Change Is As Good As A Break

Aviation Photography is a thoroughly rewarding hobby. However, at times it can be frustrating in equal measure. When you nail the shot, the feeling is Euphoric, but it is very easy to get stuck in a rut.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there. We’ve got our camera set to shutter priority with auto ISO, firing away at the same plane we’ve seen 10 times that year from the same place we stood at the last shoot, and end up having to filter through 1000 shots which you already have.

At times I can sit there and think, why am I still doing this? What am I achieving here? Have I reached the limits of my camera? Have I reached my limits? I end up feeling uninspired and feel like I’m shooting for shooting's sake and just want to pack it in.

When your hobby starts to feel like a chore, it ceases to be enjoyable and that should never be the case.

The response I often get from people is “why don’t you take a break?”. This is good advice, but for me, if I take a break at point A, when I return, I’m not at point B, I’m still at point A, on the same settings, going through the same motions I was before the break, and this can set the season off in the wrong way.

The thing I have learned over the years is that one of the best remedies to a rut is not taking a break. It’s making a change and by change, I don’t mean flipping over to aperture priority. I mean a change in subject, scene, and environment.

When we are shooting planes, it's easy to get lost in the buzz and forget that if we strip away aviation we are photographers. There is a world of photography outside of our bubble, but we get so wrapped up in what we are doing, we forget to stop and look around.

During the late spring through to early autumn, I am dedicated to Aviation, but as soon as the last plane lands at the Duxford Finale, my big lens goes away and I head to the coasts around East Anglia and chase the sunrises and sunsets.

It goes without saying, shooting a pier as the sun rises over the horizon is a totally different prospect from shooting a jet hammering past you. It’s not a matter of switching to shutter priority and setting iso to auto it’s a far more involved and thoughtful process.

When you shoot something else, you must think differently. You have to behave differently, as does your camera.

Sticking with the pier example for a moment, there are many variables that you must account for. Unlike an air show where you can generally guess the actions of a plane, a sunrise or sunset is totally unpredictable.

I need to work out where the sun is going to come up, when it’s going to come up and where the lighting is going to be. I also must account for the tide, as this will limit where I can shoot from and can cause a safety issue (that’s another story).

Once I’ve found my spot I wait, I absorb the world around me. The solitude of being out in the crisp mornings before the sun comes up and the locals start the day is soothing for the soul. It’s a kind of therapy, a moment to catch a breath and just relax and unwind. It’s a far cry from the hustle and bustle of air shows and base visits.

As the sun comes up, the camera settings have to constantly be adjusted, you have to think on your feet as the sky goes from black to blue, to purple, to orange before finally knowing when the best light is gone. Through that time, I’ve taken a 30-second exposure, done a 3-shot bracket at different exposures, and created a focus stack which I will merge together later.

Through doing this, I have learned that my camera has many more settings than those I use for air shows or base visits, I’ve learned a different way of thinking which I can apply to the coming flying season. I have left point A, and will be starting the new season at point B, refreshed and with a different outlook.

In summary, it's easy for us to get wrapped up in our hobby and it will lead to frustrations, but rather than just trying to break through a brick wall or putting the camera down make a change. Remember you are a photographer. Shoot sunsets, shoot people, shoot castles, shoot your dogs if you like, but take yourself out of the frustration by changing things up. Get hands-on with your gear, learn different ways of using it and go back into your next aviation shoot fresh and inspired!