AIR-TO-AIR ACE

Keen photographer Wayne joins aviation pro-Darren Harbar on an air-to-air sortie to photograph a vintage stunt plane

- Darren Harbar Wayne

THE PRO DARREN HARBAR

CAMERA: NIKON D850 Darren is an internationally published aviation photographer who specialises in airto-air photography and has a passion for vintage aircraft. His experience within the photography industry is broad, having worked as a camera buyer in retail, and a magazine editor. He’s always photographed aviation subjects, but got his first professional break in 2006. Since then, the sky’s literally been the limit and his work has featured regularly in a range of publications.

APPRENTICE WAYNE ALLEN

CAMERA: NIKON D750 Wayne is a self-confessed petrolhead, with a penchant for both wings and two wheels. He caught the 35mm photography bug in his early 20s before moving to digital, and is now rarely without his trusty Nikon D750. His images have been published in magazines and he regularly photographs planes, but despite having plenty of experience on the ground he’s an air-to-air rookie, and is looking to Darren to take his shooting to new heights.

TECHNIQUE ASSESSMENT

Darren got things off the ground by showing Wayne how to set up his camera to help him capture great air-to-air shots

SHUTTER PRIORITY Darren says…

I use Shutter Priority mode so that I have full control over my shutter speed. Aperture doesn’t matter much, because the focal plane is so tight. I usually shoot a propeller plane at 1/60 to 1/80 sec, but I got Wayne to start at 1/125 sec to give him space to adjust to the movement and vibrations in the plane.