Dayton Air Show

The annual event was held this past weekend.

I believe it was 93-degrees and 90% humidity. The smell of tens of thousands of people (give or take a few thousand) roasting in the sun mixed with the aroma of Italian sausage and jet fuel was pleasant - I suppose to some :rolleyes:

My son and I arrived late and had to park 1 mile from the entrance. We hussled it both ways so I wasn't in the best mood to shoot a lot of "people" pictures as I normally do.


Here's some with the Canon 5D and 24-105mm.

These from the Canon 40D and 300mm f/4L IS.

Everyone is used to seeing planes pass in opposing directions at high speed, but when Apache helicopters do it, everyone cringes.

The Raptor was the main attraction. I was happy to get a shot of it with the weapons bay doors open (not typically seen). I was even happier that the pilot turned the plane before it was too big for my frame (that shot is uncropped) :p


Thanks to our brave men and women in uniform whenever and wherever they may be.

Lovely, lovely shots, Loupey!
John

Very nice catch of the 'three generations' of fighters.

That's a rare opportunity in itself.

The 300mm certainly compresses things doesn't it?

Thanks for sharing these jewels!

They're all great but the one of all the people gathering in the shade of the wing tells the story of the heat. Looks like the only shade around and they're going to use all of it.

Loupey,

These are some great shots. I love the 1st one.. It made me laugh...The last one with the bay doors open is truly spectacular.

Nice job.

I'm never disappointed when I open one of your post. Very hard to pick a favorite here, but you sure did catch the Apaches just right.

Oh shiny! Very, Very, Very Shiny.

I was lucky to see the F22 in '07.

Nice Loupey. I love the Apaches, but I'm really enjoying the shot of the crowd under the wing. Talk about giving a subject a sense of scale. . . .also really tells a story about the heat this day.

Addies Granddaddy - thank you so much for saying so!

drg - thanks for looking. The 300mm is about ideal for the job though. Last year I used the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS but the 200mm is too short and I had to use a 2x most of the time. Besides, the 300mm is much lighter than the 70-200mm :)

Frog - thank you for noticing the story there.

ciddog91 - appreciate you looking and commenting! I couldn't resist this sign. I should have also taken a photo of the security guards who were posted all along the route to watch the people but were, instead, looking up and the other way watching the planes :p

Old Timer - thanks for the kind words. I too like the Apache shot - first time I've seen them do this maneuver.

Axle - The Raptor is simply amazing in flight. The pilot demonstrated that he can fly the plane backwards, under control, by easing the throttle back during a vertical climb. The Raptor slid straight back to Earth for about 4~5 plane lengths, with the nose pointed straight up, before we saw the elevators flip and the plane nosed over. It also did the slowest pass I've ever seen a jet do - about 60 mph with the nose pointed up about 35-degrees - at about 200' off the ground.

gahspidy - thank you for taking the time to look :) I wanted to find a higher vantage point showing the entire plane with people peering up from underneath the entire perimeter. Would be a funny shot.

Your intro was hysterical and your photos fenomenal! I love airplanes!

Thanks for the posting the shots. They are fantastic. I'm in rural NY this summer, and missing the whole airshow season.

I really love the raptor shots. We had a few in SLC a few years ago. They are certainly amazing to watch.

the colors of the raptor is freaking amazing. you timed it perfect as well as the shutter speed of the Apaches. I thought it was a photoshop .:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Im getting the 70-200 with a doubler soon to get ready for the airshow here in september, but Im using a mono pod. heck I might just rent a 200-400. Last year I didnt have a camera and missed my P-38 flying and miss the opportunity to take pics of the Tuskegee Airman that was sitting next to me.

Nice to see how you captured the heat in the first shot ! I will second the 3 Generation of fighters shot, sweet.
Jimmy B

Lori11, WCpilot, racedraper, and Jimmy B - thank you all for taking a looksee and taking the time to comment. The aerial displays were quite excellent. I only wish they had more planes on the ground for people to look at. Instead, there were more food vendors, kiddie activities, and souvenir tents than there were planes.

Just to be clear, all the in-flight shots here were pushed extremely hard through photoshop to pull the original colors back out. The air was so hazy and humid that I didn't think I could salvage them at all. You may have noticed some ghosting around the hard edges of the planes due to the extent of PP.

I don't usually push PP this hard so I'm very appreciative of all your comments.

Those are some great looking shots. Looked like a fun time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sharon333

Those are some great looking shots. Looked like a fun time.

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Thank you. It was fun. Hot. But still fun :)

My son (who has been to been to many airshows) is still telling his friends about this one.

Hey Loupey, nice job there :) You can always come over to the Indy Airshow next month. Not sure yet if I am doing it or not, the paper hasn't said yet, if not I can still shot some of it and not leave home, the F22's will be flying right over the house and probably lower now I have only one tree left.

JS

JS, thank you for looking.

When you find out if you are doing it or not, let me know. That is my only open weekend in August as of now.

Last of the images.

Don't know what the deal was with the first one. I guess if you mount a jet engine on the back of your truck, they'll let you in the show :rolleyes:

Anyway, it was your typical jet-truck-verses-a-flying-aerial-biplane-race.

Dam those are some really nice shots thank you

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loupey

JS, thank you for looking.

When you find out if you are doing it or not, let me know. That is my only open weekend in August as of now.

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Ok, I'll let ya know Loupey!

JS

Wow, those are nice. Love the Corsair shot, mostly because it's been my favorite plane since I was 4....

Very nice photos....I'm jealous! Our air races are approaching fast, about 6 more weeks. Rumor has it that we may get a fly-by of the Raptor. I'm hoping to get some decent shots of it. Looks like you had a great time, thank you for posting them.

r_w & Toot - thank you both for looking and commenting.

I like the prop-planes myself (for the "ahhh"), but the jets always provide the "ohhh" :)


Perhaps more from Indy soon. Thanks everyone.