Aerial Image Library.com
I'm always being asked what cameras, film, planes, and weather choices I make to get such great quality. Well here goes. If you like what you read here then please take a link to my main site to learn more about Kevin Allen Photography - the London aerial photographic experts.
CAMERA CHOICE and FILM
My preferred format for aerial photography is 6x7. I use Pentax and Makina with 55mm wide angle, both 90 and 105mm standard (I vary which for specific shots) and both 165mm and 300mm telephoto lenses. If I need a 3:1 panoramic shot then I use Linhof or Fuji 617's and occasionally a Hasselblad superwide. I don't use 35mm - It gives a tiny and very grainy shot compared with a 6x7 and in my view is simply unacceptable.
The great thing about the Pentax is that it holds the film flat and doesn't appear to let the film vibrate during exposure! With say a Hasselblad or Mamiya I found we could get soft spots (i.e. some areas were not sharp) due the vibration of the film in the actual camera. I always use a Kenlab KS8 stabiliser - yes they are heavy and expensive, but the resultant shots are fantastic and they really are brilliant for sunset photographs across the LONDON skyline.
I also like the Plaubel Makina fixed lens 6x7, particularly good in low light because of its fast lens and minimal vibration problems due to the position of it's "between the lens" shutter. Being a Rangefinder camera it does not have a mirror to flip up during exposure - it it were there it could add to vibration problems!
My favourite film is Fuji - 100iso Fuji Provia Transparency or Fuji Reala colour negative - both offer really fine grain and are great for enlargements.
AIRCRAFT CHOICE
When I photograph London my 1st choice is a twin engined Squirrel helicopter with sliding door or I remove a rear window - the squirrel can be used as low as 800 ft at zero knots to allow for absolutely precise positioning to achieve the exact shot that I know will delight my client.
When photographing over London, its a requirement to have a twin engined aircraft, so if I use a plane it's invariably a fixed wing Seneca with the door removed - I usually use a safety harness but I guess It's not always the safest job in the world - but I love my work.
If I'm shooting a commission over a small town or countryside, then most photography is carried out at 1500 feet above ground level so I use a Cessna 172 - a high fixed wing single engine aircraft with opening window. It's cruise speed is 105 knots, photographic speed 60-knots.
Aerial photography is very weather dependent. The best conditions are sunshine with good visibility. However it is quite common to have brilliant sunshine in a cloudless sky, but when you're up there for the visibility to be so poor it is not possible to take photographs. Visibility is affected by moisture in the atmosphere or particles of pollution in the atmosphere.
Moisture can be evaporated by the sun, but the pollution needs a wind to move it. Clouds are also a problem, not just because of the obvious reasons but also because a bright day with a scattering of clouds causes blotchy shadows. Often the contrast between the sunlit and shadow areas is too great for the film to record detail in both areas. A day of high overcast thin cloud often provide the best conditions for aerial photography.
I hope the above is of interest and helpful. Do please visit our main website at www.kevinallenphotography.co.uk to find out more about Kevin Allen Photography.
Tel: +44 (0) 1508 470030 enquiries@kevinallenphotography.co.uk