JFK 03/30/2011

[MarkLawrence]

Nice shots Eric - those head ons are so clear! And - I love the AA Friendship Independence...

[Zee71]

Great set Eric.......that Jamaica looks sweet.

[eric8669]

Nice shots Eric - those head ons are so clear! And - I love the AA Friendship Independence...

Thanks Mark.... Bayswater was kind to me today....

[gonzalu]

Steve, you most certainly can use 1000 mm if you like... you as a photographer must keep in mind what's going on, it is not just going to work LOL. So if you're 4000 feet away from your subject and you want to fill the frame and you need 800mm, you WILL compress a lot of heat shimmer, it is unavoidable, it is THERE!!

Here are some trade secrets revealed:

MegaPixels: The more you have in this case, the better. When you have 50 more pixels on a bent line at full size, it will straighten out a lot better to 1 pixel than if it was recorded with 25 pixels (hope that made sense)
Distance: Reduce it to the minimum. at Bayswater, get as close to the water as possible and go by the wall... this gives you a better head on shot and puts you a little bit closer ;-)
Take Lots of shots: Currents come and go, some are stronger than others.. .one shot will be better than others. Luck and Statistics do help
Keep trying: Shoot every day all day long, you will get a great shot some day (Eric has LOTS AND LOTS of practice, he is now a natural pro at it)
SHARPNESS: Critical sharpness is very important. The sharper the original, the better. IF you have shimmer, you would have a more salvageable image if it was sharper to begin with.
Other Planes: MAKE SURE no other planes are in the area. ALL of them are spewing super hot exhaust, on a busy afternoon, that area around the takeoff chevrons is a heat dump :-)
WAIT: Always wait a while after the last plane took off... this reduces the heat left behind by the takeoff.

I will go out on a limb and ask Eric for a 100% crop ... I am betting the shimmer is there but at 18MP, and if he got sharp results and minimized the distance, etc. etc., he would have a much better starting point than if it had been slightly OOF or motion blurred.

This was from Bayswater... the plane is on taxiway Alpha Kilo, just north of 31L. The distance was about 2.28648 km or 7,000 feet+ -- 10:30am, October 31st 2010, it was not that cold but it was cool. Also a LOT MORE tarmac and asphalt between me and it than if it were on 4L. The Delta in the BG was REALLY far lol... and it has some shimmer. But the Saudi has very little if any. Why? For one, that day, I got lucky with the heat. I also used my monopod to steady the heavy lens as much as possible...

[eric8669]

Steve, you most certainly can use 1000 mm if you like... you as a photographer must keep in mind what's going on, it is not just going to work LOL. So if you're 4000 feet away from your subject and you want to fill the frame and you need 800mm, you WILL compress a lot of heat shimmer, it is unavoidable, it is THERE!!

Here are some trade secrets revealed:

MegaPixels: The more you have in this case, the better. When you have 50 more pixels on a bent line at full size, it will straighten out a lot better to 1 pixel than if it was recorded with 25 pixels (hope that made sense)
Distance: Reduce it to the minimum. at Bayswater, get as close to the water as possible and go by the wall... this gives you a better head on shot and puts you a little bit closer ;-)
Take Lots of shots: Currents come and go, some are stronger than others.. .one shot will be better than others. Luck and Statistics do help
Keep trying: Shoot every day all day long, you will get a great shot some day (Eric has LOTS AND LOTS of practice, he is now a natural pro at it)
SHARPNESS: Critical sharpness is very important. The sharper the original, the better. IF you have shimmer, you would have a more salvageable image if it was sharper to begin with.
Other Planes: MAKE SURE no other planes are in the area. ALL of them are spewing super hot exhaust, on a busy afternoon, that area around the takeoff chevrons is a heat dump :-)
WAIT: Always wait a while after the last plane took off... this reduces the heat left behind by the takeoff.

I will go out on a limb and ask Eric for a 100% crop ... I am betting the shimmer is there but at 18MP, and if he got sharp results and minimized the distance, etc. etc., he would have a much better starting point than if it had been slightly OOF or motion blurred.

This was from Bayswater... the plane is on taxiway Alpha Kilo, just north of 31L. The distance was about 2.28648 km or 7,000 feet+ -- 10:30am, October 31st 2010, it was not that cold but it was cool. Also a LOT MORE tarmac and asphalt between me and it than if it were on 4L. The Delta in the BG was REALLY far lol... and it has some shimmer. But the Saudi has very little if any. Why? For one, that day, I got lucky with the heat. I also used my monopod to steady the heavy lens as much as possible...

Yup, using the wall or a tripod is very important. I use the wall sometimes, but I also find if you are higher above the water I tend to get good shots. Sometimes you may find me further down the beach up on the incline. I would say go early in the morning, bring a tripod, and as Manny says just shoot a lot.

[steve1840]

Yes that does make sense Manny. I have been itching to go out and buy a good monopod lately and now I definitely will be investing in one and combining that with the rest of the "trade secrets" that you have just mentioned. Then my next step will be to find someplace where I can practice and try different things (i.e. angle, distance, etc), since I can't obviously go to Bayswater, etc all the time like you guys can.

[gonzalu]

This was on Nov 1st a day later... 5:30pm

[eric8669]

This was on Nov 1st a day later... 5:30pm

or stay late......

[gonzalu]

Eric, thanks for reminding that HEIGHT has a lot to do with it too... That's another tip, get higher so you are at an ANGLE to the subject and compressing LESS of the heat near you...

As for the wall, yes, us e it as support... I also have STOOD on top of it to get higher above the water ;-) and Eric, I have considered going down to the beach past the wall as well to get in-line with the rwy, but I feel much lower than at the concrete slab /\/\ ??? have to try it.

[gonzalu]

I took some shots at SXM to illustrate how bad it can get shooting close to the ground... This was JUST 200mm, and subject distance was not great, 900 feet or so. Just 10 feet off the ground was 50% better and by 100 feet the effect was mostly gone.

Please click on the image to see the FULL SIZED original and really see what it looks like at 100%

[gonzalu]

Eric, I feel bad... I hijacked your thread and never said AWESOME stuff... you managed once again to pwn me by enjoying a calm, almost WIND-FREE morning at Bayswater... how in the world? I have been there 100 times and it is always blowing pretty hard. Would love to get some reflection shots... great stuff as usual!

[eric8669]

Eric, I feel bad... I hijacked your thread and never said AWESOME stuff... you managed once again to pwn me by enjoying a calm, almost WIND-FREE morning at Bayswater... how in the world? I have been there 100 times and it is always blowing pretty hard. Would love to get some reflection shots... great stuff as usual!

no worries and thanks.

I mean going down the beach to the south. The park sort of goes up hill. its a different vantage/angle.

[gonzalu]

I see what you mean... to the left.. OK. I wanted to go to the right to get more in line with the end of the RWY.

Most people don't realize that Bayswater park is NOT aligned with the take-off pad or chevrons at the end of 4L...

[eric8669]

I see what you mean... to the left.. OK. I wanted to go to the right to get more in line with the end of the RWY.

Most people don't realize that Bayswater park is NOT aligned with the take-off pad or chevrons at the end of 4L...

The Solution is----------> We need a boat!

[steve1840]

The Solution is----------> We need a boat!

Definitely!