I recently was able to fulfill one of my bucket list items. Shooting from a helipcopter flying over the island of Kauai was a real treat! The first order of business was to fly in a helicopter without doors for the best image quality. The only company that has this option available is Jack Harter Helicopters. Their Web Site is www.helicopters-kauai.com. They have been around for a long time and have an excellent reputation. They are well organized, and booking the flight was an easy and pleasurable experience.
The next order of business was to make sure my camera was ready to go. I had two blank 16gb memory cards in camera and a fully charged battery. You will not be able to make any type of changes to your equipment while in flight because of the possibility of the item being sucked out of the chopper and hitting the back rotor blade! Also trying to hold your camera outside of the body of the helicopter is almost impossible due to the force of the wind. Even trying to bring extra equipment on board is problematic due to space and weight considerations. So just be prepared to go lite and have your setup ready.
I feel the best way to shoot from a helicopter to have the best chance of good sharp image quality is to use aperture priority mode. Use the sweet spot aperture of your lens and set your minimum shutter speed to a 1000th sec. and let it rip. Depth of field is not something you really must worry about as you will be shooting at infinity the whole time. I paid attention to my iso while shooting and it usually was under iso 2000, so no worries about noisy images. Use a CPL filter if you have one to allow those beautiful colors to pop. Also make sure if you have image stabilization available to turn it on. That's about it.
It is an awesome experience for anyone, photographer or not. Try to enjoy the experience even though getting your shots is going to be first and foremost on your mind. The ride is about an hour long. It is so cool flying over areas of the island that are not accesible any other way. You will experience the many different micro climates that the island has. By the way it is cold up there, so bring a jacket so you will be comfortable. Our pilot was great during the flight giving us so much information about the areas we were flying over. You will communicate through headsets during your flight because of the extreme noise. The flight angles, direction, and light change fast, so try your best to be ready to shoot when the opportunity presents itself. It is quite a different experience for us landscape photographer's as we are usually on tripods and taking our time to get the composition and camera settings just the way we want.
The most important thing is to just have fun. For many it is a once in a lifetime experience. Everyone I talked to said they would do it again and that it was one of the best experiences that they have had. If you ever get a chance, just do it! Until next time may you have the best of light...
The next order of business was to make sure my camera was ready to go. I had two blank 16gb memory cards in camera and a fully charged battery. You will not be able to make any type of changes to your equipment while in flight because of the possibility of the item being sucked out of the chopper and hitting the back rotor blade! Also trying to hold your camera outside of the body of the helicopter is almost impossible due to the force of the wind. Even trying to bring extra equipment on board is problematic due to space and weight considerations. So just be prepared to go lite and have your setup ready.
I feel the best way to shoot from a helicopter to have the best chance of good sharp image quality is to use aperture priority mode. Use the sweet spot aperture of your lens and set your minimum shutter speed to a 1000th sec. and let it rip. Depth of field is not something you really must worry about as you will be shooting at infinity the whole time. I paid attention to my iso while shooting and it usually was under iso 2000, so no worries about noisy images. Use a CPL filter if you have one to allow those beautiful colors to pop. Also make sure if you have image stabilization available to turn it on. That's about it.
It is an awesome experience for anyone, photographer or not. Try to enjoy the experience even though getting your shots is going to be first and foremost on your mind. The ride is about an hour long. It is so cool flying over areas of the island that are not accesible any other way. You will experience the many different micro climates that the island has. By the way it is cold up there, so bring a jacket so you will be comfortable. Our pilot was great during the flight giving us so much information about the areas we were flying over. You will communicate through headsets during your flight because of the extreme noise. The flight angles, direction, and light change fast, so try your best to be ready to shoot when the opportunity presents itself. It is quite a different experience for us landscape photographer's as we are usually on tripods and taking our time to get the composition and camera settings just the way we want.
The most important thing is to just have fun. For many it is a once in a lifetime experience. Everyone I talked to said they would do it again and that it was one of the best experiences that they have had. If you ever get a chance, just do it! Until next time may you have the best of light...
RSS Feed
