Flyover from outside stadium: I know it has been covered before, but cannot find the recommendations. My son will fy in a formation of two F15's over Coliseum this Saturday at 6:15 PM...

vanderhala Loc: Los Angeles, CA

I know it has been covered before, but cannot find the recommendations. My son will fy in a formation of two F15's over Coliseum this Saturday at 6:15 PM . I am not going to the football game myself, but want to get a try at shots form outside. My brand new (for me, refurbished) D7200. My best lenses fro this seem Tamron 17-270 or Nikon 70-300 (AF-S 1:4.5-5.6G) (2003 model). It is close to dusk.
Recommendations for how far, which angle and what settings please ?

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

Are they doing any practice runs? Years and years ago my ex-husband was a helicopter pilot and a day or two before an event they would have practice runs and I would go out to the air field and get my photos then. I didn't have to deal with parking or crowds and had the choice locations. They would usually do 2 or 3 runs so if I missed something the first time I could get it on the next pass.

Best of luck!!

Dodie

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

vanderhala wrote:

I know it has been covered before, but cannot find the recommendations. My son will fy in a formation of two F15's over Coliseum this Saturday at 6:15 PM . I am not going to the football game myself, but want to get a try at shots form outside. My brand new (for me, refurbished) D7200. My best lenses fro this seem Tamron 17-270 or Nikon 70-300 (AF-S 1:4.5-5.6G) (2003 model). It is close to dusk.
Recommendations for how far, which angle and what settings please ?

You have a wonderful opportunity. From the pilot's stand point this isn't a big deal. just fly over a designated target at a designated airspeed and altitude. He does this all the time. You don't. You might locate a small airstrip near your area and go practice on planes coming and going. Obviously, the speed isn't the same but you are going to be looking into your viewfinder and speed does not show there. Settings will vary with the minute and direction of your shot so you need to figure those out in advance. Shutter speed is going to be the critical factor, plan it in advance also. Chg_Canon offers very good advice on panning techniques, read it and anything else on that subject. Do whatever is needed to find out in advance which direction the will be going, VERY important! Get to the Coliseum early and scout the scene. Be prepared and relax! Enjoy the moment, and the shots you make.

vanderhala Loc: Los Angeles, CA

Thanks. No practice runs - he has done it before - they carefully plan route and approach time, coordinate with national anthem etc. I know direction east -west.

SonyBug

vanderhala wrote:

Thanks. No practice runs - he has done it before - they carefully plan route and approach time, coordinate with national anthem etc. I know direction east -west.

Shoot with the sun to your back. Take a lot of shots. Test a shot against the stadium wall first.

ELNikkor

Depending on how low and spaced they are, that 70mm on the Nikon might not be wide enough. Best to use the Tamron just in case you need the wider angle with no time to switch. Also, your shutter speed should be at least 1/500 sec. I would put the camera on Auto ISO with mandatory shutter speed of 1/500, Aperture preferred f8, and practice tonight at 6:15pm just shooting up at a tree limb with mostly sky in the background so you know if this will work.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

vanderhala wrote:

I know it has been covered before, but cannot find the recommendations. My son will fy in a formation of two F15's over Coliseum this Saturday at 6:15 PM . I am not going to the football game myself, but want to get a try at shots form outside. My brand new (for me, refurbished) D7200. My best lenses fro this seem Tamron 17-270 or Nikon 70-300 (AF-S 1:4.5-5.6G) (2003 model). It is close to dusk.
Recommendations for how far, which angle and what settings please ?

Depends on your altitude and how much you want to expose, just the stadium or the stadium and it's surroundings.
When I shot for the EPA we used Nikon 105 mm lenses and took our base exposure with an incident light meter before we took off. We used infrared film in an effort to find where plants were dying from pollutants.

vanderhala Loc: Los Angeles, CA

Thank you ELNikkor and bilnikon.

Bill P

I doubt you will need a very long lens. These babies will be close!

pilot64 Loc: Atlanta, GA

shoot in burst mode. (continuous, 4-10 shots/sec)

vanderhala Loc: Los Angeles, CA

pilot64 wrote:

shoot in burst mode. (continuous, 4-10 shots/sec)

I went out to the local airport (but slower jets taking off). I think the 70-300 lens will work
I used (but not in dusk, it was about 4PM) and used manual, 1/1000, F8 and auto iso. Was able to use BBF continuous (might not need as it is far enough, but won't hurt) and it came out pretty well. (it is still in camera, so no uploads yet0.
Thanks for all your suggestions and help. I learned again !

vanderhala Loc: Los Angeles, CA

By the way (partly off topic) : is there a way to follow replies without having to back to email and click on the UHH message stating "there has been a reply in this thread" ?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

vanderhala wrote:

By the way (partly off topic) : is there a way to follow replies without having to back to email and click on the UHH message stating "there has been a reply in this thread" ?

You should turn off the email notifications, period. That update is made from the 'my profile' link at the top of any UHH page, scroll down to the middle of the various settings.

Then, book mark the uhh address: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com for 1-click access to the main page. Store your user name and password into your browser, if desired, for more 1-click access.

And finally, use the 'Watched Topics' link at the top of all UHH pages. When bold, there's an update onto any topic you've created or have commented into. The 'my topics' link won't go bold with updates, but you can access a list of only those topics you've created.

vanderhala Loc: Los Angeles, CA

Thnx

Bill P

Whatever else you do, you will have to pan. That's you only chance to get a shot with the plane in it.