Thunderbirds

[atldal]

I'm new to photography, but here are a couple of shots I took of the thunderbirds from the roof of my house.

[FlyingPhotog]

Exposures look pretty good and it looks as if you stopped them nicely.

They're a tad soft though. Is there some aggressive cropping done here?

[ChasWG]

I was thinking th same thing Jay. The F-16's that fly out of Buckley AFB (right over my house) are hard to shoot and always moving fast. I'd need a 400mm to do them any justice. Now I bet these T-Birds were a lot lower to the ground than the 16's near me. Maybe a kit lens deal?

[FlyingPhotog]

I was thinking th same thing Jay. The F-16's that fly out of Buckley AFB (right over my house) are hard to shoot and always moving fast. I'd need a 400mm to do them any justice. Now I bet these T-Birds were a lot lower to the ground than the 16's near me. Maybe a kit lens deal?

Dunno...

Hope the OP will clarify.

[atldal]

These were shot from the room of my house with a cannon XSI using a 55-250 lens. All I did to repost them was resample to the correct size and saved them as a .JPG.

[atldal]

sorry, I meant the roof of my house

[atldal]

Ok, reread and yes they are cropped.

[FlyingPhotog]

Do you have uncropped versions? Just curious how cropped these are.

[atldal]

ok, here they are. just resampled to fit the 1024

[FlyingPhotog]

That's kinda what I figured. You're pushing the crop pretty hard and losing resolution in the process.

Looks like you did about the best you could though. Always fun to see the TBirds fly!

[ChasWG]

Ahhhh, that's why the slightly OOf. How low were they? And bet they weren't in any great hurry. The F-16's that fly by me almost every day are real working AF and they are usually under full takeoff burn. Lately they haven't been doing the power takeoffs where they take off normally and then power up to 11K Ft by burning straight up! It's cool to see for the few seconds that you can see them!

In the past three years of living here I have yet to capture one clean, clear shot of these birds. While landing is my best bet, they are going slower and a bit lower.

[atldal]

I was lucky enough to have my house on be right under where they kept flying over for return runs to the group. They were low. I shot all of these on automatic.

[FlyingPhotog]

Unfortunately, you're asking a lot with only 250mm from that distance. This is why you see so many 500mm and 600mm lenses at airshows.

THIS (http://JCBeckman.zenfolio.com/p312119293/e2fa8e3d) was taken with 420mm on a 1.6X Body from right under the landing pattern at Nellis AFB and it sitll needed about a 25% crop.

Tactical jets look big to our eyes but they're actually quite small when you compare them to like an airliner or a cargo jet.

[ChasWG]

Nice photos in there Jay, but I'm sure you know that already. I love the one of the two TBird Vert stablizer to Vert stablizer. That's really close!

[FlyingPhotog]

Nice photos in there Jay, but I'm sure you know that already. I love the one of the two TBird Vert stablizer to Vert stablizer. That's really close!

You mean you don't know the dark secret of the Calypso Pass? :cool:

[atldal]

Very nice photo Jay. I would love to get a longer lens, but I was lucky enough to even buy the camera.

[FlyingPhotog]

Very nice photo Jay. I would love to get a longer lens, but I was lucky enough to even buy the camera.

Been There .. Done That .. Ate the Mac N Cheese

The 55-250 should serve you well if/when you get a chance to attend an air show and be right along the flight line. :D

[ChasWG]

You mean you don't know the dark secret of the Calypso Pass? :cool:

No, but I bet you do and you're going to tell me. They are really staggered appart and it's just a trick your eyes play. It seems one plane is less in focus. Right?

[FlyingPhotog]

No, but I bet you do and you're going to tell me. They are really staggered appart and it's just a trick your eyes play. It seems one plane is less in focus. Right?

Well, at the distances involved, any softness is likely induced by the photographer...

But yes, they fly offset in this maneuver. 5 is about a wingspan closer to the crowd than 6 but they postition it to eliminate paralax error and so they look totally one over the other.

[ChasWG]

Well, at the distances involved, any softness is likely induced by the photographer...

But yes, they fly offset in this maneuver. 5 is about a wingspan closer to the crowd than 6 but they postition it to eliminate paralax error and so they look totally one over the other.

Sweet! And that's why they are the best of the best!

[PhotosGuy]

Good subject to start with here! All I did to repost them was resample to the correct size and saved them as a .JPG.
Every shot, even if it's a .jpg shot in the camera, needs to be RE-sharpened when it's resized, even if it hasn't been cropped.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/PhotosGuy/Forum%20Junk/Welcome-ChargerRT_020.gif

[jimz66]

Amazing shots. Thanks for posting.

[007]

nice attempt but the pushing of the crop I agree is too much..

[f1.4]

From the Branson MO show.

[FlyingPhotog]

From the Branson MO show.

Nice shot and I actually like the treatment but please don't cross post in multiple threads and also, please don't "Threadjack" just because you have something similar...

Start your own thread or else look for a "Show Me..." of which there are a couple related to aviation...

[f1.4]

my bad-Got it. Thanks.