There’s beauty at 30,000 feet and 600 miles per hour. Here’s how I’ve been able to capture some of this beauty when I’m flying way up high.

Up, Up and Away Suggestions Ask for a window seat on left side of the aircraft. Approaches to landing are most often made with left hand turns. Turn the camera’s flash off. When the light is dim, set the ISO to 800 or higher. Avoid shots when the sun is shining directly at the plane’s windows. Rest the camera lens gently against the window. For takeoffs and landings, you’ll need to use a shutter speed of 1/250 or faster. At cruise, you’ll be able to use a shutter speed of 1/125.
On an early morning flight we passed over the Rockies. The snow capped peaks make for a great contrast to the dark mountain base.	Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft passes through the lower layer of clouds on the way to open skies. The sun is starting to peak through the upper layer.
Here’s another attractive formation in the Rockies. I was lucky to have the warm color of the morning sunrise shed its even light on the mountains.	There’s beauty closer to the earth too. Here’s a shot of a picturesque river on approach to the Munich Airport.

Today’s digital cameras make it easy for you to snap exciting action photos. Here’s an obvious tip for taking advantage of one of your camera’s impressive capability.

Patience Counts
A common practice is to snap as soon as the action begins. Here our young swimmer has started his run down the diving board and I’ve stopped the action using the camera’s Sport mode.	A few minutes later, a second diver took to the air. This time, I waited patiently until his body was fully extended in the air – just before his huge belly flop. The “pose” tells the story.

When your subject is moving, the usual way to capture the action is to use a short shutter speed. This freezes the action, but is there a better way to “show” the action?

Capturing the motion
By using a short shutter speed, you can freeze the action of your subject. For this shot, I’ve used Sport mode to stop the motion of our young girl.	By deliberately using a short shutter speed e.g. 1/30th or 1/15th of a second, I’ve captured the subject as she’s moving. While the young girl is no longer in sharp focus, we can almost feel the swinging motion.

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