Some more OTT from 28th and 29th December

[radiostationx]

Here are some more crossing the zone 28th and 29th December.
Due to problems attaching images in NWAN forum, i have posted these in 800pix wide format (not the best quality) but okay for web forums.
Hope you like them.

28-12-14 Air Bridge Cargo B748F VQ-BLR ,ABW702,Chicago-Amsterdam ,FL370.


29-12-14 Air France A388 F-HPJE AFR66 CDG-LAX FL360.




29-12-14 Lufthansa A388 D-AIMI DLH454 FRA-SFO FL360



Regards
Radiostationx (Mike)

[Beemer]

Mike. How do you track the aircraft to keep it in the frame if you are using an astronomical telescope? Regards Beemer.

[radiostationx]

Hi Beemer,
Keeping the a/c in the frame,Thats the hard part !
I find the aircraft using the spotting scope on the side of the main scope then quickly transfer my view to camera vf attached to the main scope body.
The aircraft will be bobbing around all over the place in the camera finder due to the high magnification.
Keeping the gear still to make a shot is the very darkest of dark arts.
Sooo frustrating I cant tell you.
It took me over 1 yr of practice before I can now get some half decent shots now and again.
It is much better and a lot easier when aircraft are trailing as you can follow the trail with the scope to find the aircraft.
No Trails, getting any pics is "5 spanner job" in the haynes manual.
Smaller aircraft, same degree of difficulty.

[Deleted]

Dec 31, 2014 14:51:48 GMT 1 radiostationx said:

Hi Beemer,
Keeping the a/c in the frame,Thats the hard part !
I find the aircraft using the spotting scope on the side of the main scope then quickly transfer my view to camera vf attached to the main scope body.
The aircraft will be bobbing around all over the place in the camera finder due to the high magnification.
Keeping the gear still to make a shot is the very darkest of dark arts.
Sooo frustrating I cant tell you.
It took me over 1 yr of practice before I can now get some half decent shots now and again.
It is much better and a lot easier when aircraft are trailing as you can follow the trail with the scope to find the aircraft.
No Trails, getting any pics is "5 spanner job" in the haynes manual.
Smaller aircraft, same degree of difficulty.

Mike

        Excellent photo's.You must have deleted a lot on getting the photo's correct and I must say you have a lot of patience to achieve what you have. Carry on the good work . hope to see more.

                              blueaircraft79

[markmai]

Excellent Mike. Keep them coming.

Mark

[radiostationx]

blueaircraft79 ,
Thanks, Yes a lot and I mean a shed load of my photos hit the bin.
On a really good day, I may get 10-15 half decent shots in a 4 hour session.
It is a constant battle of having the right ambient conditions and enough passing traffic.
Conditions in summer are a waste of time mostly as rising air currents/haze from the ground up to around 5,000ft distort your photos big time.
Photos appear as if someone has breathed/fogged the lens before taking the picture.
Trouble is, a scope magnifies the aircraft but also magnifies the air conditions between you and your subject.This "gap" can be typically 12-15km.
In winter its a battle against gear fogging up, worse still is ice crystals forming on the mirror box of the camera plus the sun is low and good lighting doesnt last long at all.
Thanks for your encouragement. I was sceptical about posting pics as a newbie member who has low forum activity I did not wish to "barge in" on a forum which already has a very keen following and is a great source of info. Thankfully some members have sent a few "likes" so thats great.
Cheers blueaircraft79,
Radiostationx.

[radiostationx]

Dec 31, 2014 15:26:38 GMT 1 markmai said:

Excellent Mike. Keep them coming. Will do Mark Cheers for the encouraging comments !

Everyone starts somewhere. Agreed 100%
Experience is everything. Ditto
The photos on here keep getting better year on year. Ditto

Mike.(Radiostationx).