Here are some tips that will help you hone your fly-in photographer skills as the fly-in season gets under way.

1. Get as close as you can: To get frame-filling close-ups shots of airplanes, you need to get close to them. The best way to accomplish this is by using a tele-photo lens that offers a zoom of at least 200-300m m (on a 35 mm camera). You may also find that fly-ins at small airports will make it easer to get physically closer to the airplanes. Obviously, don’t get so close that you put yourself, or anyone else, in danger. The first lesson is always Safety first.

2. Try to find a position that puts you a few hundred feet down the runway threshold. They will always land into the wind. Adjust your position based on where most of the airplanes land. You want to find a position that enables you to shoot at right or left front quarter of the airplanes as it enters the landing flare. This provides a great angle to capture the drama of the pilots as they bring their planes back to terra firma.

3. One of the challenges of capturing great fly-in images is managing the delicate balance between a shutter speed fast enough to stop an airplane moving at 50-60 mph to as much as 90 mph, but slow enough to blur the propeller. If you shoot a really fast shutter speed, you’ll have a tack sharp image that may look like an emergency landing. In my experience, shutter speeds between 1/90 and 1/250 sec will yield nicely blurred propellers.

4. Preparatory to shooting make sure that you loosen up and pan your camera as the airplane moves. This takes practice, so don’t’ be hard on yourself. Keep the airplane in the frame of camera view finder and, while moving with it, click the shutter button. Keep moving after taking the shot. Like in golf, that extra bit of "follow-through" can make the difference! The results of successful panning are ac sharp airplane with a background nicely blurred. If you have a tripod, it can help you keep the camera steady in the vertical plane while allowing you to smoothly pan the camera horizontally.

5. Focusing is critical: Your efforts can be ruined by a focusing mishap. Technology can be a big help here. Several cameras on the market offer continuous focusing or servo modes, where the camera will refocus rapidly on moving subjects as long as one of the auto focus points in the viewfinder is kept on the subject. On some cameras this may be as easy as selecting the sports mode. If your camera does not offer these advanced options, try focusing manually by pre-focusing on a segment of the runway where you think the airplane is going to land. With some practice, you can learn to focus manually with great precision.

On the ground:  Of course, not all of your shots will be planes landing or taking off. You may just want to shoot some of the fly-in grounds, or planes in the camping area or on the flight line.

If you see plane that really catches your interest, don’t be stingy. Plan on getting a number of shots, including ¾ shots that show the entire plane from nose to tail. Close-ups of the nose and tail are popular, especially if you are shooting a warbird with nose art. (See "nose art" this magazine)

Additional shots are nice to have are profiles of the plane from the left and the right and close-ups of any part that catches you interest. If you shooting a nice looking girl in front of the plane, shoot in several different locations, such as on either side of the plane, standing next to the cockpit. However, don’t ever ask anyone to pose with there hand on the prop. It’s dangerous.

Get creative and shoot from below the wing, down the fuselage towards the tail, or from the tail along the fuselage toward the nose, or get down on the grass under the nose and shoot up towards the propeller.

With these tips, you’ll be on your way to capturing thrilling photos of airplanes. So grab your camera bag and get ready for your next fly-in. Great photos are just a shutter click away!