From Miami to Vancouver in photos

[Dickens 1]

I'm not too good at FSX screenshots... But I'll take a stab at it, lol.
Miami to Vancouver / KMIA - CYVG
Addons:
PMDG 777 200 with AAL livery
ORBX Global
REX Texture Direct
ENBSeries

Hope you guys like the screenshots! Constructive criticism welcomed.
 
Ready for departure

 

Taxi to runway 09

 

Holding short of runway 09

 

Lined up and waiting for clearance

 

Rotate!

 

Ladies and gentlemen welcome to your highway in the sky at 31,000 feet!

 

On the approach for CYVG. Weather conditions very unpleasant.

 

On the final approach/landing

 

Flare!

 

Welcome to Vancouver!

 

[Bartolomeus 34]

Really nice set of shots!

 

Marko

[HawkDsl 50]

Nice shots, but for me personally... I would never fly to cold weather.

 

 

I'm not from this planet, and anything below 80 F is dangerous to my species.

[Phantom88 3,284]

***Excellent***

[JAT 185]

Not bad.

 

nebojsa

[A320FAN 370]

Great shots!

[Dickens 1]

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback!

[jetsflier 87]

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback!

You say you aren't good at FSX screenshots! Clearly, you've never seen any of mine! 

 

Really though these look very nice, I love all the custom views PMDG has added.

[Dickens 1]

 

 

You say you aren't good at FSX screenshots! Clearly, you've never seen any of mine!   
 
Really though these look very nice, I love all the custom views PMDG has added.

 

Heh, thanks much. The views PMDG has added provides for much more versatility with "cinematic" screenshots.

[Steve Dra 7,579]

Constructive criticism welcomed.

 

 

Hey Juan....you asked for it!  Hehe.

I've been around these forums for longer than some of the members have been alive (I'm pretty sure we have 12 year olds in here).  Been flightsiming for even longer.

 

I've been known to post a good screenshot every once in a while (mostly of my paints, but not always), and I've learned many tricks along the way.

First, I turn off ENB of any other shader mod when taking shots...they may make the sim look great, but without post-editing the shot, they always seem either too light or mostly too dark.  If I'm going for those effects, I just add them in post production (I'm pretty handy with Paintshop Pro...side benefit of being a painter, LoL)

 

Next, and perhaps the best way to get better looking exterior pics, is to become one with your camera settings...this is almost an entire hobby within flightsim...and many people with more brains (and patience) than me have created great pages on them.  The link below showed me all I needed to know about cameras, and with the proper setting and knowledge of the keyboard shortcuts to manipulate cameras, I have no need for Eazydoc or any other camera program.  I'm not putting them down at all, and think they are a great addition to the hobby....they just cost money...that I'd rather spend on planes, scenery, etc. :lol:

Here is the link to the best resource I've found that describes all about cameras> http://www.fstipsandaddons.com/tutorials/understanding-fsx-cameras.html

 

Now..that looks like heavy reading, and it is...but us pilots are a meticulous bunch who like to absorb stuff like this...but the Reader's Digest Condensed version....

Add these 2 lines to the all the camera sections in your aircraft.cfg file <WARNING: as usual, make a backup of the file 1st!!>

XyzAdjust = TRUE

XyzRate = 4

 

If the values are already there and XyzAdjust is FALSE, just change it to TRUE.

As for the XyzRate...that controls how fast your camera view moves when reacting to keyboard inputs.  The default for some reason has you moving at a painfully slow 1/4 meter per second.  4 meters per sec will let you easily move any camera to any position without your fingers cramping while holding the keys for forever to get your camera positioned.  For those who already know how to move the camera with the keyboard shortcuts and eventually gave up using them because of how slow they moved...this one setting will have you jumping for joy! Hehe.

Without getting into too much detail here (that is what the link is for)...adding this to every camera won't hurt anything...it just may not work on every one...again..details in the link (an extremely well written and through guide)

 

OK...time for the biggest tip to make external screenshots look better....zoom to ONE! (i.e. no zoom factor at all)  

Notice in my shots (link to your other post so people can see them  http://forum.avsim.net/topic/444279-from-the-office-photos/#entry3008691) they look proportional...and don't have the long, streched objects like yours (and many other's) do.  This is because you've either zoomed in or out to capture all of the plane or a part you wanted to focus on. (or more commonly...the default zoom for the camera you switched to was already zoomed out...you can adjust that too...all explained in the guide I linked)

For example...in this pic....I switched to a custom camera, but wanted to see the whole plane...

 

So below...I just CTRL+Rolled my mouse wheel to ZOOM out to .30

 

Notice how the plane looks stretched and distorted?

Now...Using my keyboard shortcut keys (I just use the defaults...never remapped them)....I kept the zoom at 1 and MOVED the camera to the proper position to get the whole plane in the pic...

 

Notice how it looks normal, and proportionate to this magnificent bird's ...well...proportions! :Just Kidding:   

 

Trust me...spend a little time configuring your cameras, learning the keys to MOVE the cameras anywhere in space...and not only will your screenshots become more realistic as we should view these marvelous birds, but you'll also find yourself looking all over this bird to find all the gems the folks at PMDG put into the external model. Hehe...like I said...almost a hobby within our hobby!  

