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Flying affords you an entirely novel perspective on the Earth below. So instead of watching the usual selection of in-flight movies, why not spend some of your time photographing the constantly changing pattern of clouds?

The ideal seat is by a window with a clear view unobstructed by the aircraft's wing. The best position is ahead of the engines; a view more from the rear is likely to suffer from the turbulence of gases ejected by the engines. On high-altitude flights it is not uncommon for windows to frost over for part of the time, so you will just have to wait for them to clear. You will need only a modest wide-angle or standard focal length to capture cloud effects: too wide a focal length and you will catch the sides of the windows; too long a focal length and the degradation in image quality due to the thickness of the window becomes apparent.

One disadvantage of working from an aircraft is the difficulty in using ultra wide-angle lenses to capture views, which was seen from ground level. A setting sun tries to break through a high layer of cloud while, lower down in the sky, heaped clouds sweeping around in lines are indicative of short-lived fine weather. The use of an inferior-quality wide-angle lens is apparent by the the appearance of slightly darkened comers, which are the result of light fall-off.

Take care to avoid looking directly at the sun , even at sunset when the sun is low , while waiting for it to burst through cloud cover. This is particularly the case if you are shooting in equatorial regions, where sunlight is often very strong

About the Author

Willis J. Watson is a freelance writer since 2006, living in United States and he writes about his great passion...digital photography for about 4 years. If you are interested in Photography Studio Equipment, wait no more and click the link.