San Fran: A Seaplane Adventure
Earlier this year in Chicago, a couple of my photos from the Hancock Observatory got noticed by a local helicopter tour company on Twitter, and they generously offered to take me out in exchange for a set of shots. It was an unexpected and welcome surprise to the first month in America. Sadly the only available time was the day I was due to leave for San Francisco with my non-refundable Amtrak train ticket, so we had to pass, but it made me think!
My interest in Aerial photography peaked when I saw photographer Jason Hawke's work over London, he is a phenomenal aerial photographer, if you've seen an advert of the UK from above, he probably shot it. Add to that my interest in Architectural photography it was inevitable I was going to give it a try at some point, which leads us right back to San Francisco.
The San Francisco coastline is a veritable fest of beauty for a photographer, from the financial district to the Gate, Marin County and of course the islands that sit in the bay itself. The city lends well to fly overs and tour companies. Initially I set about trying to find a helicopter company that would do "doors off" (a helicopter flight with no doors so the photographer can lean out unrestricted of glass) and also wouldn't mind a blog written about the experience, that wasn't to be and interest was met with "sniffy" replies. While I was searching around for another company, my girlfriend had started researching and came across a Seaplane company called: Seaplane Adventures. Not being sure if it would be possible to shoot from a plane I sent them an email and hit the web for more details.
Aaron the company director promptly got in touch, answering all questions I had. It would seem that seaplanes (and many light aircraft) are extremely good for Aerial Photography especially in the Cessna 172 which they had. The reasons why planes and specifically the seaplane is so suited to this photography is:
1/ the plane glides and goes slower.
2/ there are less vibrations and air drag while window open than in a helicopter.
3/ Cost. Chartering a small plane is easily half that of a helicopter (a bonus when travelling on a budget).
4/ it's more fun landing and taking off on water!
We booked it!
I had asked for a late afternoon slot as figured it would be the best light for the city shots, and will result in more interesting shadows along the coastline. Not going to lie I was nervous, I have no problems with flying but the plane was small, and I would be sticking my head most of the time out a window. The fear factor of the unknown of taking off (and landing) on water was somewhat on my mind also. Aaron went through all the safety directions, strapped us in and off we went. A few minutes of floating on the water, then within seconds we were in the air, surprisingly smooth, easy and comfortable. Up to altitude, level off and then open the window, done. Now to stick my head and camera out and fire off some shots, I have never held onto my camera so hard in my life.
In theory the art of aerial photography is pretty easy, high ISO and a fast shutter speed, aim and press the button. In reality it's very different, for starters the wind hits you hard at first and pulls the camera around, add to the fact that as you are composing the shot the plane may drop on the wind so you find you miss it. In an ideal world I would have a gyro to steady the camera, this piece of equipment is also often used in helicopter photography. But I don't so; it's all a bit trial and error, shoot and hope.
Having a really clear idea of what one wants so can communicate with pilot is key, although for this time I was happy with everything Aaron suggested as my focus was the shoreline of San Francisco and the few times I asked to maneuver back around he did so.
I rapidly found that I preferred portraits over landscapes, due to height of buildings an angles shooting them at from the plane. Sadly a lot of my images were soft or out of focus, however largely the ones I wanted were spot on. Aerial photography is a hell of a challenge, and I defiantly learned a lot in one flight and what I would do different next time. I am not sure I would want to do a doors off helicopter, those guys have guts, the seaplane felt safe, I was able to make safe lens changes too which is notoriously tricky in a helicopter. The only real disadvantage of the plane from what I can tell is that it can't hover over a desired target, and in the case of a seaplane night photography isn't possible as the plane cannot land on water in the dark (understandably).
I cannot recommend Seaplane Adventures enough; it was a thoroughly professional and a wonderful experience. Aaron also provided a superb, comprehensive commentary over every site/landscape we flew over, although with my head mostly out the window I missed most of it! Even if you don't want to charter and just want to do a site seeing tour, this is the company for you. It's unique, great fun and for your dollar/pound, a worth every penny/cent.
