Shooting at 30,000 feet

First of all, I'll never understand why EVERYONE isn't glued to the windows
of an aircraft. We'll drive for half an hour to climb 3,000 feet to admire
the view, but 30,000 feet seems to be ho-hum. Me, I'm fascinated.

Anyway...

So I've got this Rebel XT and a window seat. I'm shooting through a one-foot
high opening and at least two layers of Plexiglass. When I'm looking out the
window, I'm wearing sunglasses with UV protection and brown tint. I want
that kind of filter for my lens, since the camera captures a washed-out
uniform grey-white, where I saw all sorts of definition and detail. Not
happy with the shots I took flying out, I finally broke down and bought a UV
filter for the trip home.

http://tfrog93.googlepages.com/ongoing

I offer for discussion a couple of samples. The first was with the camera on
an automatic mode (no flash), and has a blue wash throughout. The camera
also chose an ISO of 400, which I don't care for.

The second was on manual, but I tend to shoot dark. (I figure I can always
lighten up in PhotoShop, but the reverse doesn't seem to be true. A washed
out light won't recover details that just aren't there.)

I'm actually happy with the bluish look of the first shot - a happy accident
(?).

I have a real problem shooting down, though. Even with no cloud layer, I
just don't get details of the ground below. Third photo is an overflight of
Pittsburgh, PA, and typical of what I'm getting. Now, I know I'm shooting
down through a plastic window, and through 30,000 feet of haze, but I'd
still like a bit more detail.

Is this the kit lens, or should I clamp on yet another filter to cut the
haze?

I'm flying out to Phoenix in a couple of weeks, and I'd like to improve
these images, if I can. Any suggestions? And if anyone has any shots like
these with the new 70-300 lens, I'd love to see them.

dwight


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