p.23 #1 · Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Image Thread
Douglas L wrote:
On Sunday, I left my house at 1:30 AM and drove 375 miles to MCAS Cherry Point for the airshow. For this show, I had the 400-800mm lens on one camera, a Tamron 50-400 on another camera. At times the 400mm of the 400-800mm lens was still too long, but the 800mm came in handy sometimes.
Here is the first installment, the USMC AV-8B Harrier II Demo. They said this was their last demo flight. I sort of remember they said the same thing in 2024 too.. Heat shimmering was there sometimes.
p.23 #6 · Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Image Thread
James Burden wrote:
Killer images Douglas....I feel like such a lazy idiot for not driving the hour up the road for that airshow....
Thank you very much, James! I don't know if you went to the show in 2024. It was a nightmare, not for me but for people who tried to get in around 9:00, the traffic backed up miles. Some people just turned around and went home after sitting in the traffic for several hours. With ID check at the gate and security check after parking, a lot of people missed half of the show. This year they hired a traffic management consultant. They did a great job. It was a breeze getting in and leaving.
But this year the base implemented restriction on lens size, no more than 200mm. It upset a lot of people. I wrote them to complain, they said I could apply for a media pass which would allow me bring in longer lenses. I did apply and got a media pass. The marine at the security check did say he turned away people with long lenses without media pass. But Some people managed to bring in long lenses without media pass. I think it depends on the person at the security check.
The F-16 Falcon Demo jet with the 50th anniversary red white and blue paint scheme was "in the shop" on Sunday, so they flew the backup grey color F-16. It did made some nice vapes. The 800mm really became in handy. Some of these shots were cropped a lot.
p.23 #8 · Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Image Thread
robert614 wrote:
Great shots of the F-35 and F-16 Douglas!
Looks like you were show center. You got a great head on shot of the f-35 hovering. Or did the pilot do a slow pan sideways while hovering?
Weather looked great. Lots of humidity in the air for lots of good vapor!
Thank you Robert! No, I wasn't at the show center even though I had a media pass. Both the F-35B and the Harrier panned very slowly for the spectators so everyone could see them from different angles.
Last installment of the show. I forgot to bring the cheat sheet for the Blue Angels opposing passes, ended up tracking the jet that got blocked by the other jet during the pass. Their maneuver might have changed this year too.
p.23 #9 · Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Image Thread
Douglas L wrote:
Thank you Robert! No, I wasn't at the show center even though I had a media pass. Both the F-35B and the Harrier panned very slowly for the spectators so everyone could see them from different angles.
Last installment of the show. I forgot to bring the cheat sheet for the Blue Angels opposing passes, ended up tracking the jet that got blocked by the other jet during the pass. Their maneuver might have changed this year too.
p.23 #19 · Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Image Thread
Another 2 rainy/cloudy days in Vermont, which led to a nice even lighting, but I still need to get some good direct light shots.
Finding that F9 produces (what feels like to me) more reliable/sharper shots in these conditions.
A1, all at F9. Processed with a lot of NR and some sharpening. I am not a birder by any means. I tried to capture these little guys hunting, and failed spectacularly. That's so much more difficult that I expected, so I stuck to stills
