Blue Angels Navy F-18 Demonstration Team in very tight formation
Blue Angels Navy F-18 Demonstration Team in very tight formation
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Adrenaline Rush Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
All Star
Superior Skill
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stevealbano
January 27, 2015
Love the Blue Angels. Nice shot of this very tight formation. I'm going to head down to their winter home (El Centro NAF) in a couple of weeks to watch their practice sessions.
kathymuhle
February 18, 2015
Wow - where did you shoot this? Shows how precise their flying is - amazing!
RDVPhotography
February 18, 2015
At Pensacola during a practice. Used my 24-105mm and cropped it. Should have carried my 300mm :(
RDVPhotography
March 28, 2016
Lucky I was visiting a friend in Pensacola where the Blues are stationed and was there on practice day.
CWphotos5
April 29, 2015
I am always amazed at hoe they can fly at such speeds, and so tightly together, without incident !!! Nice capture!
RDVPhotography
March 28, 2016
Me too, and I am a pilot, although I flew big airplanes but did inflight refueling as the reciever : D
RDVPhotography
March 28, 2016
Stopped by to visit an Air Force Pilot friend and he said they were practicing. Had been in Florida to visit my brother and did not have a telehoto lens so used my go to 24-105mm f/4 lens and cropped.
kathymuhle
September 27, 2016
This is an amazing shot! What you have to add to this equation is how fast they are traveling - split seconds. Congratulations on your finalist win too!!
RDVPhotography
September 27, 2016
Thanks much Kathy, I was surprised this one got to the finals as I also entered a Shark photo that hit top ten every week that did not make it, guess planes are in : D
MikeCeglady
September 28, 2016
Another great shot! Congrats on another finals. Maybe ViewBug will throw you a bone with a win one of these days. You certainly deserve it. Keep up the amazing work!
cyrillinegoodman
October 11, 2016
WOW AMAZING Shot! Amazing skill of those pilots. Congratulations on being a finalist!
adavies
February 04, 2017
Holy cannoli! Incredible capture...scary to look at this! If you haven't done so already, please consider joining my Outdoor Events challenge:)
https:// viewbug.com/challenge/outdoor-events-fairs-concerts-marketsany-outdoor-event-photo-challenge-by-adavies
https:// viewbug.com/challenge/outdoor-events-fairs-concerts-marketsany-outdoor-event-photo-challenge-by-adavies
DAsEye
January 03, 2023
Well done, I've seen them several times at NAS Oceana but I don't recall ever having seen the stacked so tightly
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken at Naval Air Station Pensacola Florida during a weekly practice session which is open to the public. Also this is the home base of the Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team.Time
It was a little before noon and the Blues had been practicing for about 10 minutes.Lighting
Lighting was a bit difficult as the sun was pretty much overhead and some of the clouds were picking up a lot of light.Equipment
I had my Canon 5D Mk II with Canon EF 24-105 f/4 L IS lens. Unfortunately I had failed to bring one of my telephoto lens, that will not happen next time.Inspiration
I took many pictures of them that day but I really wanted a photo with a tight formation and this one was it.Editing
The main thing I did in post-processing was cropping as I could not get as tight a shot with the lens I was using. Besides cropping I made the following adjustments: Enabled Lens Profile, Removed Chromatic Aberration, Reduced Noise, Sharpened, Adjusted White Balance to Daylight from Cloudy, Reduced Highlights, Increased Shadows, Reduced Black Clipping, Increased Clarity & Vibrance, Adjusted Dark & Light Tones and made some color adjustments in Saturation and Luminance. I used Lightroom for all post-processing work.In my camera bag
On this day I did not carry my usual bag and only had my camera with mounted lens and carried it around with the strap. Big Mistake! I should have brought my bag which had my EF 70-200 f/2.8 L IS lens. There is a reason I set up a bag for a particular type of photography and should have carried the bag with my long lenses. No need for a tripod or filters in this fast action type of work, but a long lens is a must and the EF 24-105mm just barely did the job.Feedback
If you have a chance to get to Pensacola make it a point to go see a practice session by the Blue Angels. The crowd is not near what you would experience at a full on air show and you can even get a seat in the bleachers close to the action right next to the runway. The only other thing I would say is "Take a long lens".