for taking pictures while flying through the canopy in our RV's?

If you're flying through the canopy of your RV, taking a picture of it should be the least of your concerns.

However, if while flying your RV, you want to take a picture through the canopy, try a polarizing filter. They aren't cheap, but neither is flying. They only work if you have an SLR or a digital preview where you can see the reflection before you snap the pic. In other words, you need to be able to see what the lens sees. The filter rotates on a ring, and you rotate the filter until the reflection is gone, or nearly so, then snap the pic. They also increase the contrast with clouds and can give a very dramatic effect. The bad news is, they only work when the light is at a certain angle (90 deg seems to ring a bell) to the subject.

Contact me off-line if you like. I'd like to know what your solution is.

Best,
Tom Costanza
-7A Fuse

[MacNab]

I know this thread is old, but I'd like to share a trick I learned from a Navy photographer who shot a lot of air to air pictures through canopys.

Start with a rubber wide angle lens shade. Take a block of some medium density foam (or several layers of foam glued together) and cut it to form a conical extension to the lens shade that will not vignette the field of view of the particular lens you are using. Use a layer of low density foam for the outer couple of inches of the cone so it can easily distort, conform to, and isolate any vibrations coming from the canopy. Paint your new foam lens shade extension black (or use black foam if you can find it) and then glue it to outside of the rubber wide angle lens shade.

You now have a new larger lens shade that you can press up against the canopy and eliminate any reflections from inside the aircraft cockpit. It also helps to steady the camera a little bit and reduces some of the internal reflections inside the canopy glass that reduce contrast and color saturation. This arrangement will also protect your canopy from scratches. Obviously, at lower shutter speeds you need to be cognizant of any vibrations that try get through the foam to the lens and camera body.

I even made one of these things completely out of foam that just slides over the lens barrel of my Canon Powershot G2. It looks large and ungainly but works well in practice.

Also try to adhere to Doug's advice about keeping the plane between you and the sun as this will help to minimise the internal reflections inside the canopy material. Sometimes you don't have a choice about this rule because you're trying to use backlight for effect in the shot. That's when Photoshop comes in handy.