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Not because of the planes... but because of my photographer-skills! I succeeded to totally miss this exceptional visitor at Ostend, an Saudi-Arabian Airlines Cargo MD-11...

I was at the same job as last time... when driving towards the airport I could see this beauty from far, but nearing it I noticed she was ready to depart. I Guess I shouldn't hurry that much next time and set my camera proper, though the weather wasn't an advantage eather... anyway... the shots:

Another impressive visitor - Egypt Air Cargo Airbus A300



The MD-11, final moments on the appron



Cheching the control-surfaces



Turning towards the taxiway



Rotation - total focus-miss



I was surprised just how silent these giants are... not the roar I expected!

Cheers,

Omag

Very nice pics...I remember when the Saudi MD-11 used to fly touch down in front of my house in Sudan...

Not because of the planes... but because of my photographer-skills! I succeeded to totally miss this exceptional visitor at Ostend, an Saudi-Arabian Airlines Cargo MD-11...

Not to worry. You'll get used to missing the ones you want most. I have the same problem almost every time I go out with my camera.

Actually they're not bad at all. It wouldn't be so interesting if it was easy now would it? Better luck next time.

Great Shots!!!  

   Nice catch and the shots look good.

  I know what you mean about missing a shot.  This morning I was out to catch UPS going over.  I just missed having one and a Dash together in on shot. ticked me off that I missed it!!

I'm still no to sure what went wrong... I thought the camera had focused on the fence in the rotation shot, but it isn't sharp too. I'm guessing a to long shuttertime and me panning with the plane's movement, causing the blur. And there's no second chance to try again in these circumstances. To bad EBOS hasn't got a lot of traffic. I guess I should go to Brussels ( EBBR) if I want a steady flow of incomming birds. Should allow me to practice...

I guess I should go to Brussels ( EBBR) if I want a steady flow of incomming birds. Should allow me to practice...

That's the secret. Practice, practice & yet more practice.

I thought the camera had focused on the fence in the rotation shot,

As you said, I suspect you were focussed on the fence but it's blurred by panning with the aircraft.

PS. That shutter delay is a darned nuisance for this type of photography. The main reason I changed to a DSLR. I have yet to find out if it was worth spending all that money.

I can't complain about the shutterdelay on my FZ5. I think it had more to do with the fact I wasn't prepared and to eager to make the shot. I should have pointed at an area where it would pass and wait for it, instead of following it trough the viewfinder. Oh well, better next time!

I should have pointed at an area where it would pass and wait for it, instead of following it trough the viewfinder. Oh well, better next time!

One of the most useful tips I was given by an experienced aircraft photographer. Don't wait for the ideal moment or you will probably miss it completely. Take as many shots as you can while it's coming at you & as it goes past. No guarantees but one might just be the perfect shot you were after.

One of the most useful tips I was given by an experienced aircraft photographer. Don't wait for the ideal moment or you will probably miss it completely. Take as many shots as you can while it's coming at you & as it goes past. No guarantees but one might just be the perfect shot you were after.

I actually disagree with that statement to an extent. Yes it's better to take multiple shots to increase the chances of a good one but you can overdo it.
Too many times I've seen photogs just hold the shutter button down as an aircraft goes past, if you do that you're not properly concentrating and often the cam may slip out of focus unnoticed or you may even over-load your buffer half-way through the pass (esp if your using RAW).
You're better off taking a brief second between each press of the shutter button so that you can pan with the aircraft properly and just quickly check it's still in focus, that way you still get about 4 shots but your increased concentration will make it a higher strike rate.

Still thats just my personal opinion.

You're better off taking a brief second between each press of the shutter button so that you can pan with the aircraft properly and just quickly check it's still in focus, that way you still get about 4 shots but your increased concentration will make it a higher strike rate.

That's exactly what I meant.

That's exactly what I meant.

Apologies for that, I mis-understood.

I just thought you meant just keep the button depressed all the while the aircraft is going past you, I have seen many people (mainly inexperienced with photograhy) do that and it's too uncertain for my liking, as I said the focus can slip out and you'd never know until it was too late.

Apologies for that, I mis-understood.

I just thought you meant just keep the button depressed all the while the aircraft is going past you, I have seen many people (mainly inexperienced with photograhy) do that and it's too uncertain for my liking, as I said the focus can slip out and you'd never know until it was too late.

I don't pretend to be an expert photographer but I do have a lot of experience with the non-DSLR type digital cameras. A lot will depend on the limitations of the camera itself. The time taken to store the image between shots for example. This has to be taken into consideration & timing is very important or you will miss that perfect shot. I've lost count of the perfect shots I've missed while it's still warming up or storing the previous image. I can't tell you how frustrating that is but you will probably remember that anyway.

Omag's FZ5 has a much higher spec than my previous Fuji S5000 in these important respects so this should not be so much of a handicap. If I'd had the same camera I probably wouldn't have spent out on my DSLR. http://www.cameras.co.uk/details/panasonic-dmc-fz5.cfm

PS. This Shutter Lag comparison table is very interesting. Note the comments agree with my own observations. http://www.cameras.co.uk/html/shutter-lag-comparisons.cfm

Nice shots Omag.  One good subject to practise with is birds. If you can get good shots of those your going to manage with anything.