I've not been to a big show in quite a few years (more on that later), but I
used to go the CAF show in Harlingen regularly, and shot LOTS of photos with
my old OM 1's.
I used two lenses mainly, the 300/4.5 and the 500/8. There were plenty of
times when the 500 was required to get smaller planes. The advantage here is
simple: the silly out of focus highlights don't exist with just a sky and
cloud background. At this particular show, I shot handheld, due to the
unpredictability of the subject placement. Someone WELL experienced in the
use of the monopod could do well, but I simply can't imagine using a tripod
to shoot aircraft in flight. It would only be possible with a ball head not
locked down, and not easy at that.
The CAF show, of course, features primarily prop aircraft. This requires
using a maximum shutter speed of 125, to avoid stopping the prop. A setting
of 250 will occasionally be OK, depending on throttle setting, but don't
count on it. This means you need to shoot lots of film, as the ratio of
rejects to keepers will be small.
The benefit of this is that 100 speed film is desirable, to keep aperture
settings in an ideal range. This also benefits film manufacturers and
processors.
Jets, Mr. Barker, are another thing entirely, but excuse me for saying that
they are less romantic and produce an unpleasant noise, but do allow faster
shutter speeds. I suspect that current top speeds of 8000 are still
inadequate to stop turbine blades.
Do I need to mention sunscreen and liquids?
I also used the 35-105 some, for larger formations and ground shots. I would
also take a WA (I used my 24) for ground shots, so you can get close enough
to keep people out of the photo. There you have it- two bodies, motor
drives, four lenses. I also recommend using an incident meter on the ground
for your exposure, as the plane against sky can be challenging. whatever you
do, don't use a camera in AE mode.
On this subject (are any of you still there?), I am going to the Oshkosh
show this year, my first time. I will be taking Provia 100F, and Fuji Neopan
100 as my primary films. I will be taking my wife's Nikon with the 80-400VR
lens I think this has real possibilities in this use), but will also take
one or two OM's, the 500, 300, 200, and something short (21, 28, 28-48,
whatever looks good at packing time), the xpan and a handheld meter.
Has anyone been to Oshkosh before? Do you have any advice?
Bill Pearce
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