So many photographers (even pros) do the same photo again and again, forgetting that they could use their own ingenuity to build their own pictures. Claes Axstål made a giant move when he decided to use Flash to do aerial photography. This made his photographs distinctly different. Nothing technically impossible, just a LOT of work to be sure to maintain flash-based technology in a large scale. Suddenly, those planes, boats and helicopters get a different treatment and Claes gets to shoot and shoot and shoot again.

Claes made his own airborne Flash (a BIG flash: 250kg of equipment, sometimes more) which can be brought into a plane or an helicopter to make photos that we don’t usually see. In the photography above, he was actually shooting from the air traffic tower.

As he says: “I use my own made flash I call Airborne Flash Photography due to I usually operate it from another aircraft air to air. In this case I have one guy aiming the flash and another guy measure the distances to the object with a laser. I am trigging the flash with a PocketWizard so I can move freely. The helicopter then just fly by the tower (like in the movie Top Gun or hover as in this case.”

Web: Carpe Momentum Photography
Book: Airborne Flash Photography
Facebook: CMP

1. Organize your space: A helicopter is a very small space, already quite cluttered. As soon as you climb, set your gear up in a way that will not bother others. Don’t touch the controls if they are accessible, even when handling your bag or its contents. Check before take-off how you can change your lens if you intend to do it in flight.
2. Attach everything: A helicopter moves, bends, vibrates and is far from the ground. Make sure the bag won’t move (better, attach it) and make sure that the camera strap is around your neck..
3. Open the door: It will depend on the model (and on the pilot) but if it is possible, take a jacket (against the wind) and open the door to have no obstacle between your lens and the subject.
4. Watch for the blades: After all, you’ll forget easily about them but the blades can readily go into the frame on a standard or wide-angle shot. Either you want them clearly in (test the shutter speed for better effect), or you want to make sure they do not appear at all.
5. Choose your angle: Avoid shooting flat at the horizon (with its atmospheric haze) and take advantage of the overhanging position to try either slightly high angle shots or perfectly vertical ones right under the helicopter.

More than a tip, an advice: Have fun. Shoot as much as you can but keep also some time to watch and inhale. There is a world out of the viewfinder.