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Volcanos from 40,000 feet

Robert Watcher

Well-known member
Such spectacular sites flying from Mexico City to El Salvador.

Volcano Popocatépetl (5,426 m (17,802 ft)) outside Mexico City, with snow capped Iztaccíhuatl Volcano (5,230 m (17,160 ft)) to the north of it.


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Fuego Volcano in Guatemala (3,763 m (12,346 ft)), with the long lava flow streak on the right side, that caused serious damage when Fuego erupted recently - Acatenango Volcano (3,976 m (13,045 ft)) is in behind Fuego.

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Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
These are impressive photographs. Do they circle around to give both sides good chances for “window shots”?

It’s really nice that you don’t appear to have the horrible plastic-derived haze that ruins such pictures. Or do the newer planes have much higher quality glass in the windows?

Asher
 

Robert Watcher

Well-known member
These are impressive photographs. Do they circle around to give both sides good chances for “window shots”?

It’s really nice that you don’t appear to have the horrible plastic-derived haze that ruins such pictures. Or do the newer planes have much higher quality glass in the windows?

Asher


No circling. If they did that around all the landmarks along the way, we’d never get to our destination :ROFLMAO: It’s the daily flight path from Mexico City to El Salvador. We’ve taken the flight enough times that I can anticipate what I will be able to look for based on which side of the plane we get seated on. There are benefits to being on either side with this long 800 mile (the way the crow flies) landscape.

The volcanos are a distance away so I am using a long lens. Fortunately ever since living in Costa Rica back in 2008, Anne and I have become infatuated with volcanoes - climbing several and looking into the hot boiling lava, and getting to know all the primary ones through the Central American countries.

So these beautiful landscapes take on a different form for us, because we are always trying to identify the topography, landmarks or where we are flying by the shapes of the sea coast - and with volcanoes and lakes, we have a good knowledge of what they look like and where they are, so we can identify them or anticipate them coming into view. It’s fun.

Same old 737 - same old foggy, scratched windows everyone looks through. ;)
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Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Well, knowledge and dedication gets you prepared enough for the “moment” as Bresson would put it.

But then how did thecwindows get so clear or is it that you fly so much that eventually there’s a cleaner window!

Asher
 

Robert Watcher

Well-known member
Well, knowledge and dedication gets you prepared enough for the “moment” as Bresson would put it.

But then how did thecwindows get so clear or is it that you fly so much that eventually there’s a cleaner window!

Asher

I just take what I can get so I have a record of it. I can’t be concerned that I have a perfect capture.

Probably using a narrow focal view with longal focal length up to 300mm, aids in some cases although I do like shooting with my normal 28-84mm zoom as well. I always have my lens very close to the window (but not touching) and shoot at an angle in the cleanest part of the window, and shoot with a very fast shutter speed (shutter priority and auto ISO). Some flights I just don’t bother taking any pics and many times there’s nothing but clouds or darkness.
 

Robert Watcher

Well-known member
Post Processing is always required as well. Here are the jpg files right from camera. They probably are a little more what you would expect pics through plane windows to look like (I have sharpening dialed right down to -2 and contrast dialed down to -1 in my cameras and apply this in post):


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