Episode 19 – Plane Photography with Douglas Glover
Today, Mike talks with Aviation Photographer Douglas Glover. Glover has been around airplanes and other aviation vehicles most of his life, civilian and military. A lot of his work has been published internationally, as well as in books, magazines, and in collections of aviation enthusiasts worldwide. Through 3G Aviation Media, he hosts plane photography workshops around the country! His workshop is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime workshop!
Glover begins by describing his workshops. He explains that every workshop is different, but the first step is getting to know the camera settings necessary for shooting aviation. Safety is also an important piece of his workshop, but most importantly, they become very comfortable with the planes! He notes that often times, the events are costly, but ultimately, the experience is priceless.
Glover notes that in his workshops, the ground portion is limited to between 8 and 25 photographers. However, the part of what makes this workshop so unique is that around 6 photographers at a time get to go into the air with, and in, these planes. The air-to-air portion of the workshop brings amazing results. It’s one thing to shoot planes while they’re static and grounded. It’s another world entirely to shoot these magnificent machines while they are doing what they are designed to do: flying.
Mike asks about using a gyro for the air-to-air version of the workshop. A gyro is a tool used for stabilization. Glover says that while he doesn’t use a gyro, his colleague with 3G Aviation Media does occasionally, and he gets amazing results with it. He also notes that he sometimes he wishes he had one, but ultimately he is usually in planes that are smaller, and weight is too troublesome to bring it in those situations.
A very important tip that Glover mentions is that it is essential for photographers to use equipment that works for what they want to accomplish, and that with which they are comfortable. Especially for the type of photography in this workshop, being comfortable with your equipment is vital for success.
He notes that he often sees photographers come back from the air-to-air shoot disappointed because they were not comfortable with the equipment they brought in the plane, and it caused problems.
During the air-to-air events for 3G Aviation Media, typically, they shoot out of the lowered ramp on a cargo aircraft. They noted that not only does this enable multiple photographers to shoot simultaneously, but it is also necessary since the damage from the high speeds makes shooting through the glass on these planes problematic.
Over time, a lot of the workshops have gained another perk: food, beverages, shade, and comradery.
For lenses, Glover says there are as many right choices out there as photographers and about four times as many wrong ones. He says that distortion is one thing to consider, but he shoots with a 24mm-70mm lens. Sometimes he even uses a longer focal length! The more important question is what do you want to get out of it? There are many “right” ways to shoot aviation photography.
Mike asks if there is a post-production component to this workshop. As it turns out, yes! There is a portion that focuses on post-production and photo editing. He notes that it is not geared towards learning specifics, but more along the lines of getting the photographers comfortable with the tools they have. They prefer Adobe programs, but they are not necessary to do some amazing post-production work.
For more information, or to be updated on workshops and future air shows, click here for their website. Here is a link to their Facebook.
For more information on Mike’s photography or Fisheye Connect photography workshop site, visit some of our links below!
https://www.fisheyeconnect.com/
If you’re a photographer with a workshop that you would like to promote, or if you would like to appear on the Fisheye Connect podcast with Mike, send us an email at mike@morelandphoto.com
