Photo of the Day

Helicopter Time

Canon 1DsMkIII, 15mm fisheye

Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana, April 2008

Here is the helicopter we use in Botswana. It is a Jet Ranger 2-blade configuration, and Peter Perlstein the pilot is one of the most professional people in the business. He also tells great bush stories. When we fly with him, we are able to take the doors off, and 3 photographers can shoot at a time. Each photographer has his/her own spot to shoot from, all with fantastic views. In my own experience, a minimum of 1/1000 shutter speed is required to pull off a sharp image. 4-rotor helicopters might be less, but 1/1000 is a safe place to be if you can pull it off. Shutter speed priority should be used over aperture priority, or full manual mode if you are comfortable with it. In my experience shutter speed priority is better than manual mode because the light is always changing. I prefer to use 2 cameras, something like a 24-70 or 24-105mm on one camera and a 70-200mm on the other.