The St. Louis skyline makes a great photograph with the Arch, the buildings and the river. This is a photo I took recently from a heliocopter photography trip. This was the low pass. After this photo was taken we turned around for another pass at a higher alititude.
I few weeks ago I had the opportunity to fly in a helicopter to photograph St. Louis’ riverfront. This is a pretty exciting thing to do if you get the chance. Be sure to have the doors off so there are not no obstructions (and be sure you are well buckeled in). Shooting with a higher ISO and a low f stop keeps the shutter speed fast. This helps counter the extreme vibration and movement of the helicopter.
In this flight with Fostaire Helocopters we flew with 4 photographers, 2 on the left and 1 on the right, behind the pilot. We flew over Busch Stadium and then did a high pass in front of the Arch and then came back arond again for a low pass. You can see the results on this page.
Monday I closed the office, gave the employees paid vacation and headed down to De Soto, Missouri to get my best shot at the eclipse. Here is the result to add to all of the others out there. The total eclipse was something to experience with the slowly darkening sky and suddenly there is this black eye looking down at you!
Moments before the total eclipse of the sun. As the moon moves between the earth and the sun, a small sliver is still visible. This photo shows that there were some sun spots still viable.
The Thirsty Whale bar and restaurant is a unique place in Wisconsin’s Northwoods for dining or enjoying drinks on Lake Minocqua. This old boathouse is a historic building on the lake. While having lunch on the deck, you watch come an go in their boats. It is also a good place to watch the famous Min-Aqua Bat ski show.
During the Midwest’s hot summer months heading “Up North” is a good place to get relief. The northern lakes of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are beautiful places to visit. For photographers and those that just like sunsets, the evening lighting adds to the relaxing environment. Due to the angle of the sun in these northern latitudes the sunsets last long and provides nice light for photographers.
This is a handheld shot: ISO 1000, 26mm, f2.8, 1/200 sec. Be sure to click on the image to enlarge.
Downtown St. Louis in the heart of the Midwest. Here you see our Arch, Busch Stadium (home of the St. Louis Cardinals), the Mississippi River, Eads Bridge and more. A helicopter was the source of this photo. I prepared for several days for a 20 minute ride by watching videos, checking my camera and talking to my friends that arranged the flight. Tips: make sure the doors are off, use as a wide lens, use a high ISO for a fast shutter speed, don’t take anything you do not need and buckle in tight!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to tour our riverfront by Helicopter. Since the purpose was to photograph the area, we flew “doors off” so we could hang out for good shots. Included in this photo is downtown St. Louis, the Gateway Arch, Eads’ Bridge, the Stan Musial Bridge and the Mississippi River. On the horizon is the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers.
Be sure to click on the photo to see full size.
Here we are taking off from the airport:
Photo of the famous St. Louis Arch taken on sunset photo walk. Watch this site for more from our Riverfront.
My hometown, St. Louis, with our old courthouse and the Gateway Arch behind it. The pathway here is part of the new Kiener Plaza (not sure what was wrong with the old Kiener Plaza). Lots to do and photograph in this area but be sure to get the Arch in the background!
This photo was taken about 30 minutes after sunset to get the nice even lighting. Also, this is a three shot bracketed photo to get the lighting right. Everything was processed in Photomatix and Lightroom.
