Brisbane Airport Spotting

[benwynn]

Took my New Nikon D60 and 70-300mm VR out for a spin today, at Brisbane airport. Long Day after taking the train to the airport, walking 20 mins to the spotting area return, but It was worth it, lovely cool day too!

More Seriously, its my first DSLR, and my shots are so inconsistent!! Theres a tiny bit of editing, more on the first 3-4 I think. I was woundering if any spotters out there could give me a few tips. I have another folder of about 10 pictures that I think (with editing) can go on Jetphotos.

At the Domestic Terminal, VB 738


A DJ 737 taxying to 01


Qantas 738 Taxying pas


A QF Link Q400, I practised a little prop blur here.


734 Taxying toward me, as a 738 blasts away


A Jetstar A320


Another Virgin (More Experience than the name suggests ay!!)


Yet Another 738 QF


Something Different! An Embraer- Sky Air World, the new Aussie Airline


Another Jetstar A320


Closeup


Thats it for now. Theres almost no International departures/Arrivals on Saturday afternoon, the last 777 (SQ) left just as I arrived. Hopefully next time I will go on a Sunday Morning and get some more heavies!

Cheers Ben

[Peppermint]

Nice photos there...Sky Air World...love the livery, and for once I like the E-jet.

[Kelburn]

nice photos looks like a dslr is a good camera to get

[Alex]

Not bad shots Ben, nice variety of angles/aircraft which is good. My fave from those is the Jetstar shot.

On the editing front, I'd try and reduce the contrast on a couple of the shots (e.g. #4), but that can be touch-and-go depending on the original photo (don't want to make the aircraft look normal but the rest of the shot look artificial).

Alex

[Naki]

whats that Blue stuff??? - oh its a clear sky!

[Ian Warren]

Ben .. The very first pic so good ... looking at it I get tan .. so vibrant .. .... Q400 str...................et...................ch it a little more maybe as for that Embraer .. a want'a be 737

[benwynn]

Hi Guys,

I do quite like the Sky World Livery, it just seems so odd they choose to start an airline now of all times!!

Definently go for the DSLR if your going for a camera. If you dont know anything much, mabye a superzoom, but it definently helps me.

Thanks for the Tips Alex, combined with the ones at JP, I should have some better shots in no time!

Was a beautiful day, But sometimes I wish it did rain a bit more in Brisbane...

I reckon Ian! Its insanly long! Personally, I love the 737 but the Embraer is just so coool!

Just one more from me guys, its in the que at JP, dont think it will go in though- http://www.jetphotos.net/viewqueued_b.php?id=2070386

[Daniel]

Nice shots Ben
I think that Embraer operated for Solomon Airlines - Thats were the livery originated I think
See here Solomon Embraer
Great to see some larger jets on here. Keep posting them.

[Kelburn]

What type of DSLR you got?

Not a bad picture.
I wouldn't raise your hopes too high though as they have high standards. If it doesn't get accepted, post it on their forums and you can find out what to do to it to get accepted.

[benwynn]

Jetphotos isnt as bad as airliners.net. Ive already put it on the forums, and that shot is it edited, but they still say its very soft- But its only my first time, so meh.

I got a Nikon D60 with 18-55mm VR and 70-300mm VR lenses.

[creator2003]

Awesome love the mirrors in 1 i think and the close up on jetstar

[Q300]

Sweet photos man!! That new cam is realy great
"734 Taxying toward me, as a 738 blasts away" is my favourite make's the 737 look like a mean machine

[Anthony]

Very nice shots Ben!
Putting the new camera to excellent use I see.
They are maybe a tad too soft (the first Virgin 737 has soft edges and slightly soft text), a couple have high contrast and one or two are a bit oversaturated.
Try even doing auto-levels in Photoshop and some unsharp mask. You might have to do USM in selected areas only, otherwise you run the risk of oversharpening and/or introducing grain.
Softness I find can be quite a personal opinion, some could be a bit soft but not really major.
Heat haze is a problem in the QantasLink shot and in the great one with the two Qantas 737s unfortunately, not a lot can be done about heat haze. I don't mind heat haze, adds to the atmosphere in my opinion

[jastheace]

very cool love all the shots. best way to learn go out and shoot till you run out of room. now that spotting area is down past all the careters and such? or is that in another area, i have been told about another area that is about 100 mtrs away from the runway all on public land. i have been meaning to get to brisbane for some time now, i could have used you at work the other day when they Hawker Hunter left for Okey

[benwynn]

Thanks Guys,

Yeah, I found out why the photos are so soft- Because I had noise reduction on! Anyways, I went out again today changed my settings, and the results have improved- So stay tuned for some more pictures!

Yeah, thats right Jason. Its the main spotting area. Im just a few minutes away from YBAF, I was probably at school though

[Q300]

Look forward to some more pics mate, Been through Brizzy quite a few times!
I realy need to get a good camera, Maybe then ill get down to the airport a bit more

[benwynn]

A few more from today. For some reason, shots not as good today

ANZ 777 from AKL


A330 to HKG


744 to LAX


Closeup


Another DJ Embraer


QF 767


Royal Brunei 767 outbound to BSB


The ANZ 777 back to AKL




Air Nugini 757 Leased from Air Icelandic


New Qantas Livery 767 Screaming away


The Classic 743 outbound for HKG


Comments Please!

[Anthony]

Nice shots again Ben
That Qantas A330 is pretty dirty looking Air France has competition.
In my opinion, a few of them are slightly underexposed. For example, the second and third shot of the Air NZ 777 looks a bit dark, but the Qantas 743 looks pretty good exposure wise though.
What mode are you using to take these?
Also, are they taken from a similar place and at a similar time? The sun may be affecting how your shots come out.

[benwynn]

I reckon Anothony. The 743 was replacing an A330 in service, so hopefully they gave it a clean

Im Shooting in Aperture Priority Mode, with an F stop of 8-9. But yes, your right, the sun kept going behind the clouds and coming back out!! I think I should have opened up the Aperture more..

[Anthony]

The thing with opening the aperture up more is you run the risk of depth of field issues.
Also, many lenses perform better stopped down a bit - sharpness and contrast can be lacking at maximum aperture.
F8 is great for spotting as it has pretty wide depth of field, and is what is often recommended at Airliners.net.
Maybe you could open it up to somewhere like F5.6 or so. Depth of field should be okay, but it will increase the exposure a bit.
You could even try increasing the exposure compensation by a 1/3 or a 1/2 of a stop.
Also try boosting your ISO a bit. Doubling the ISO will double the sensitivity of the sensor to light, which may give you more freedom with picking aperture or shutter speeds. There's little difference between ISO 100 and 200 noise wise, and it's not usually too bad at ISO 400.

Light is the hardest bit of photography I find. You can't control it except with flashes, which are useless from a long distance
I like the semi-manual modes like Aperture priority or Shutter priority, that way you only have to do half the work
Creating the balance between the things that control exposure can be hard I find - in a lot of my photos, there's either burned highlights or dark shadows
It sucks having a day shooting, spending all the time and using all that energy only to come home and not be happy with the results.