Aerial photography and aerial 3-D for amateurs.

As a notorious amateur stereographer, I use a 35mm motor-driven SLR camera and fast normal or zoom lens to take 3-D pictures of scenery and cloud formations during the day, and even flat scenery and astrophotographs at night. For these pursuits involving a commercial airliner, it is wise to check in early enough to request a window seat in front of the wing on the shady side, a clean window (ask the flight engineer in advance if you can), and use fairly high speed slide film (ISO 100 to 400) in daytime. If your camera has autofocus, that should be turned off and focus locked on infinity or it may focus on the window. A rubber hood to exclude light from the cabin is wise, but don't let it touch the window or you'll pick up some vibration. The motor drive should be put on its fastest speed and, if possible, limited to two frames per push of the shutter release. The camera should be carefully aimed at the same scene for both pictures of a stereo pair, rather than jerked or panned.

Normal earthbound stereo pairs are taken with left and right eye views as far apart as your eyes, two to three inches. But aerial hyperstereos have tens to hundreds of feet between left and right views, mainly depending on aircraft speed, leading to giant's-eye views that miniaturize the landscape like an HO train layout. A normal to moderate telephoto lens, 40 to 150mm, works best and the shutter speed should be at least 1/250th, using manual metering, shutter priority, or high speed program mode to get enough speed.

On takeoff or landing, the results can be spectacular because of the very strong 3-D effect and dramatic low altitude. Clouds often look wonderful, and can be spectacular for a nearby storm.

Aerial Astrophotographs and Night Pictures

If you know even a little about astronomy, the best way to see planets near the horizon around sunrise or sunset is to cut out 30,000 feet of air pollution by getting above it. Mercury is so close to the sun that people from urban areas may have their only chance to see the planet at cruising altitude, and often a fast normal or moderate wide-angle lens and very fast film (ISO 800-3200) will produce a fine picture of planets (and stars) ordinarily visible only from professional observatories on mountain tops. With the same ultra-fast film, well-lit major cities with water and bridges are much more attractive during twilight and night than in daytime, and stereo pairs of them can be most effective.

Small Aircraft

There are serious limitations on contrast and resolution due to both unclear air and the double thickness of the plastic windows in airliners, not to mention their frequently scratched condition. In smaller aircraft, the plastic windows may be clean but often have some distortion or force a loss of contrast. (Since most plastic windows depolarize light, a linear or circular polarizer is not of much help.) One way to avoid this is to get the camera outside the window, but this is seldom easy. Some small aircraft have a port that opens to the outside on the left (pilot's) side. The pilot may be persuaded before takeoff to switch to the right seat to let you take pictures out the left opening. Other light airplanes have sliding or upward hinged windows that can be locked out of the picture, or even a removable door - but at some cost in wind buffeting, so warm dress is essential!

Your camera will bounce around, so it is highly advisable to have a positive strap that hooks to your belt in the back (a neckstrap may blow loose in the 100+ knot wind) and as high a shutter speed as you can manage, at least 1/1000th. Instead of a rubber lens hood, use a metal or plastic one that will not bend in the slipstream. The closest to an ideal photo platform, barring the costly delight of a helicopter, balloon, or dirigible, is an open cockpit biplane, from which the views are magnificent in all directions(except through the wings). In the open cockpit, a more-than-a-neck-strap hooking at your belt or shoulders is an absolute necessity, as well as a helmet and goggles.

Normally it is best to use slide film; the percentage of great pictures is not good due to rough air and the problems of holding the camera steady, so prints may be worth making from only the best slides. Due to the "motor-driven" tendency to shoot heavily, a large reserve of film is advisable. But there are some irresistible targets for 3-D, among them the tall buildings of major cities, mountain ranges, other aircraft flying parallel courses (but only in the same direction), and airports themselves. Several million Americans now have 35mm SLRs with powered film advance, and this is one thing for which their design is perfectly suited. Inexpensive stereo viewers for mounted 35mm slides only cost about $7, and the results can be contest winners.

This doesn't mean it's difficult to take non-stereo pictures; the same principles apply, and no motor drive is needed. It is almost always worth a try when you have already paid for an airline ticket, and have time in advance to ask for a window seat out of the way of the wing. For photographing the ground, getting a seat on a slower high wing turboprop "puddle jumper" airliner may be to your photographic advantage, since the windows are less likely to be scratched plastic, the wing is up out of the way, and the lower cruising altitude may give you better clarity by reducing the amount of fog you need to penetrate. Ideally, you could also find a friend with a high wing light airplane, go up on a very clear day with the sun still up (for ground views with long shadows), change to your fastest normal lens wide open and ultra high speed film, and catch sunset at a few thousand feet (twilight is often as wonderful as it is on the ground). Then after dark you can shoot cities by rivers or ocean, lit by their lights or the moon. But remember: a pilot not specifically paid to fly you should get at least a few enlargements of both the aircraft and the best aerial views!