Photographer Shoots Airplane Flyby with 30 Strobes
When photographing Czech aerobatics and fighter pilot Martin Šonka recently, photographer Dan Vojtěch wanted to capture the plane in a different light than other photographers have done in the past. He then decided that he would shoot the plane in motion, but light it like he would a studio photo using flashes firing around it.
He and his team set up the shoot at a small airport in Staré Město, Prague, Czech Republic. To light the airplane from above and below, Vojtěch mounted 15 strobes to a lift platform and 15 strobes on the ground below for 30 flashes total.
Vojtěch also had a number of extras in the scene that pretended to photograph and film the plane in order to create a “backstage look” to the photos.
Setting up was the easy part. For the actual photos, Šonka had to fly his airplane and its 9 meter wingspan through a tiny gap of 15 meters at 124mph. Since it was dark, the crew placed a 300 meter-long line of LED lights (along with some paper) to guide Šonka.
Here are some of the photographs that resulted:
Here’s a behind-the-scenes video showing how the project was done:
Image credits: Photographs by Dan Vojtech/Red Bull Content Pool
