Discussion Official RCGroups.com Coverage of NEAT

[datazman]

Fun Stuff

[datazman]

More fun stuff

[datazman]

Even more fun stuff

[datazman]

You really have a true passion for flying when you make it to the Neat Fair all the way from Bulgaria! Gary Rowlands makes as many as 3 trips a year to the United States to attend air shows. He is especially interested in the helicopters. He has attended shows in Louisiana, Muncy IN and Othello near Washington State. Gary even flew his helicopter for us so that we could take some photos.

[datazman]

Every year Tom Plans a “mass Warbird Launch”. This is fun for the participants and exciting for the spectator.
On this day there were 21 light weight Warbirds in the air at one time!

This is the end of my photo coverage from Friday.
I will be back tomorrow night to upload images from Saturday.

Till the next time.
Paul

[henry2008]

Fantastic pictures,many thanks!Great job!

[jodini]

Very nice! Can you get some pictures of the autogyros flying around? .

Wish I could be there!

[datazman]

jodini:

I just got back and going to start editing in a few minutes. Your message was posted after I had left for the day. I did not shoot any autogyros today but will keep an eye out for them tomorrow.

Paul

[Bigster]

Found my answer... Great pics!

[JoeR]

Absolutely fantastic images! Can you give us some tips on Photographing RC planes? Equipment, settings, etc? If its a "trade secret" I'd understand. Thanks!

[datazman]

JoeR:

OK Joe I will answer that one the best I can. And it is not a trade secret.
First lets start with the equipment; I am using a Canon 50D 15 Megapixel Digital SLR combined with a 70 to 300mm Image Stabilized Zoom Lens. Of course you may not want to invest in a high end unit like the 50D, so if you want to go with a lower end body that may be just fine if you are not planning to use the camera as often as I do.(I took over 400 shots yesterday and about 10,000 per year.) The real key is the quality of the lens AND the Image Stabilization feature. When shooting very static items like RC Planes an Image Stabilized lens will keep your images sharp.

My Shooting technique:
When shooting RC Planes I will zoom all the way out and let the camera focus on the image while the plane is still in the distance. Zoom all the way in while the plane is approaching following the plane on its approach (called panning) and wait till I see a good image in the viewfinder and squeeze the shutter button. I make it sound easy but using this technique does take a good deal of practice. I have never met a photographer that was a “natural” using the panning method.

Settings:
I will shoot RC Planes at a shutter speed of between 1/500 to 1/2500 second (1/1250 second will show a moving prop) and place the camera in shutter priority mode. I then pan around my shooting area watching the light meter in the viewfinder and set the sensor sensitivity (known as ISO) to get a lens aperture of at least f7.1.(known as an f stop)

Additional input:
You do not necessarily have to get an SLR but you do want something with adjustable settings and have the zoom ability. Choose a camera that fits comfortable in your hand. Never plan on using the view screen for taking these kind of shots. It can be done alright but usually it is tough to see the screens in the sunlight. If you are not a photography guru, purchase a book or find an online tutorial to understand the way ISO, shutter speed and lens aperture effect your image. Most new cameras are automatic once you set them so understanding the basics is all that is necessary.

I hope this has helped.
Paul Osinski

[datazman]

Hello all:
Saturdays weather made it a great day for RC flying at the NEAT Fair. The morning temperature was in the upper 50’s and got wormer as the day went on to reach 71 degrees. The wind speed was a bit much at first but calmed down to about 5 MPH by noon. The best part is there were just a few puffy clouds in the morning and totally blue by 2:00 PM

[datazman]

On with the photos!

[datazman]

Ed Brimo from Charlotte, NC came up for his 9th visit to the NEAT Fair.
Ed is one of those rare modelers that prefer to build from scratch or from a kit. Ed’s Corsair and P-47 were scratch built using Gallows kit plans enlarged by 1.5 times and hand crafting the parts. His Seafury and Bearcat were built from Balsa Craft kits.

I found it very interesting when Ed informed me that he does not fly his models as he enjoys watching them in flight as someone else flew them.

[datazman]

Pre-Noon Demo activities.