Blue Angels over my house - HELP!

Hi everyone,

I went home for lunch today, and lo and behold, the Blue Angels were practicing for the MCAS Miramar Airshow. They flew over my house during their practice and in a fit of excitement, I managed to snap some shots. I used my 40d and the 28-135 kit lens.

I was pretty excited until my wealthy boss showed me the photos he shot with his Nikon D2/400mm lens. Well, someone always has better equipment. But I'd love pointers, suggestions, and other advice since I hope to have another attempt at these shots tomorrow.

Thanks in advance!

#1.

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Why not just go to the airshow? Admission is free...

JWright wrote in post #6425812
Why not just go to the airshow? Admission is free...

Great advice .... Go early and get a spot on the fence and enjoy and click away

I was just looking at the website to find out the cost for the nice shaded up front seats. They pretty much charge admission for the nice comfy seats. It's very warm today, and the air show gets HOT. I do agree that if I want better shots, waiting around my backyard probably won't cut it.

But for being in my backyard and not having to deal with crowds, I'm cool with these shots. I was hopeful I could salvage a couple in case we don't make it to the airshow. I'm also concerned that my kit lens really won't cut it.

Your house must be real close. Perhaps climb up to the roof .

These shots suffer from composition problems. you can't salvage much when half of the plane is out of the frame. The shaded seats are not going to be good for photographers. If you can't take the heat all day then just go for the finale. We have an airshow next weekend and I'll be there for part of the day. My house is close enough that they fly over it to practice. I've had the pilots wave to me in my back yard as they make a hard bank over my house.

good luck.

Speaking of Miramar this weekend, never been...will a 70-200 reach anything there? or will I need to settle for the static displays....

just curious if its worth the 2 1/2 hr drive...

Rick

Hey Raivyn,

Good shot's of fast F-18's, it is hard to get the best shot, so shoot shoot shoot, one may be the best. I know that myself, as I shoot many, but only post a few.

Keep on clicking!

Yeah, my house is close enough that after I took these shots, I went to my driveway to drag myself back to work, and two of them did their crossover maneuver right above the guy across the street. Pretty awesome.

I know the composure sucks; like I said, I was so excited to see them so close that I wanted to take my eye off the viewfinder and just SEE the planes with my own eyes. I'll just keep trying.

It seems you need a pretty far reach to catch some of these shots. 300mm+?

THe last shot is great. One to blow up and hang on the wall.

slapsh0t wrote in post #6427704
Speaking of Miramar this weekend, never been...will a 70-200 reach anything there? or will I need to settle for the static displays....

just curious if its worth the 2 1/2 hr drive...

Rick

It's always worth the drive! I'll be driving to Houston (5 hours) and Pensacola (3.5 hours) for shows later this month and next month.

The 70-200 lacks a little length, but, you should still be able to get great shots. Buy a 1.4x tele for events like these. I know it's a little late for that, so, get there early park your self at the front fence/show line and fire away. I don't think you'll have to "settle" for the static displays.

gjl711 wrote in post #6435844
THe last shot is great. One to blow up and hang on the wall.

Thanks! Funny, I just did that because I was curious to see how it would look printed. It turned out pretty nice, but I didn't do any PP, so the sharpness wasn't there. Of course, I didn't use a particularly sharp lens to begin with.

I'm fortunate that the air show comes around every year (to my back yard). If you haven't been, and even if you don't have a very long lens, I think it's worth the drive because it is just a fun, great show.

Raivyn wrote in post #6425775
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Is there any way to salvage this photo?...

This one would be quite easy to save. A little cut and pasting, some creative blending and you can get the wing back on.

gjl711 wrote in post #6436186
This one would be quite easy to save. A little cut and pasting, some creative blending and you can get the wing back on.

I think you're quite right! Duh!