When I was a student studying abroad, I used to have to fly long haul flights quite a bit. I hated window seats at that time and would always request an aile seat as it would be much more convenient to get in and out of my seat without having to climb over other passengers during the flight
Nowadays, I always request window seat. I love the view outside airplane windows. You can often see spectacular views of the world, views which you simply cannot see from the ground. Just plain view of cloud patterns can be quite amazing.
Here’s a small collection of photos I have taken on planes in recent years. Next time you fly, consider getting a window seat and enjoy the view of the world outside the airplane window.
Whenever you woke up during those 24hours plus, 3-stops long-haul flights, you would always found me “enjoying” the in-flight meals or refreshments!!! Those were the days my brother…
Great shots; very aspiring!
i also always choose a window seat and take tons of pictures. i love that last picture with the flare over the airplane wing.
I always consider it a bad start when (rarely) they refuse to sit me at the window. It is not as convenient on long-haul when you have to climb over others to get to the toilet, but the views and the comfort is great. Besides, no one climbs over you.
What camera do you use? What can you suggest (as to shooting regimes, aperture, shutter, etc) to take pics like these (especially when taking pictures of clouds in various conditions, bad or good lighting)? Thanks.
Hi Andy,
I am using a Canon EOS 20D. All the photos post were taken with this camera. As for lenses, I would go for focal lengths between wide angle to standard lens range, around 17mm to 35mm on my Canon 20D which has a 1.6x cropped sensor (on a full frame camera, about 18mm to 50mm should do fine).
For camera settings, keep a relatively high shutter speed 1/500 or faster should do if the plane is at cruising height. During take-off, you will need to set a faster shutter speed, at least 1/1000 or faster. I usually use shutter priority mode and let the camera set the aperture.
However, photos of cloud and sky taken from inside a plane window would usually look a bit low contrast without any post-processing. You will need to do a bit of post-processing. Usually just increasing the black level and white level and adding a bit of saturation would be enough to enhance these photos.
Thanks, Roland! Hope to see more of your art (both writing and photography).
Amazing photos… purely brilliant. I love the formation of clouds and the 5th photo down is just beautiful!