Does this count...

[I_Fly]

as sports photography?

I shoot a lot of aviation photos and my favorite type of photos are panning shots of airplanes doing low, high speed passes.

Here's an example from last week. What do you think?

[Photo-John]

Looks pretty sporty to me. And that's definitely some sweet panning.

[I_Fly]

Thanks PJ,
I do a ton of panning shots, during good flying weather. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 70-200 L lens this year. Leaning towards the f/4 because I primarily shoot outdoors, good light and I've heard the f/4 is a lot lighter (ie easier to pan!) than the f/2.8.

Here's another, same airplane, same pass, a couple of frames later:

[Photo-John]

I like the first one better. The details on the ground and the composition make it more interesting to me.

I have the 70-200 f/2.8L and I can vouch for its weight. That lens on the 1D, at an all day event, makes for one seriously sore shoulder and elbow. But I do like having that extra stop for shallow depth-of-field and because I like to use a polarizer all the time. Can't say anything bad about the f/4 version, though. Everyone loves it and it's always one of the most viewed lens review pages on this site.

[Ouvinen]

I agree, the first one works way better with the details in the background and the composition that allows the plane more 'space to go to'. The second one has too much of a central composition to my taste..

[Speed]

as sports photography?

I shoot a lot of aviation photos and my favorite type of photos are panning shots of airplanes doing low, high speed passes.

Here's an example from last week. What do you think?

That is low, fast flying. And when you're spincter is that tight, the adrenaline is flowing just like any other sport.

Great shots buddy!

[I_Fly]

Hehe, I've got a friend that says "If you have to look down at the windsock, it's not a low fly-by." This guy made several passes, not sure why or who he was but I took advantage of it to get some panning practice!