Summary thoughts:
- I took less photos this year. I still subscribe to the 'spray and pray' philosophy in most cases, but my spray shots were down by quite a bit. As to the Thunderbird shots, I have plenty of shots of them against a blue sky already from earlier this year. So, I didn't have to take as many T-Bird shots as I did in Traverse City. I was focused on the passing shots - which allowed me to more enjoy the show.
- I had definite thoughts about where I was going to focus my attention and what I wanted to get. I was about 25% successful. And I'm good with that. I wanted more race perspectives that what I had done last year, which was mostly on the start/finish line. That did not work out the way I planned. On the other hand, I did spend more time in the 'pits' and captured more pit life shots. Nothing professional, but a good start. Something to build on for next year.
- Eric's Rules: I need to take shotgun lessons. I mentioned that I had trouble tracking aircraft going across a horizontal line. After I get so far, I lose the target out of the center of my focus, going mostly down. I was informed this was shotgun 101, not to be confused with rifle 101, in how I rotated my line of sight. I needed to work with more of my lower body, as opposed to using my shoulders and arms. All good stuff, need to practice now.
- I should have played the lottery on Sunday. In a lot of sporting events, one of the between event things to do is to air shoot something, usually a t-shirt into the crowd. And this is done here. My seat is in row 32 - the highest. That in itself would require a lot of air power, plus the t-shirt would have to be a brick to get up that high. Add to that that there is floor seating of at least 10 rows, and that's quite an effort. However, the t-shirt made it up to my row, and I made the clean catch. That sort of thing does not usually happen in my world. However, the shirt is a medium size and at least part of my luck still holds. Ha.
- I'm locking into air show/air race shutter speeds.
- Jets: 1/1250 sec. At airshows with opposing aircraft stunts, 1/2500 (and that still might not be enough).
- Helicopters: 1/180. And that still might not be slow enough. 1/100 would be better.
- Small racers/show aircraft: Start at 1/400.
- T-6: Fastest is 1/500. 1/200 is much better. Depends on the angle. A slower shutter speed for a shot coming from left to right is useless. A slower speed for a head on shot can work really well.
- If the camera will shoot 10 FPS, use it. That will be a lot of deletions at the end of the day, but if you get the money shot, it won't matter.
- I could become an avid T-6 class fan. The T-6 class is a lot like NASCAR, in that the vehicles are regulated to be pretty much the same. The modifications that can be made are very limited. For racing purposes, this means tighter formations. And for photography, they are big and slow. That being said the the prop speed is also slower which still makes the process challenging. But a great place to start.
- Nothing, and I do mean nothing, sounds like the first lap crossing of the start/finish line of the unlimited class aircraft. When they all cross together, harmony. Symphony. My favorite aircraft sound is still the C5 A/B sounds on take off - and I can't see that changing. The unlimited sound is a close second.
- I am becoming more of a race fan. For sure, I am there to see the military power which is a small part of the event. This year, I talked with more of the seasoned fans and am getting more of an appreciation of the sport. like car racing, there is more to the event than just going fast.
- I got a free hat. Military Appreciation Day. Some events just do it right. Not that I need a free hat to every event, but the show starts every day by paying respect to the nation, armed forces and to the flying community. No apologies for liking all.
As I said earlier, counting down to next year's event.
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