This bespoke one to one training is available on Thursdays until the end of September, or on weekends throughout the year. Dates available.
The workshop lasts 5 hours and costs £275.00. Please contact us to book your place or if you need any further information.
This is a special one to one training opportunity, which is timed to coincide with the opening days of the East Midlands Aeropark. The Aeropark is located only 170m from the runway of East Midlands Airport, and offers superb views of aircraft taking off and landing – as well as across to the DHL cargo apron. It also has two large viewing mounds, one of which is higher than the airport perimeter fence, and offers a superb vantage point for photographing aircraft free of any obstructions. The Aeropark has free car parking, toilet facilities and a snack bar, and is open between 11.00am and 5.00pm.
The Aeropark also has a collection of nearly 30 complete post-WW2 aircraft (including a Vulcan bomber) on display outside, which we can photograph in addition to the arrivals and departures at the airport. A full list of the Aeropark’s aircraft can be seen here.
East Midlands Airport is the second busiest cargo airport in the UK, with Thursdays being their busiest day of the week. The airport is conveniently located next to the M1 motorway, and Sheffield, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire are all within easy reach. There are also good public transport links by bus and rail from Derby and Nottingham.
We will hopefully have a variety of aircraft types to photograph – from large and small jet airliners and cargo aircraft to turboprop aircraft, business jets and light aircraft. If we’re lucky, we might also get to see the Rolls Royce Heritage Flight’s Spitfire, P-51 Mustang or Harvard which are based here.
Photographing aircraft in flight is not only great fun, but it can result in some really spectacular images. Any type of action photography does however require some specific skills and understanding of camera settings for the best results. On this aviation photography workshop, we will be starting with some relatively easy subjects (large jet airliners in good light), before trying our skills on some smaller aircraft and possibly also pictures in lower light conditions during the evening. On this workshop, you will learn how to:
- choose the correct shutter speeds to either freeze motion, or allow some motion blur
- using panning techniques to increase the impression of movement and speed, and help blur out distracting backgrounds
- choose the correct autofocus settings for really sharp results with moving subjects
- take action photos in low light conditions (depending on the timing of the training)
- plan your shooting locations and camera angles to help you get the best results in different lighting conditions and at different times of the day
- get optimum results with telephoto lenses
The knowledge you will gain on this course will be applicable not just to photographing aircraft, but also to other types of action photography – especially wildlife, pets, and sports photography (especially motorsports).
As this is an intermediate, rather than beginners’ level workshop, it is important that you are already familiar with the basics of photography and how to use your camera in other than the “all-automatic” mode. If you are not confident about how to use shutter speeds, lens apertures and ISO to control exposure, please consider coming on one of our beginners’ digital photography courses where we teach those skills.
In addition to the Aeropark, the other location that we are most likely to use is down at the other end of the runway, where aircraft coming in to land are heading directly into the sun during the afternoon and evening. They are so low at this point that you will need a wide angle lens to get full frame shots of the larger aircraft, and the views of the flight path are unobstructed by trees or fences. Planes taking off in the evening are often heading into the sunset from here, so it is a great location towards the end of the day when the airport lights are twinkling.
The excellent viewing points at the airport mean that you do not need a top-of-the-range camera or big, expensive lenses for this course. Any sort of interchangeable-lens camera (DSLR or mirrorless) with a zoom lens which goes up to 200mm or 300mm is ideal, but bridge cameras should also be fine. Please contact us for advice if you are unsure whether your camera is suitable. A wide angle or kit zoom lens will also be very useful for close shots of aircraft landing or the exhibits at the Aeropark. The only other equipment that will be needed is a tripod. But don’t worry if you haven’t got one, as we have some that we can lend you if you don’t already own one of your own.
There is very little walking required on this workshop, as we can park very close to the viewing areas that we’ll be using – also useful if we need to shelter from any rain showers. If there is any heavier rain, we can shelter inside the Aeropark – where we will also have a chance to review the photos you have taken on the laptop that we will be bringing along.
This is a special 5 hour one to one training experience, which costs £275.00. Please contact us to book or if you require any further information about it.