Mangroves at low tide, Broome
Fujifilm GFX100S II, 100-200mm, f5.6 @ 1/4000 second, ISO 1600
Photography has changed so much over the years and while shooting from the air with a telephoto lens isn't new, there's no doubt the results we're getting today are so much more impressive.
This photo was taken towards low tide up at Broome in Western Australia. If you shoot from above when the sun is low in the sky (either early morning or late afternoon), the shadows from the mangrove trees look more like the trees than they do. The trees are the green circles below the shadows - and then below them you'll often see the mangrove root system spreading out, creating another level of complexity and intrigue!
So, why is this photo so hard to take?
It's not, but I find it really interesting to note I am shooting at 1/4000 second. While for aerial work I generally like to shoot at 1/2000 second, I have usually been using a standard or slightly telephoto lens. For this photo, I was using a 100-200mm zoom on the GFX, so much more telephoto and, with a 100-megapixel sensor, not only is the subject magnified, so is any image blur. I found that on occasion, perhaps when the helicopter hit a patch of unstable air, 1/2000 second wasn't quite sharp enough to give me a super crisp image. The solution, I found, was a faster shutter speed.
Of course, a faster shutter speed needs more light, a wider aperture or a higher ISO setting. As the sun was dipping towards the horizon and I was already shooting at the lens's maximum f5.6 aperture, my only option was a higher ISO and I confess it wasn't until writing this newsletter I realised the photo was taken at ISO 1600! Yes, there will be more noise than at ISO 100, but the noise is so controlled it's not something that I notice or even worry about anymore.
If you're interested in my aerial photography technique, I have a short eBook available on the Better Photography Education website - you can see details here.
And if you're interested in shooting aerials at either Shark Bay or Broome in late May/early June next year with Tony Hewitt and me, now would be a good time to book! We are currently putting the final dates and details together, but in the meantime, contact
