When flying I try and always get a window seat (Unless flying as a couple in a Q-Suite). Sunrises, sunsets, lightning storms, stars you just get a different perspective on the world and it’s beautiful. Trying to portray that beauty in an image can be difficult at the best of times. I’ve got a hack that may make things slightly easier.
Typically when you go to take a picture out of the window of a plane at night be it on your phone or camera you get a lot of light reflecting in the glass. The larger the camera the worse the issue.
I tried a few things to block out the light and the best solution I could come up with wasn’t really a practical solution. It involved using one of the blankets provided to cover the window, using one arm then using the other arm to hold the camera and take the picture. Rather awkward if I do say so myself.
I then saw a food studio photographer using a little device you can buy for DSLR camera lenses that attached to the end and creates a large black flange for no light to leak through. This looked perfect but came at an extra cost and it also meant carrying another piece of equipment so that was a no go. After looking at the stuff I always fly with I thought my travel pillow would be perfect.
It worked well! Above you can see a half and half if you will. Where the pillow blocks the cabin light seeping through in the reflection, a much clearer image is produced in the center.
The full affect taking off from Hong Kong. Yes for the nit pickers it isn’t perfect, you can see a little bit of light leak on the left in the form of a purple band. But it’s a vast improvement over anything else and with a little bit of patience, you could have it perfected.
The good thing is, it isn’t just DSLR’s the hack works with, you can use your phone as well. Just scrunch the pillow up around it and you’ll have the same results. you can even capitalize on it on day flights, or maybe when you’re not even flying, say a view from your hotel room? There’s a lot of possibilities and you don’t have to go out and buy something else.