As for the landing on water........ you will have to go to find out.
Using Airbnb: A Review
So many people have asked how my 3 month trip to America and around West Coast has been affordable, we all know that hotels aren't as a rule inexpensive and if you do stay in a hotel then there's the added costs of eating in restaurants/rooms service on top. The trip has worked like this: 1/ saved up alot prior to trip 2/ stuck to a budget and 3/ for the most part used Airbnb.
For those that don't know Airbnb, it is a service, essentially a global hotel without all the costs of a hotel and more fun, In fact it recently became one of the largest hotel chains in the world without actually owning a single hotel! With Airbnb you can rent whole apartments/houses, a room, tree house's, airplanes, Airstreams... the list goes on. Costs range from very very little to very very expensive, it caters for everyone. The other plus is that you can live in nice neighborhoods, put roots down, feed off the local knowledge of the "hosts"-where the best coffee house is, areas to avoid, best transport links and so on.
This trip we have used 7 different locations, from sharing a couples flat for 8 days in Chicago for £28 a night, 2 whole apartments in San Francisco for a month at a time, a fantastic en suite bedroom stop over in a massive Vegas house near the strip for £53 a night, a boat for £24 and our favourite a converted Water Tower for £40 for a night (see next blog post all about this gem). Each has been different, all have been tremendous fun, at a fraction of the cost of a hotel, and with the bonus of being able to cook "at home" this has saved us a lot of money that has been used in better ways. We have done a couple of motels on this trip too-very low cost ones when we weren't able to find Airbnb's, these have been hit and miss. Road side motels in America can be very cheap but they get booked up very fast as have limited rooms and in the case of the last one we did, well, the room was fine but the neighbor and his late night "guest" wasn't!!
I would recommend using Airbnb for travelling without a second thought, I really like that you meet the locals, feel as if you are "at home" and get a sense of what it's really like living in the city you are visiting.
Below are some tips we have found that have helped us in booking:
1/ Research Research Research: You know where you want to go, you have found a listing, so do a quick Google search about the area. You might want quiet and it's not quiet, you may want all out fun and it's far away from that fun, you might need to get places fast and need a nearby transport link. It's all about the famous line "Location Location Location".
2/ Read the reviews, all of them: The advantage of Airbnb is that it is a review based service, bad reviews do not help the host getting bookings so many go out of their way to make sure you have a great stay. Is it clean? Is there noisy neighbors? Are there appliances in the kitchen? What has other guests grumbled about...... or raved about! Weigh up the plus and cons of what you have read before jumping in.
3/ You've found a place and want to book it: Stop! Before you book, send the host an email, specify the times you need, why you are there, it doesn't hurt to say a little about yourself too, after all it is someone letting you into their house! Some hosts are great at replying, some not, some listings could be inactive at the time but still on the site, don't book before you've "connected".
4/ Don't put all your eggs in one basket: Send an email to several people, it is possible that the place you like is booked up OR you don't like the reply from the host. Any host that writes a nice polite email back is certainly going to get booked with me, one that replies with a one line, less than interested response (for me) won't be booked.
5/ Don't be afraid to ask: You might be struggling to find something for your budget, this has certainly been the case with us in San Francisco. So find something near enough to your budget and email the host what you can and cannot afford in your opening "hello". It might be that they will do you a deal. This has been our experience, we have had daily rates knocked down, cleaning/admin charges wiped off and free bottles of wine supplied! Worst case they say no and you politely move on. This is another chance to find out about the area too.
6/ You're happy, the host is happy now book: Great! You are off on your adventure but, before you pay, do one thing....... do a web search for "Airbnb coupon codes". Yes, you can save yourself even more cash. It's a bit hit and miss, but several times i've found 20% off, £20 off vouchers and saved that little extra off the bill (in one case a whole night free). It all helps.
Hope this has been helpful, if you have any questions and thinking of doing a trip but are unsure, please feel free to drop me a line, leave a comment below.