Aviation Photography - the perfect picture?

[Nigel C]

There have been heaps of shots posted here and elsewhere online of aircraft, but in your opinion what makes a particular shot stand out from the rest.

What technical aspects do you see that make a perfect picture, what ruins it, what are your pet hates when you see aviation photos? What makes you sit back and go 'wow!'? What makes you cringe?

And after a day on Shep's Mound, or at Tower Beach, airshow etc, what is your keep/kill ratio, and of those you keep, how many do you edit for future viewing/publishing?

Feel free to post examples of your own work, both successes and failures.

Cheers

[Paul F]

Good topic thanks for starting it Nigel. I am from the old school I like the standard side on 50mm profile shot. What makes me cringe in particular are photos of four engine aircraft 747, A380 etc that have had the two outer engines cropped which makes the aircraft look like a twin engine aircraft! airliners.net and jetphotos are full of them:eek:

[Nathan Long]

I'll chip in too... :)

I'll do the database type photos as Paul mentioned, but I much prefer photos that show action or tell a story...

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/twr75/RAF/Hawk/RAF-HAWK-XX175-BWLK-120508-02_zps424c9b4c.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/twr75/French%20Air%20Force/Alpha%20Jet/FAF-AJET-E38-BWLK-120508-05.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/twr75/RAF/Typhoon/RAF-EUFI-ZJ914-BWLK-130508-01_zpsa20e3678.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/twr75/Other/IMG_7505.jpg

I've have also found lately that I will risk not getting a good shot at all to get something different.

Finally, while not aviation related, the following certainly tells a story that Nigel may appreciate.... :D

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss3/twr75/Motorbikes/IMG_3818_1280.jpg

[Stephen Brown]

I resemble that photo....

[Nigel C]

Great series Nathan.

I love the overhead cockpit shot, but I also like that in the other shots the crop isn't ultra tight like so many shots that appear online. The plane has either got space to 'fly into' or the path left behind tells a story.

Nice shot of Muzzdog and Browneye. :)

Cool action shot.....gravel still flying!

[Stephen Brown]

I've have also found lately that I will risk not getting a good shot at all to get something different.

And Muzzdog and I certainly are different...

[callum bain]

I prefer something up close and personal...

[callum bain]

Or something caught in the moment...

[callum bain]

Captured and caught...

[callum bain]

Or with something iconic...

[Nigel C]

Nice series of shots Callum, especially the top one, but it brings up a real bug bear for me. Watermarks.

I understand the need to protect an image from copyright issues, but personally I think watermarks should be unobtrusive in the shot. I've seen some cracking photos of both aircraft and wildlife that to me have been effectively ruined because of the prominance of a watermark.

[Grahame Hutchison]

Capturing the moment - Real life inspiring Art, or vice versa ...

http://www.16right.com/MessageBoard/D300-2008-06-20_058.jpghttp://www.artchive.com/artchive/r/rodin/thumb/thinker.jpg Rodin's "Thinker"
How spooky are these two images, this was not a setup - Cessnock 2008.

[Nigel C]

"So, how fast do I have to pedal to get this thing up in the air, and do I have enough runway?"

[Peter Casey]

Some very nice images !!

Cheers

Peter