farlymac
PF McFarland
When I'm sitting at my computer, I can look out the window and see the planes coming in for a landing on runway 24 when the wind is right. And the military likes to use the airport for training, as it's a somewhat difficult place to get in and out of, what with the approaches over the mountains.
But usually, it's just one plane doing touch-and-goes, and they range from a small single engine training jet, to one of the Boeing 777 variants in the VIP fleet. Sometimes though, a whole flight of planes will come in, such as the time six Navy and Marine trainers made a stop.
Today it was the Air Force's turn to make an appearance, with C-17 transports landing. I heard the first one go by, then the second one made it in before I could get the camera out to the balcony. I also saw one go by wheels up, so he was obviously doing a go-around. At this time though I figured they were doing T+Gs, and would get plenty of shots of them in mid-air, and that there were only two. When I made it out onto the balcony, one of them was on final approach, and so I waited for the other one to come around again. Turns out they landed, as I could hear the engines as they taxied back to the end of the runway for take-off. So I headed out the front door of the apartments, and there were three big birds waiting for their portraits!
I usually shoot such scenes at 100 ISO in order to get the best resolution from the camera, but it was somewhat cloudy, and I just had time to reset the white balance before shooting the first plane. I did switch it from 400 to 200 after the first break in the action, so that kept a bit of the visual noise down. And the microphone is not the best on the camera, so about all you hear is wind noise while the planes are taking off, which is a testament to the engine maker's, and Boeing's engineering skills in reducing the sound signature of such a large plane.
PF
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 post processed in PSE8
Incoming by br1078phot, on Flickr
Full Flaps by br1078phot, on Flickr
Silhouette by br1078phot, on Flickr
On Final by br1078phot, on Flickr
Busy Ramp by br1078phot, on Flickr
Taxi Out by br1078phot, on Flickr
Power Up by br1078phot, on Flickr
Big Birds Over Poor Mountain by br1078phot, on Flickr
To see the full set, and two videos go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157627866953401/
But usually, it's just one plane doing touch-and-goes, and they range from a small single engine training jet, to one of the Boeing 777 variants in the VIP fleet. Sometimes though, a whole flight of planes will come in, such as the time six Navy and Marine trainers made a stop.
Today it was the Air Force's turn to make an appearance, with C-17 transports landing. I heard the first one go by, then the second one made it in before I could get the camera out to the balcony. I also saw one go by wheels up, so he was obviously doing a go-around. At this time though I figured they were doing T+Gs, and would get plenty of shots of them in mid-air, and that there were only two. When I made it out onto the balcony, one of them was on final approach, and so I waited for the other one to come around again. Turns out they landed, as I could hear the engines as they taxied back to the end of the runway for take-off. So I headed out the front door of the apartments, and there were three big birds waiting for their portraits!
I usually shoot such scenes at 100 ISO in order to get the best resolution from the camera, but it was somewhat cloudy, and I just had time to reset the white balance before shooting the first plane. I did switch it from 400 to 200 after the first break in the action, so that kept a bit of the visual noise down. And the microphone is not the best on the camera, so about all you hear is wind noise while the planes are taking off, which is a testament to the engine maker's, and Boeing's engineering skills in reducing the sound signature of such a large plane.
PF
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 post processed in PSE8
Incoming by br1078phot, on Flickr
Full Flaps by br1078phot, on Flickr
Silhouette by br1078phot, on Flickr
On Final by br1078phot, on Flickr
Busy Ramp by br1078phot, on Flickr
Taxi Out by br1078phot, on Flickr
Power Up by br1078phot, on Flickr
Big Birds Over Poor Mountain by br1078phot, on Flickr
To see the full set, and two videos go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157627866953401/
Livesteamer
Well-known
Thanks for sharing. and Thanks to all who keep them flying. Joe