Gallery 4
Air Show Photographs
I saw my first air show in August of 1970, while I was stationed in Thailand with the U. S. Air Force during the Viet-Nam war. Since I worked around jet fighter aircraft every day, I thought the show was cool, but nothing out of the ordinary. After I left the active service, my appreciation of air shows grew. They were my ticket back to an earlier time in my life, when I was surrounded by fast moving air planes and precision flying. So, for the past thirty plus years, going to air shows has been a warm weather ritual for Bonnie and I. Luckily for me, Bonnie's a bigger air show nut than I am.
I've always taken lots of pictures at air shows. As my photographic skills improved, the images have gotten better too. Now, with digital photography, the photos are at a higher level than ever before.
Below are some photos taken in the past few years or so. Most are digital, but there are also a few film reprints sprinkled into the mix. Since Bonnie and I are big fans of the Air Force Thunderbirds, I've decided to reserve an entire Gallery page just for them. Gallery 5 is exclusively Thunderbird photos.
Above, Army Specialist Sean Sweeney of the World Famous Golden Knights skydive team, brings in the National Colors at the McGuire Air Force Base open house in 2005.
Military Air Shows are by far my favorite. There's nothing like spending a warm Summer day on a flight line watching some of our nation's finest pilots do their stuff. There are a total of four North American military teams that take part in air shows each season. The oldest group is the United States Navy Blue Angels, followed by the US Air Force Thunderbirds and the Army Skydive team, The Golden Knights.
North of the border in Canada, the Canadian Air Force has an aerobatic team called the Canadian Snowbirds. Each group is the best in their field. They are all very cool and each group puts on a spectacular show. If you're lucky, from time to time, more than one team will perform at the same air show. But don't look for the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds to perform at the same location. Outside of very special occasions, military regulations prohibit both teams from performing at the same air show location.
Above, the Navy's Blue Angels perform two different types of Bomb Burst maneuvers. The photo on the right was used as for the cover of the April issue of Popular Communications Magazine.
Below, the Blue Angels show off some of their World famous precision flying.
Here are two shots of the Navy's solo aircraft, Blue Angels 5 & 6. The first photo is pretty routine. But it really shows off the Blue Angels Colors.
Photography at air shows can be tricky. The Blue Angels planes are dark blue and depending on how they are positioned with respect to the sun, they can appear almost black.
This photo was shot digitally, at the McGuire air show in June of 2005 using an effective focal length of 560mm with an image stabilized lens.
Shooting against an all gray sky is no bargain either. With so much bright
sky in the frame, the camera's meter can get fooled. If you're lucky
enough to be shooting digital, review a few test frames. When you find a good exposure setting,
stick with it until something changes. Air Shows are generally not the place for
shooting in the "Program" or "Auto" modes.
Even though this photo was taken against a milky white sky, it is still one of my favorites. It shows Blue Angel solos 5 & 6 flying close enough together to appear as if they are one airplane.
The shot was taken at the Millville, New Jersey air show in May of 2003. This is one of the last photographs taken of the Angels with my old film camera.
Here is another film shot from October of 2000.
With the Virginia State flag in tow, two of the Army's finest open the show at Langley Air Force Base.
I've used several tricks over the years to find a good exposure setting for my cameras. Some have worked great, others haven't. It's easier now with digital shooting, because you get an instant feedback as to what's working and what isn't.
One trick I've used with good success is to meter a patch of clear Blue northern sky (if there is some). What ever the reading, it is a good starting point for your photos.
Also, if possible, try to photograph when the planes are not silhouetted against the sky. This is not always easy, but even at air shows where the crowd line puts you facing due South, the performers often fly behind or adjacent to the flight line. Good shots can be had there. But remember using the "Program" mode is out of the question.
In December of 2003 the World celebrated the Centennial of the Wright Brother's first historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. These two photos were taken at Nellis Air Force Base, as part of the Thunderbird's 50th Anniversary celebration air show.
This replica of the a non-original Wright Flyer was built by the men and women of the Utah State University's Aeronautics and Space Dynamics Laboratories.
Below the Air Force Academy Skydive team Wows the crowd at the opening of another show.
The U.S. Air Force celebrated it's 50th Anniversary in September, 1997. During that birthday year, an idea was born which lives on till today at almost every Air Force sponsored air show. They call it the "Heritage Flight". The idea is simple, pair up some of today's most modern aircraft with one or two planes from the distant past. It's always a crowd pleaser.
Shown below is an Army-Air Corps, WW-II vintage P-51 Mustang, flanked on the left by an Air Force F-15 Eagle, and on the right by an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
In the next Heritage shot, two P-51 Mustangs are flanked by an A-10 Warthog on the left and an F-15 Eagle on the right. This photo was taken in 2003.
Below an F-15 Eagle, flying at nearly Mach-1, causes a build up of air pressure along the aircraft's fuselage.
Below are Seven of the Nine aircraft flown by the World famous Canadian Snowbirds. Their air show season is somewhat restricted due to the early onset of winter north of the border. From time to time, the Birds will venture south to wow American audiences with their precision aerobatics.
These photos were taken in Millville, New Jersey in 2003.
Below two of the Snowbirds perform a knife-edge pass in review.
Below is another rare site indeed. Here is a Russian Mig-29 traveling just below the sound barrier.
It was shot at Nellis AFB, in 2003. I especially like the Blur in the background.
Not all of the air show performers are military planes. Here is one of the many private aircraft that makes the air show circuit every year. In 1979, the Red Baron company was looking for a unique way to advertise its line of frozen pizzas. What better way then to tie in the company name to a group of aerobatic performers. Here is one of the Red Baron planes performing a Hammer Head stall.
Just about when you think you've seen it all, comes a race between a vintage propeller driven aircraft and a rocket powered roadster. This photo was also taken at the Millville air show in 2003. OBTW, the roadster was slow to start, but overtook the aircraft by the runway's mid-point.
Finally, every now and then you get lucky enough to catch lightning in a bottle. The photo below was taken at the Langley Air Force Base air show in 2000. I watched as the Golden Knight skydiver exited his aircraft from about 10 thousand feet. At approximately 7 thousand feet he popped the chute and gently floated across the sky. Every now and then he came close to the vague outline of the setting moon. He was still pretty high up to get a really good close-up shot but I kept my camera ready just in case. All of a sudden, it happened.
With my eye up to the viewfinder and my finger on the shutter release, this image came into view. It was the only shot I took with the skydiver and the moon and it was also the keeper. No photo manipulation was needed other than a slight amount of cropping to better position the image, If I do say so myself, it's a classic moment, preserved for all time.
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