AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE FIRE SERVICE
VOLUNTEERS CORNER
Photo by author
We assume we know all about our fire districts and their special hazards and resources. Looking at our towns, villages, and cities from a different perspective, however, can alter our vision of places we may have seen many times. Aerial photography can provide that perspective and has many uses in the fire service, including training, preplanning, public relations, and fire-tactics simulations.
Any photographer with some fast film (400 iso or faster), a long lens (200 to 500 mm), at least a 35-mm camera, and a lack of a fear of heights can be an aerial photographer.
USES
Aerial photographs can be especially helpful for preplanning buildings with special hazards and examining buildings, such as schools, that have a high life-hazard concern. Aerial photographs provide a good visual reference for firefighters and officers to use when determining where to place apparatus. They also generate discussion concerning problems that might arise on the fireground as a result of an equipment-placement strategy.
Aerial photos can be used to find a community’s water sources, which then could be pointed out to firefighters during training and planning sessions. Vital water resources normally not easily visible from the ground can be seen from a higher vantage point. No longer “out of sight, out of mind,” these water sources are more likely to be remembered and used by firefighters because, having seen them in photographs taken from tlie air, the firefighters will be able to visualize them.
TAKING THE PICTURES
Following are some techniques and tricks for taking clear photographs from the air:
- Shoot a higher-speed film at a faster shutter speed; VKO to Vsoo of a second helps to counteract aircraft movement and yields clear photographs. A drawback of using faster films and shutter speeds is that the depth of field (the amount of viewed area, foreground to background, that will be in sharp focus in the photograph) will be shallow.
- Do not shoot through glass. Even glass that has just been cleaned produces glare that almost always takes away from the quality of the shots. It is best to open the windows in instances where the windows open up and are held under the wing with the air pressure.
- Take the door off a helicopter for a great unobstructed field of view. This practice may sound dangerous, but flying helicopters without doors is common and does not affect how the aircraft flies or handles. Believe it or not, a large amount of turbulent air is not a problem inside the helicopter. A secure harness holds you in and allows you to twist somewhat and move for taking shots from the open doorway.
- Use at least two 35-mm cameras, one for backup or shooting different types of film (slide, color print, or black and white). 1 prefer a highspeed color slide film. Prints can be made from the slides, usually giving better results because of the deeper color emulsions on the slide film. Slides easily can be projected and viewed by large audiences for training or preplanning purposes.
For the best aerial photographs, shoot at dawn and dusk, when the air currents usually are calmest Lighting at these times provides a better. warmer quality for color photographs. Sunlight should shine on the face of the subject being photographed. A very bright, harsh light gives a bleached-out appearance to the photographs. A slight overcast or haze helps to improve color and contrast. Noontime shooting may be the only time some buildings get the lighting proper for a quality photograph, and it helps to reduce distracting shadows on the ground.
AIRCRAFT TYPE
The pilots of fixed-w ing and rotary aircraft (helicopters) are much too busy with the controls to operate the cameras and frame the shots. An experienced camera operator is essential. I have found that the uneasiness I have with heights disappears when I begin shooting and concentrate on framing the shots.
Fixed-wing aircraft. This type of aircraft is favored by many aerial photographers. It makes most passengers feel secure, and usually there is more room for extra equipment and attachments—making it easier to switch equipment while shooting. The plane should have a wing located overhead, to give the best downward field of vision. Some planes have struts to support the wings and landing gear. A long lens allows you to shoot through these obstructions easily. A good pilot can slow the plane dow n near the stall point and bank the aircraft slightly to provide an angle for the shots as you smoothly pass by your subject.
Helicopters. I prefer the helicopter because it provides some unique advantages over fixed-wing planes. There are no supports or wings to get in the way of a shot. Helicopters have the ability to hover or stay still in the air so you can take several shots of the same area. (Hovering is an advanced skill that not all helicopter pilots have mastered.) I was always told that the vibrations of helicopters made it difficult to take sharp, high-quality photographs. Helicopters vibrate, but not as much as I was led to believe. Most helicopters give a rather smooth ride. A fast shutter speed, ½⅝0 to ‘/*» of a second, compensates for the minor movement, but as noted above, the fast shutter speed gives a rather shallow “depth of field” or area in clear focus.
Another advantage of helicopters is that they are allowed to fly lower over residential areas than fixed-wing aircraft, which must stay at least 1,000 feet above the ground over sparsely populated residential areas and 2,000 feet over densely populated areas, according to federal aviation regulations. Helicopters are exempt from this regulation and can come down lower to take advantage of faster, shorter focal length lenses. Also, turbulence is less of a problem in a helicopter than in a fixed-wing plane. The helicopter’s blades cut a swath through the turbulent air mass and give a smoother ride.
EXPENSES
Private airports usually do not have landing fees. Commercial airports have what can be rather steep fees for using the runways, and there is much congestion at a larger, busy airport. Fees for renting an aircraft and a pilot differ in various parts of the country. The fees charged are for the pilot’s time, fuel, insurance, and maintenance repairs. Renting a fixed-wing, small plane and a pilot usually runs from about S55 to S70 per hour. The rental fee for helicopters may be a little higher, due to the greater number of moving parts that need replacing from time to time; the fee to rent a small piston-powered helicopter can range from S70 to SI50 per hour. Renting the larger jet ranger type of helicopter could cost as much as S270 per hour. Most pilots and rental agencies also charge for any portion of an hour. You can reach many onesubject shoots, complete several flybys, and return to the airport within an hour.
Take at least two cameras with which you are familiar and keep their straps around your neck. It is easy to lose your hold on a camera if the aircraft bounces around. Do not be surprised if your aerial shot is said to look like a toy or a model. Take such comments as compliments.
