As the Al Ain Aerobatic Show uses the sky as its stage this week, young photographers on the ground will also be performing. The Mubadala Aerospace Photography Competition is offering an opportunity for inspiring young photographers to show off their skills and win up to Dh7,000. As today is the last day of the aerobatic show, The National's Nicole Hill reveals her best secrets on how to capture that winning shot.
* Anticipate: watch very closely to see when the planes are going to cross over you. * You will need a long lens. Get as close as you can. * Track one plane with your camera and follow it. * Keep one eye looking through the viewfinder and the other eye looking at the big picture. * Follow the plane and push the shutter right before they cross over you. * If you have a point-and-shoot camera, switch the settings to manual. Slow down the shutter speed, to do a pan. * Open up the lens as far as you can. Slow the shutter to a 30th of a second and follow the motion of the plane. Push the shutter as you are following through. This way you can get the motion of the propellers. * Go wide and open up the lens as wide as possible. You can get the smoke trail, which you do not get if you are using a zoom lens. * Be creative: look for reflections of the planes on glasses, mirrors, etc. * The National
