To Autorotate

[Captain Lai Hai]

Ned

A lot of us here are quite impressed with your photography talents.
What type of gear do you use and any hints on some of your techinques.
Got a coldie or two waiting for you in HK......

humbly yours

[Autorotate]

Cap Lai Hai,

Thanks for the feedback. Equipment I use is a Canon EOS1V (actually got this from one of Andrew Tse's contacts there in HK), a 35-350 lens, 28-70 2.8L and 70-200 2.8L lens. Film is always Fuji Velvia or the new Velvia 100F. Both films are great and people think they need fast film for helicopters and planes which is wrong because you are, most of the times, going in formation with them or stationary around them.

I have always shot up to and including 160th of a second shutter speed, anything more and you stop the blades, and that for me is a personal pet hate. I would rather get the blades in a slight disk, makes it look more realistic. Head on shots are always great and the best way is to get the subject aircraft back at your 5 of 7 o'clock position and start a 20 degree turn with them still in formation. This results in some great head on shots.

Another suggestion is to have them in the same position, stacked low and start a tight turn in whichever direction, but slow your shutter speed down to around 30th of a second. That way the helicopter subject is pin sharp going one way but the background is out of focus and going the other, makes for a unique picture.

When shooting always try and remember to shoot images that are out of the ordinary, for example looking down on a machine, shoot it from behind, crop in tight on various angles, try very slow shutter speeds and basically just experiment.

One thing to always always keep in mind is what is in the background of the photo. For example no point in taking a really awesome pic and finding that some building is in the background and the focus us taken away from the helicopter. You will always find you need to shoot various angles and combinations to get that great looking shot. One of the most amazing shots I have taken was looking straight down an AS350, nose first as it was going vertical. Even working out how to do it was a task.

We hovered at 3000 ft in a BK117 with the clamshell doors removed (dont know if this was legal or not). I had the pilot of the subject aircraft, who I trusted implicitly, to start with slow speed and about 1000 ft below and basically pull up into the vertical, heading up towards us, and then do a hammerhead or pedal turn when about 100ft below us so I got the shot of him coming straight up at us, at right angles to the ground and then the shot looking straight down the tail boom as he headed back to earth.

This took about an hour to get right but the resulting shot was awesome and generated a lot of "How the Heck Did He Get That".

Just try and think outside the square, knowing helicopters and what they can and cant do is a major bonus in shooting helicopters and that helps you know how far you can push or not push a pilot. Having flown helicopters it has allowed me to know where the limits are, limits that cut a fine line between getting a great shot and getting someone in the crapper, or even worse causing an accident.

Hope that helps - any more specific questions you want asked just post away.

:E