Capturing Alaska
with Wayde Carroll





Aerial Photography Tips




  Because Alaska is such an enormous state and has such a relatively small road system, many people choose flight-seeing trips as a way to see as much as possible in a short amount of time.
 This is a fantastic way to get a sense of the grand scale and diversity of the Alaskan landscape weather you are on a flight-seeing tour or just on your way to your favorite fishing destination. It is also great for those who are unable, or unwilling, to get out and explore mile after mile on foot.
  Here are some things to think about while photographing from the air:

- I always have all my gear ready to go before I board the plane so I’m not fiddling about while confined in my seat belt etc. I either have two cameras set up, one for wide angle shots, and one for telephoto, or I have one body with the second lens easily reachable on my lap.
-Ask for a seat away from the wing if possible. Having to work around this large triangular shape is a real pain! Look for a clean, scratch-free window as well.
- I keep a UV filter and a polarizing filter in my shirt pocket just in case there is a bit of haze in the air or I want to cut down on reflections. Remember that these filters will cut your exposure time down by one half to two stops. If you have a choice, photographically it’s best to avoid really hazy days. It’s impossible to completely cut it out and will drop the quality of your images drastically.
- Set your ISO (film speed) to a rating that will allow for very fast shutter speeds. The images shown here were taken at 1/2000th and 1/3200th of a second. ISO 400 is a good place to start. On top of allowing for hand holding your camera you’ve got to allow for the extreme vibration of your aircraft!
- I tend to set my white balance to “shade”. It’s not unusual to get a blue cast to your images caused from the atmosphere and sometimes the color cast of your window, and this setting will help “warm up” the colors.
- Constantly pay attention to reflections on the window in front of you. Often you pay so much attention to the view below that you can miss your own reflection on the window. The camera won’t miss it! Shoot as close to the window as possible. Sometimes your hand or a cap can eliminate the unwanted reflection.
- Turn off your flash! This will add the reflection we’re trying so hard to avoid.
- Don’t forget to shoot verticals as well as horizontals. These really give a sense of distance and depth.
- Dress for a much cooler environment. The temperature drops considerably when you climb up to 20,000 ft. plus above Denali! I like to wear a pair of thin cotton gloves to keep my hands functional and warm enough.
- If your really serious about getting great images from the air, sometimes, you can negotiate with your air service ahead of time and pre-arrange the front seat in an aircraft that has windows you can open and photograph out of. This is the ideal way to eliminate window reflection and window color-casts. If you’re lucky enough to arrange this make sure your camera is strapped securely around your neck and don’t hold it much past the window ledge. You’ll have a rude awakening as the powerful wind tries to rip it out of your hands! The gloves really come in handy here. It’s cold out there!
-Bring plenty of image storage. When those stunning moments occur you want to have enough memory to capture them.
- If you still end up with grossly blue cast images you can remove the excessive cyan in Photoshop or similar photo processing software.
- Lastly, climb a mountain! Even if you’re still on the ground, a high vantage point can give you the same results as a good aerial photo. The third image here was taken from atop a mountain behind the Eilson Visitor’s Center.

   Happy flying!