This has always been a bit a dream to me as it represents a milestone in my learning curve. Not that I have hundreds of hours of experience but in the last two weeks I was up there twice. There are many big guys who know better than me , however I’m happy to share my expirience.

Besides being a great feeling sitting in a chopper with to open door, legs out, headset on and having a excellent position to take pictures I also feel a certain pressure and responsibility of what we are doing.

Time counts so there is no much time to touch setting on the camera and every image should be the one. Sure with the digital cameras you can soot as much as you like but the composition must be ok, the deep of field must fit your image and it have to be sharp.

Over the past I made a little checklist to make sure I don’t forget anything:
1: Expected images and flight plan agreed with the pilot and other photographers
2: Warm cloth, harness on, hooked in, position tested, headset on and working
3: One camera around the neck(70 -200mm lens), the other connected to the chopper (normally the body with the big lens 300mm as this is less used)
4: Settings: ISO value ~250, AF mode, VR on active, lens aperture 6, shutter single, focus priority (it’s a good starting point as the shutter speed should be high)
5: Ready to take off
6: Mental walk trough images composition (normally before shooting you have a few minutes and I use this time concentrate about my expected images)

A few months ago I bought my own climbing harness for top mast shootings and this turned out to be a good deal. I feel comfortable and I can get ready quickly. Sometimes jumping in the chopper and fixing everything has to be efficient.

The shooting itself is always a great experience, I think it’s one of the best photo shooting experience possible, you just go to the position where you need by talking with the pilot.

Vibration is one of the subject who I haven’t really solved, in every shooting I get great images with a outstanding composition but not sharp, specially when I start to work too much with the deep of field by going up with the aperture however I think that the VR functions on my Nikon lens is a big help.

If someone have some more good tipp’s let me know.

Take care and enjoy your airtime

Jürg

PS: Here are a few of my shots out of the chopper