Copyright 2006 Oltersdorf
When I create high-quality air-to-air photographic imagery it starts with numerous telephone calls to set the "stage". Various pilots have to be called for availability and coordination of schedules. We are all at the mercy of the weather and more times than not, it simply does not cooperate. High winds aloft, low visibility, haze or bright light will stop all production attempts.

Then we meet at the designated airport to be briefed on every conceivable aspect of the flight during shooting. I speak to them about maneuvers, safety issues, emergency procedures, altitudes to fly, radio frequencies, forward speeds to maintain, areas to shoot, compass headings and a host of other items. Once all the information is completely understood, we head out to the aircraft for departure.

My aircraft is then stripped of the co-pilot door (always the right side) to allow a full and unencumbered shooting vantage. The co-pilot seat is also taken out. I then attach two bombproof anchors from the floor of the plane to my harness (chest and waist, independent of each other). This becomes a redundant system if one fails. I then ensure that every piece of my equipment is attached to additional tethers, whether it is the camera, or other associated items. A speeding airplane without a door and no seat is not a place to be searching for things, especially when you are flying at breakneck speeds and at least 1,000 feet above the ground! Something flying out the door can also cause a crash so I go over this many times before we leave.

I am careful to tape all loose fitting clothing with duct tape, as the forward speed of the craft is usually around 100 miles per hour. In order for an airplane to fly, the propeller has to produce winds at twice the forward speed, which means a 200-mile per hour prop blast is hitting me as I "dangle" out of the airplane. It is extremely violent and I have been burned by the horrific flapping of the loose material caused by winds hitting me full force.

Because aircraft windows are not optical grade glass, I cannot shoot through them as it can severely degrade the image. The other factor that weighs heavily is maintaining the largest parameter of shooting space available. Because of the inherent instability of aircraft and flying in the sky, there is a great amount of bouncing - pitch (up/down motion), roll and yaw (right to left or left to right). It can be exceedingly violent and cold. Every minute detail has to be in order; every command through the headsets has to be adhered to. Nothing can go unchecked and you must have the ability to go to plan B at any given second. In just an hour, you will have traveled over 100 air miles which by automobile might mean a 2-3 or even 4 hour long drive!

Wingtip to wingtip, the best images are shot with the camera shooting at speeds no faster than 1/250th of a second to eliminate the propeller from "stopping" in the picture. Any shutter speeds lower than that are safe. The slower you shoot the more prone your pictures are to camera shake and more likely they will be throwaways. It is very expensive to produce photographic imagery from aircraft and as the minutes tick by, so does the cash out of your wallet. It is not uncommon to pay from $400.00 to $1,500.00 per HOUR just for the rental of the aircraft here in Alaska! But, in the end, if you do it all right and things go your way, the results can be spectacular! My daughter asked me one time about my work after seeing me hanging out of the aircraft over Seward, Alaska. I replied that I had the best seat onboard! Imagine what I saw!


Copyright 2006 Oltersdorf
All Rights Reserved
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