OK, so I'm a Blue Angels junkie. I try to get out to see them every year when they come to Seattle, rain or shine. I have taken literally hundreds of pictures of them over the years, so I thought I'd share a few. The last 3 were taken this summer when there was a low ceiling so they had to do their "low show". Icky looking sky, but some neat new angles from where I was perched. Anyone who has more, feel free to add them, but please, make them your own. There are lots of cool Blues shots out there from some real pros, but I'd rather not see them again here (unless you are the pro who shot them, then I will respectfully defer as I stand in awe of your work).

 

Very nice Larry, it almost seems a shame that I dilute your thread with a positive comment, but those shots with the trees are something else. LOL

 

Larry - the shot with the cloud ceiling as the horizon line is amazing. That's one perch that I would not move from had I attended that airshow. Here are several of mine, first 2 taken during 2005 SF Fleet week from the parking lot of Coit Tower, did not have a proper zoom lens at the time. The last was from 2010 Alliance Air Show @ Fort Worth, TX - tried to capture the solos but not having the inverted one showing but the landing gears - alas - I was a tad early .....

BTW - did you take yours during the Seafest?

 

Thanks. It turns out that that particular shot was not over at the actual airshow. These are indeed from Seafair, and the show is out over Lake Washington, but they takeoff and land at Boeing Field. For this performance I went to watch the takeoff and landing activities, and this is the beginning of their landing routine. They peel off one by one, then circle around and land. It's a pretty cool sight. Just got lucky with the clouds. I took the shot of the Pilot the same day. If you look close, the picture has a sort of muted diamond pattern on it. That's because it was shot through a chain link fence.

Love your shot with the Flag in it!

 

Just came back from San Francisco attending the Fleet Week air show. This is the last pass - dedication pass, moving from West to East, from Crissy Field skirting the shore all the way to Embarcadero.

Shot this picture from Fort Mason pier - with Golden Gate bridge as the background.

 

Amazing shots Guys! Thanks for sharing. My weekend was spent working on the Jag (LOL).

 

Neat shot, Bob. Thanks.

Here's one I took this year. Marginal weather and not a very good show, but it is interesting.



Cheers,

 

Some more shots from the 2011 SF Fleet Week

Blue Angels #5 performing low level sneak pass - most people are usually fixated on the Blue Angels diamond performing a slow echelon barrel roll while the #5 sneaked from left to right at close to supersonic speed, followed by #6 from behind the crowd.







These next 2 are the shots of the Fat Albert - the support C-130 flown by the all-Marines crew. One of the shot is a low pass by Alcatraz, note the shadow on the water.



with vortices from the propeller tips:


This one was taken at 2011 Randolph AFB open house, at 1/160 to blur the props, with rented L-lens. That lens does make a difference!



#1 and #2 taxiing past the crowd - I've never been that close before!

 

Those shots over the water are killer

 

r0m8470 - - - I AM 100% JEALOUS OF YOUR SHOTS OF #5 !!!!! VERY, VERY IMPRESSIVE.

Thanks for sharing them.

 

I flew in a show that they were in and have seen them many times... i have shots but they are in old photo albums. I remember a drought summer and F.A. used jato and started the grass along the runway on fire..LOL

 

I got to see the Blue Angels at the Labor Day show that is put on at Pax River NAS. I was testing out my new lens (55-250mm) and this is what I ended up with. It was a little overcast, so, the background isn't great. But, I liked the "reach out and touch me" of the lens. If you want bigger versions of this than what you can grab off of here, let me know. The originals I have are roughly 4300x2900 pixels in size. So, they would be good for printing up to 16x20" pictures.