Bird's-Eye Video (page 2)

Expect Some Turbulence

Except for those "sweeping vista" shots, haze presented a serious obstacle to good footage only when the flight visibility was less than about 10 miles. The final video footage often was clearer than we anticipated; haze penetration was excellent from both cameras.

Turbulence, of course, is always a problem in the air. The only solution here is to pick your days carefully and fly as high as possible for your shot, since much of the turbulence is caused by the wind flowing over ground obstructions.

Unexpected glitches often occur as well. Once after videotaping I noticed some serious glitches at regular intervals. After an appropriate period of head-scratching, I realized that I had been flying directly in the path of an Air Force radar installation less than a mile away. The camera had protested being bombarded repeatedly with high-energy electrons!

In the end, 30 hours of flight time produced less that four hours of good, useable footage. It was a lot of work and time, but those four hours are impressive-and, most of all, it was great fun.

If you're looking for a videomaking challenge, the sky's the limit!

William Hemmel, a professional aerial still photographer with more than 20 years of flying experience under his wing, is producer of The Cape Tape, and aerial video tour of Massachusetts' Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard…