[Kombisaurus]

Continuing on from This Thread, here are some of the more scenic shots from a flight I was taken on around Perth just before Christmas.


1. This is Rolf and the plane we flew in (that's my Dad already sitting in the plane - he came too).


2. Perth and the Swan River from above Kings Park.


3. Perth CBD.


4. Fisheye from above the Perth CBD.


5. Another fisheye directly above the CBD.


6. I phoned a friend and told them to come out onto their front yard as we flew over their house. This is Helen with 2 of her kids; Josh and Zach.


7. The settlement of Wedge Island, north of Lancelin. This is a unique "holiday village" that started out as a few shacks built by fishermen squatting on public land and just kind of evolved over time to over 350 shacks now. There are no services or sealed roads in the area. You can find out a bit more here.


8. Rottnest Island, with the mainland and Perth in the far distance.


9. A container ship between Rottnest Island and Fremantle.


10. The South Fremantle Power Station as seen from the air. I've posted photos from this location before, as can be seen here.

[Toad]

Great series. Must be a treat to fly around like that...

[Irma]

I like your series a lot!
How was your weather conditions?

I have read that this influences a lot your photography...

I see the fisheye pictures sharper and clearer than the other ones, is it just me or you notice a difference?

[Wedding Shooter]

6 is classic and I like the perspective on the container ship.

[Kombisaurus]

Thanks Toad, Irma and Chris.

Toad, it was a fantastic experience. A real treat. Rolf (the pilot) is in the process of getting a small tourist flight business off the ground (pardon the pun) and I was happy to be a guinea pig.

Irma, the weather was hot on the ground (approx 35degC) which made it very pleasant in the air (it hovered around 24degC). A plane this small isn't pressurised, so as far as climate goes - it's just like driving a car up in the air. I was even allowed to open my window to photograph out. The wind was very strong coming when the window was open, but it was better for photographs.
As far as the weather affecting the photos, there was a noticable haze in the air due to some bushfires burning in the south-west parts of the state and the smoke getting blown over Perth. The haze had been quite bad the 2 days before and had mostly cleared up by the time we went up, but it was still there a bit.
You're right about the fisheye shots being the clearest. It was due to the haze. When I took those fisheye shots (with a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 fish), we were actually really quite low over the city - the lens makes it look further away than it actually was. Nearly all the other shots were taken with a 70-200 f/2.8L IS and because they were generally of things that were further away, there is a lot more haze between the subject and camera.
I took a bunch of gear up with me but the cockpit is small and cramped so most of it sat on the back seat. Also because I was sitting beside the pilot, I had duplicates of all his controls in front of me moving around. This made it quite difficult to manage multiple bodies and lenses. In the end I just stuck with my 5D2 and 70-200 2.8L IS for most of the time, occassionally swapping the lens for a 15mm fish. A 16-35 or 17-30 would have been a handy alternative to the fisheye, but I didn't see much use for a "standard" focal length lens - I either wanted very wide or very long.

Chris, #6 was a lot of fun. There's a ton of detail there when you view a 100% crop.

[nia]

Really it was a great and fantastic experience but it was for us too (at least for me!) because you carried me too into this amazing scenic flight and I did enjoyed so much, how creative to call your friends while you were flying over their house You are amazing dear Adrian, this is a great photographical set, super. Thank you for sharing with us.

Blessing and Happiness,
with my love,
nia

[NT73]

Plenty of detail, and I am glad you found the window.

It does kind of blow through a bit, and I guess you would be doing about 100 knots.
I used to take a few shots and fly the darned thing as well. I think I have only got one really good aerial photo. Plenty of video though.

[EnglishBob]

Great series, love the container ship. That's a great shot of your friends on the lawn!

[Irma]

Thanks a lot Adrian for your information about your pictures in your posts...

I see now why some photographers prefer to take pictures from an helicopter..

Your pictures reminded me a video I saw about a photographer taking pictres from a plane. He was taking pictures to a mountain, and it was very high and he and the pilots needed oxigen masks.. at the time he started taking his pictures and he turned towards the window the mask unpluged..!! He was shocking and the pilot and copilot only realized when they didn't hear directions from him!!! Immediately, they pluged the mask again and he could breath.... in few minutes he recovered and continue taking pictures... all was film as they were making a reportage... amazing video....

[Toad]

Gosh - this is one from the vaults. Kombi is very good - a search of his stuff will be well worth your while. Just click on his name (above the avatar) and so a "show all posts".