http://www.saflyermag.comOPENING SHOT PRIZES!!!
Nikon cameras have partnered with SA Flyer to
encourage amateur aviation photographers.
Every month for a year Nikon will be awarding a
Nikon S3500 compact camera to the photographer
whose image is selected for the Opening Shot. And
it doesn't matter what camera the winning Opening
Shot was taken with!Send your submissions to [email protected]T
his month’s Opening Shot breaks our rule
of not using professional photographers'
work for this series. However, the image is
too important and topical not to use.
When the disastrous Cape Peninsula
fires hit in early march, photographer Shawn Benjamin
swung into action to capture what must be the
definitive series of pictures of the firefighting aircraft
in action. This picture was chosen for the Opening
Shot because it captures the hellish flames and
smoke behind an iconic Cape Dutch homestead with a
relatively tiny SAAF Oryx helicopter heading in to do
battle with the fires.
Shawn used his Canon 5D Mk3 with a focal length
of 125mm. Exposure was just 1/80th second at f2.8.
Remarkably he has pushed the ISO to 3200 and still
achieved excellent image quality.
Shawn writes, “It’s scary how you can push the
boundaries. I had been waiting for about 10 minutes
thinking that my foreground light was almost gone and
as I dialled in my ISO the chopper appeared. With the
older cameras it would have almost been a waste of
time. I am pretty old school and don’t like pushing the
ISO and when I do on the Mk3 I am still surprised at
the end result.”