POTD: Southwest Jet Over Las Vegas

Southwest Jet Over Las Vegas at Dusk

Southwest Jet Over Las Vegas at Dusk

I was getting impatient as our flight was delayed over an hour. I was anxious to get a photo of the Las Vegas Strip from the air before the sun set. But impatience turned to gratitude when our delay made this photo possible.

Light levels were very low. Even at a high ISO of 12800, the shutter speed was an uncomfortably slow 1/20 second. The IS feature (image stabilization) on the lens minimized any blurring of the plane. At 1/20 of a second the city lights were slightly blurred due to the forward motion of the plane, even at 10,000 feet.  I was careful that the lens didn’t touch the window and my elbows didn’t touch the arm rest so the camera wouldn’t pick up direct vibrations from the plane which would have blurred everything.

Incidentally, Southwest is my favorite and preferred airline. I guess I should say I “Luv” Southwest.

Photo Data: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 24-105mm lens at 24 mm.  1/20 sec, f/5.0, ISO 12800.