Originally Posted by
sandiego89
In your view what would make displays "better" for photographers? Differing flight profile/ bank angles are nice for regular viewers and photographers alike. Serious question, curious.
Some shows in the US have special photography areas, but sometimes the big lens crowd can be hard to please. Could get into problematic areas if you are asking for special seating, spacing, sun angle/lighting, closer access, etc. And don't get me started on the photog crowd here in the US that complains incessantly about the low lighting at the USAF museum in Dayton....
What would make displays better? Well don't profess to speak for all photographers as I'm very much an amateur, but in simple terms give me/us the "money shots", by which I mean the ones that bring a smile to your face when you look at the back of the camera. A few examples - as I said in a previous post - a simple parallel to the flight pass which shows a topside angle and you can see the cockpit. Problem is (I think) that this means the plane has to be turning in towards the crowd line. A similar desired shot would be a head on which again does happen at shows but the pilot is forced to peel away to keep outside the forbidden zone, so even with big lenses you lose detail.
I know it seems very basic, but I honestly do wonder if anyone who is responsible for setting display parameters has thought about getting hold of an aviation photographer and discussed how safety and photographers needs could be merged. A simple query, there is a separation distance between the crowd and the flight display line. Presumably this is calculated to minimise damage should there be an accident when a fast jet is doing a high speed pass, but couldn't there be a closer display line which could be used for slow speed photographer friendly passes. Only has to be the one pass so wouldn't take away from the main display.
Re your other point about seating etc, that's not an issue for me. I've done both options, queued at the crack of dawn to get a position on the ropes adjacent to the runway and paid a fortune for special access, neither option gives much advantage.
Alchad