Aerial Photography: Capturing Art in Nature

By Jim Zuckerman

For many years, I've wanted to photograph the awesome sand dunes in Namibia from the air - to capture true art in nature photography. I finally did that, and it was a thrilling experience!

As much as I hate flying (my second favorite thing to do, after breathing, is standing on the ground), I had the air charter company take the door off the plane so I could shoot without any obstructions. I shared the plane with one of the men on my photo tour and his wife, and there was enough of an opening so both of us could get great shots.

Aerial photography is not easy. You're bouncing around while the landscape is whizzing past at a very fast rate (a minimum of 90 miles an hour).

My strategy was to use the fastest shutter speed possible, so I set the camera on aperture priority at f/4, and this gave me the fastest shutter speed I could have given the lighting and the ISO. I used 200 ISO, so most of my shutter speeds were in the 1/2000 range. I also used image stabilization to help mitigate the significant movement of the camera.

NOTE: Wildlife and nature photographer Jim Zuckerman also specializes in stock photography.  In his online photography class, Developing Your Creative Artistic Vision, Jim discusses art in nature photography, along with other creative photography topics. Also check out the other excellent online photo courses at BetterPhoto's photography school online.

All photos copyright Jim Zuckerman

Comments

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