Air Force Thunderbirds
My attempts to catch a plane flying at 400 mph.
There are so many things I love about Colorado Springs: the great weather, the mountains so close to town, the amazing city parks, and the Thunderbirds show every May for the Air Force Academy’s graduation.
I don’t know what it is about watching fighter jets fly overhead. I am not a patriotic person (I’m a history major - I know too much!), but I love watching these jets fly by. Maybe it’s because one of my favorite movies is “Top Gun”? Who knows.
The Thunderbirds show is an event for the city. You do not have to go to graduation to see the planes. Instead, you can park at a movie theater across I-25 and watch from the parking lot. Adam and I first did this in 2014. We then realized that the Thunderbirds practice the day before graduation, so we watched their practice show in 2016.
Because it had been a while since we had seen the Thunderbirds, we decided to watch their practice show again in May 2024. Having the conversion van helped because we knew we could make breakfast and lunch in the parking lot. We also had shade and a place to rest, and since I was still working, I worked remotely in the van in between practice sessions.
I wanted to shoot the Thunderbirds again because I now have a telephoto lens. However… oof. I felt RUSTY photographing the planes. For me, it was a struggle to catch the jet’s speed coupled with the awkwardness of the long lens and using a monopod for stability. I’m not satisfied with any of these shots because I know I can do better. Most of these images were pure luck, captured using the “spray and pray” photography method, lol. However, it was good practice for what’s coming later this summer: an air show in town featuring the Blue Angels and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. We’ll see what happens!
Those of you who have photographed jets, any advice for better aviation photography?
Cheers.
Years ago, when I lived in Seattle, I got to see the Navy's, Blue Angels, in a way that I doubt I'll ever be able to replicate. I only wish that I had had a camera at the time. "SeaFair" is an annual summer tradition, in Seattle. The big draw are the hydroplane boats, but the highlight (for me) are the Blue Angels. They practice for two days, prior to the start of the SeaFair, and you can see them from all over the city. I happened to be seeing a lady, who lived in a house at the top of Capitol Hill. One year, the pattern that the BA's flew, brought several of the planes up over the house, in formation. What was really cool was, the planes were almost completely inverted as they passed directly over the house (multiple times, those pilots are PRECISION flyers). My GF's house had a deck on the roof and I could clearly see the pilots looking through their canopy's, as they passed overhead.
Every time they flew over, I waved. By the second day, and the last fly-by of rehearsals, one of the pilots, who was expecting to see me waving, waved back, as he passed over the house. Persistence pays off!!
Damn! I wished I'd had a camera.
I'm in Colorado Springs too and it's always a thrill to see the Thunderbirds fly overhead during the graduation. You captured some great shots!