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

photo credit: Tanozzo

This is the surprising advice given by Bruce Schneier about how you could protect your photo luggage when traveling: Pack a starter gun in your luggage. This is definitely considered as a weapon by the TSA and other flight authorities (but it is not dangerous and you don’t need a license to have this “toy gun” normally used to start an athletic race), it has to be formally declared and then it receives extra care from the airline and the law enforcement authorities.

However simple and clean, I never tried such an approach to be sure that photo bags (sturdy ones for sure) can travel correctly by plane.

Last minute thought: Of course, this is to protect checked-in luggage. No airline will ever accept a weapon in the cabin…

photo credit: garryknight

It seems that I was not the only one to be worried about traveling as a photographer. I found this interesting article from Photofocus (Traveling? Better Get a UPS Account).

Things keep changing but I noticed three interesting advices or comments:

1. If you are flying from outside the USA to the US, don’t count on getting any carry-ons onto the plane. I was insisting on limiting the weight of your cabin luggage, but Scott goes further…
2. Flying domestically in the USA is no guarantee that your carry on will be allowed.
3. Get a UPS Account. It’s frightening, but it may become the only way to transport photo gear (checked luggage is too easily/often stolen and too harshly handled -even compared to UPS, DHL, Fedex, etc.) and having an account is great for getting better service. And they don’t even charge you for opening an account.

It seems that being a photographer was a pain in the neck in some cities where you were considered as a potential terrorist just for shooting pictures.

Now, the problem will disappear if traveling with your camera gear becomes near to impossible.

• More than ever, the use of an electronic device is prohibited during the take-off and landing phases of the flight. This implies clearly that photos are prohibited (the camera is an electronic device).
• Weight rules for cabin luggage are enforced with even more rigidity that before. Previous packing advice is still applicable, but flexibility nearly disappeared in most airlines. Make sure that you travel light or delay your flight to a later quieter date.
• During the last hour of flight, nothing is allowed on your knees, not even a blanket or a book. Don’t even think of spending the last part of the flight with a photo magazine of an Art Wolfe book.
• Many products and materials are still prohibited in planes. Be attentive and don’t bring air blowers and liquids (sensor cleaning solvents and similar are better in the checked-in luggage in small quantities).
• The flight crew is generally informed to disable the electronic and network equipments like telephones and WiFi (that we started to see appearing as an option of some international flights). So, do not hope to spend too much time transmitting pictures from the plane; It will be nearly impossible in less-than-90-min flights and somewhat inconvenient on many others. [1]
• On the contrary, identity checks should be re-inforced but with no significant impact on photo travels (if you have an acceptable legal status, of course).

Avoiding the countries considered as “potentially dangerous” is also a good idea since these trigger additional controls and checks that may be source of problems. Currently, the French Ministère des Affaires Étrangères lists Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Algéria and Mali (source: Le Monde). But the whole list of country passports considered worth additional cheks by the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has been leaked and it includes: Cuba, Iran, North
Korea, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen and Algeria. You are advised to limit your trips there…

Those -like me- who were relying on the relative calm of the recent months to see the generalization of reasonable measures like those taken by Australia which seemed ready to somewhat relax the rules applicable to the presence of some potentially cutting objects in cabin luggage. But it seems that the opposite is taking place and that it will be more and more difficult to travel. When are we going to see Ryan Air 2006 advertisement prediction of traveling stark naked?

When you’re traveling far in order to satisfy your complementary needs for exoticism and photography, you will have to go through the Customs and/or boarding controls of the airplane. A few things would be good to keep in mind in order to ensure this is a better experience. Here are mine:

• Pack everything really fragile in your cabin luggage, but only that: Your lenses are fragile, but your tripod is not.
• Make sure that all cameras have charged batteries (if you are requested to prove their correct operation).
• If you still use film, ask for a manual screening to avoid burning them through the X-ray machine.
• Have all invoices in a pocket (not in the bag in order to limit the consequences of always possible robbery). Customs may want a proof of purchase/cost/taxes and this could avoid your re-paying of heavy customs taxes.
• Avoid adding a couple of under-the-counter Flash cards from a tax-free country, that may attract the attention of the Customs officer and make them suspicious. You’ll buy cheap during another trip wiht less sensitive hardware…
• When you are checking-in, politely ask if you can keep the bag as cabin luggage (always ask first, always smile and be polite). You should make it look like a small bag even if it is big and heavy (stand up, shoulders high, bag hung on 1 shoulder only, as if it was empty). If accepted, you win.
• If not, politely inform the person that the bag contains expensive equipment. In the extreme, you should be ready to ask for insurance to cover the cost of your photo equipment (this last step is often enough to bring a closure to a possible confrontation).
• In some countries or on some short flights, it may be possible (or necessary if the plane is real small) to purchase an empty seat for a few bags (share with fellow photographers).
• Be sure that whatever weight, your photo bag stays within the size limits (115 cm adding all sides), it is easier to solve things this way.
• Never fly with companies that enforce brutally the cabin luggage weight limit. The list may be changing in time, but two companies actually stand out: British Airways seems to be the nightmare of heavy luggage (no more than 5 kg even with a pro Id card and pre-organized pro-check-in; I know a couple of pros who will take a longer flight just to avoid them) and RyanAir (and many low cost companies) finds all possible ways to make you pay taxes on top of your ticket cost. In any case, check in advance with the company (or your travel agent if they are used to photo trips and photo customers).
• Always be polite. Remember that the person in front of you has to power to ruin your photo trip.

With this it is easier to travel and shoot photos. Do you have some other tip to share?

Why United Kingdom, would you ask? Because this country has a regulation for military low-flying training describing 20 Low Flying Areas where flight is allowed under 80 meters (instead of the usual 300 meters for most other countries). It means that nearly any earth mound is located above the planes trajectory.

Think about it! In an aerial demonstration, planes are flying low, but above you; At the end of an airport stripes, planes fly slow but far from the photographer. Here, planes and helicopters move in combat conditions (it means “full speed”) but at eye level of below your own feet.

You can shoot in a completely different way, frame your image originally. This is totally different from plane photography elsewhere. So, go and visit some of the specialized web sites:

• Warplane.co.uk lists some of the best locations for this type of photo
• LowFly.net details the location, and shows impressive photos
• Vols à basse altitude au pays de Galles presents the experience from a French-speaking newcomer, with nice Winter pictures.