When I'm taking this bird around the world and I have several thousand miles of ocean in front of me...I'm letting Otto drive, putting on the winter parka and O2 mask and heading outside to look this beast over from tip to toe!

 

I find it very sad when folks say they never leave the cockpit...and could give a hoot about the external model...The very fact we can do it in flightsim and not in the real world (unless you're in a chase plane), should be reason enough to explore the outside...ESPECIALLY this plane...its quite simply the best plane I've ever flown in flightsim, hands down!

 

OK...off my soapbox...go become one with your cameras Juan, and see what you can do. :wink:

 

Regards,

Steve Dra

Edited June 13, 2014 by Steve Dra

[Steve Dra 7,579]

So the next logical question...Steve, how on earth do I control (move) my camera?

Well..in reality...you are setting your camera in space when you build a new camera...but if you are using an existing one (Like I've always done...never built my own...really don't have to with my mods listed above) you are moving your EYEPOINT away from the camera!!

 

Sooo......where are the shortcut keys to move your "Eyepoint"?

in the FSX menu at the top, go to....Options>Settings>Controls

 

When you get to the window...

1. Click the Buttons/Keys tab

2. Change the Event Category to View, and viola'

 

These are the default shortcuts to move your Eyepoint away from the camera you're on.  Becomes second nature to move your Eyepoint once you get the hang of it..and it will absolutely change the way you view your aircraft!  You can use them inside too...not just outside.  Go in the wheel wells, flap housings, cargo areas...virtually "crawl" all over this wonderful exterior you got with that hi fidelity cockpit!!!

 

My God...why is Steve so passionate about scrolling around the outside of the plane?  Uhh...Steve's a painter..and a meticulous painter...so he likes to walk around his paints to make sure he's got it right.  :LMAO:   Plus it just takes your breath away when you catch just the right angle on the plane, sky and scenery...like this angle I'm particularly fond of...

 

So many components I love about this shot...the plane, the camera angle and the angle of departure, the sky (love dusk departures) and the scenery...KLAS with the landmark lightbeam from the Luxor hotel.. I've taken this shot on many flights. (This is my favorite paint probably of all time..and I didn't paint it, Ioan Blidariu did)

and Pssssst.....the zoom in this shot is set to....say it with me....ONE! LoL

 

 

Regards,

Steve Dra 

[Jazzfan 57]

Nice shots, Dickens. But, I have to ask, where did you find snow in CYVR? Even in January, Vancouver rarely gets any significant snow fall.

 

@ Steve Dra, I love the Lufthansa Cargo shot. And thank-you, for the tips on camera positioning. Very useful.

 

Cheers, Craig.

[Dickens 1]

~~~To notify that I have responded~~

 

 

 

Thanks for the guide/advice/tips! I have many apps(on my phone) where I import/export photos via many apps that create fantastic results. 

 

For example, caught this Lufthansa A380 landing at Miami International. (Not to brag  )

Before:

Where I edit it to:

I may have over done it to the point where it probably looks fake, but it's just an example. 

 

This is what I would be willing to do to my FSX photos. I would send it to my phone, pass it through filters, and send it back to the computer. However, I am not sure if passing the photo through those apps would degrade the quality since it is as high as the resolution of my computer monitor.

 

Aside from that, I'm great at real life photography, I know my angles and more, heh.

 

I am going to add the two lines of code to my CFG. (This is the CFG of the aircraft's cameras which I'd like to edit, correct?) I will absolutely play around with the position of the camera relative to the zoom .I had been splitting my head consistently wondering "there is something about my shots that comes out wrong." The geometry looks wrong. Something doesn't looks right. Now you've pointed it out to me, thanks. Distortion! I'm going to be experimenting with zoom and camera positions.

 

When I have the time I will read the guide. 

 

I figure when I get the 300 ER expansion (in which I will no longer be flying the 200 / 200F) It'll be a little more challenging judging I will have to fit an even lengthier variation into a screenshot. If you don't mind.. I'd like to take a screenshot with your angle, lol.

 

I have EZCA, so it makes it easier for me to move around and edit the speeds of the camera (advantage?  ) Also, I've got FSRecorder, so I record my flight first, where I'll then play it back. I do this to assure there is no interference between my keys I've got set and behaviors of the aircraft.

 

I last wanted to say... Thank you so much for the effort that you've made in educating me about cameras and general tips for "screenshotting".. Thank you.

[Steve Dra 7,579]

My pleasure Craig.

Always willing to help folks get more enjoyment out of our great hobby.

 

And with those tips...I didn't need any add-on programs (like the walk-n-follow program I almost bought a few times) to get this shot:

 

The pic is simulating me looking at the bird standing on the ground after the flight (I was flying from KDFW to KTPA when I was typing the replies above...Otto does a lot of flying in my crew, LoL).

 

In fact if you wanted to add one more level of realism to your flights, you could use my tips on cameras to do an pre-flight walkaround of this monster before you take her to some exotic destination.

 

Regards,

Steve Dra

[Dickens 1]

 

 

Nice shots, Dickens. But, I have to ask, where did you find snow in CYVR? Even in January, Vancouver rarely gets any significant snow fall.

 

Let's just say it was snowing pretty hard that day  ^_^