KJFK Return of Lufthansa 747 3-26-12

Starting yesterday, Lufthansa upgraded the Frankfurt <-> JFK segment from an A340-600 to the 747-400. Grabbed a shot of it for Dennis and a few arrivals before and after it.

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http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/DSC_0870.jpg

And I think I will include a bird picture with all my sets for now on :-)

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/DSC_0856.jpg

I tried spotting with Dennis today, and it just did not work. When I headed out to pick him up, they were arriving 31. When I got to Dennis, they were on 4s. As we were heading to Bayswater, they 31 arrivals and 4/31 departures, and then finally fully 31s. We gave up, here is what we ended up with.

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/DSC_0888.jpg

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/DSC_0904.jpg

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/DSC_0914.jpg

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http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/DSC_0885.jpg

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/DSC_0884.jpg

I stepped out briefly today. Here are some of my catches for the day.

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http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Av...2012Ramp-L.jpg

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http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Av...r201231R-L.jpg

http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Av...ar201231-L.jpg

http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Av...r201231R-L.jpg

http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Av...r201231R-L.jpg

Nice catch on the Qatar A310 Mark!

Dennis inspired me to try out some long-exposure nighttime shots. So, I tried it out (not really knowing what I was doing) from home tonight. Not great.

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/DSC_0940.jpg

Turkish Airlines 777-300ER
http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/DSC_0942.jpg

For night shots...........a solid tripod (and a cable release) is a must in my book! I also use spot metering, and set my camera to manual mode with my aperture set to f/8 or so and adjust the shutter speed accordingly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zee71

For night shots...........a solid tripod (and a cable release) is a must in my book! I also use spot metering, and set my camera to manual mode with my aperture set to f/8 or so and adjust the shutter speed accordingly.

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I did use a tripod, so at least I know that much. I also set a 10 second timer so I did not shake the camera when triggering it.
I also had the camera itself set to ISO 2000 F8 for 20 seconds.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yankees368

I did use a tripod, so at least I know that much. I also set a 10 second timer so I did not shake the camera when triggering it.
I also had the camera itself set to ISO 2000 F8 for 20 seconds.

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well there's your problem, no need for ISO 2000, just keep it at 100.

Hmm. I will try that out the next time I set up for this. Doesn't look like anything big is coming in for a while tonight, so I will have to wait for another night of 31 arrivals. Hopefully I can improve on these a bit.

As Eric stated............no need for ISO 2000

Ok, I lied and went back out now. This is much better. Thanks for the tips, guys!

ISO 100 (too dark)
http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/DSC_0943.jpg

ISO 125 (just right)
http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/DSC_0944.jpg

No need to go to ISO 125 on those shots. If the exposure looks too dark, just leave the shutter open a little longer.

Ill figure these things out eventually. Those were only 20 second exposures to catch a single aircraft. It was too cold out to stay very long. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

Remember the triangle for correct exposure in which all three are inter-related: ISO - Shutter Speed - Aperture

As an example using your situation where the image was dark at ISO 100, and assuming your f-stop was set to f/8, you would need to have a longer shutter speed. If it's also windy, you may have to add some weight to your tripod hook (if it has one), some folks hang their camera bag to keep it rigid. Don't be afraid to play around with the three settings to see what best works for you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zee71

Remember the triangle for correct exposure in which all three are inter-related: ISO - Shutter Speed - Aperture

As an example using your situation where the image was dark at ISO 100, and assuming your f-stop was set to f/8, you would need to have a longer shutter speed. If it's also windy, you may have to add some weight to your tripod hook (if it has one), some folks hang their camera bag to keep it rigid. Don't be afraid to play around with the three settings to see what best works for you.

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I can't believe I didn't think of hanging my bag to keep it steady! I had a hell of a time with the wind on these two shots. I will need to try that.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7190/6...e2bb83af_z.jpg

And

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7162/6...539afcb6_z.jpg

Yea, I will have to do a longer shutter speed next time. The wind didn't seem to knock the tripod around much, but it certainly didn't help. If they are using 31 again tonight, I'll take all these suggestions and try again!