The Mission Bay Aquatic Center wanted updated aerial images of their facility, as they just completed work on an impressive solar energy system that supplies 100% of their electricity needs. This was my first shoot from a helicopter, actually, it was my first time ever in a helicopter, and I had a great time. Read more and see more of the images at the link below.
After a few aborted attempts to get this shoot done (we had scheduled to do this three times before we actually did it) due to weather and other problems, I got a call from the helicopter pilot, who was on his way to the helicopter. He could pick me up at Montgomery Field in 15 minutes. I puled up, and they were already waiting for me. They had taken one of the doors off for me and were ready to go. I jumped in, and put the seat belt on, which looks just like the seat belt on any commercial jet I’ve ever been on. I thought there would be a little something more substantial to strap into, but was stoked that I would be able to move around without being limited by a bunch of straps and buckles. Right before we took off, the co-pilot pointed at the buckle on my seat belt and said, “Don’t mess with that when you lean out.” Good advice. I threw on the noise-canceling headphones, which pumped out reggae music the whole time I was in the air.
I had two cameras with me, a Canon 40D with a 17-40 and a Canon 30D with a 70-200. That lens combination worked really well. I also had spare batteries and cards, a fish eye, and an 85, but the flight went by so fast that I didn’t even think about changing lenses. I kept both camera straps around me and fired off about 800 frames in the twenty minutes we were in the air.
I had been told that helicopters vibrate a lot and are loud, but this one didn’t seem to be. The flight was very smooth and I was just rocking out to the music the whole time. I barely noticed the sound of the engine. I was surprised at how small the helicopter was inside. The backseat was only about the size of the back seat of a Honda. Even with the door off, it was calm inside of the cabin, but once the camera was stuck outside, I would have to hang on tight to keep the wind from ripping it out of my hands. Once we arrived at the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, we circled a bunch of times while I kept shooting different angles, both tight and wide. In the end, I was happy with what I got, but I could have done better with the long lens. I was keeping the shutter speed above 1/500 or so, which I thought would be fast enough. About 1/4 of the images from the 70-200 were soft due to camera shake, so next time I’ll keep that camera above 1/1500. 
Keep your eye open for these images to show up. They’re already being used in the MBAC’s marketing and one will probably be published in the Beach and Bay Press. The next cover from the MBAC Class Schedule should be coming from this shoot as well.
