Looks like fog/clouds again today in SF - still cloudy and almost 2:00 p.m.
General advice in addition to my "anticipate" posted above:
- Shoot at the highest ISO that is consistent with what you'll do with the photos.
- Open up some to increase shutter speed, but not necessarily all the way since with a long lens focus can be a bit tougher.
- You might try pre-focusing.
- IS may not be of much help at all if you speed up the shutter speed sufficiently.
- Burst mode is useful. I keep the camera set to burst mode, though I may not burst every shot.
- Think a lot about light - best to find location where the Angels will be front or side lit - not back lit...
- Timing is very important...
- ... though sometimes they are so low and so fast that you barely have time to shoot.
- Expose a LOT of frames.
- Think ahead of time about certain types of shots you might want and watch for them.
- Don't ignore crowd and background shots.
Myself I like to shoot in manual mode picking a pleasing sky exposure with a fast enough shutter speed, Most of my shooting would be in the same general area so exposure is not all over the place, Now if it's a cloudy/sunny day that can be tough. I didn't get to shoot the Blue Angels but the Thunderbirds where at the local show this summer.
So they flew about 30 minutes in the fog today and my fricken 40d crapped an err99!! Had to shoot with my rebel at 8mpix and 3fps! Hope at least a few will come out decent...
The luck of the draw involves atmospheric conditions on the day you are shooting. Moist air, cloud cover and time of day of your favored subjects can be be for or against you. The year before in Jones Beach was better for me than this summer.
Also, keep wary. Especially during a lull. They show up unexpectedly and you lose shots. Even when the announcer tells you, they arrive faster than expected.
Well, the fog will definitely ruin your day. Had some good vantage points, but the light by fog was terrible. The first one here is actual size reduced for web, I was pretty close to the action (use your imagination and picture a clear blue background sky :-) ) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2553/4004915573_a8215f3674_o.jpg
Second one looks nice although the weekend weather obviously took its toll on the colors. I've been wondering what city backgrounds could be gotten from Crissey Field. That's one place I haven't been for the BA's. Was that taken during their initial run down from Sausalito?
We were at the picnic area about 100 yards from the store near the pier. The shots were somewhere in the middle of their performance. As stated earlier, my 40d Err99'ed out on me and I was left shooting with my 8mpix 3fps rebel! With the fog, that's a double handicap! I was actually trying to get some shots with the GG bridge in the background but seems the BA's were staying their distances from the bridge this year. Last year, they weren't shy about zooming through the bridge:
As far as city bg's, when the BA's fly low enough, you can get some interesting city skylines. (be forewarn, following pics are for reference only, the atmospheric fog and my level adjustments to pull back some darks really kills any photographic value!) (I'm shooting a 400mm by the way)
Thanks. Looks like your location works well for the "cityscape" kinds of shots because the sun (when it's there) is on the planes (and you also get the GG bridge shots.) So far, when I go I've mostly been on the rear decks of the Balclutha or Eureka (I think I see each in one of your pics) and for the city shots you're pointing southwards so the planes don't catch the light much. OTOH, when you're a bit farther out in the water like that it may be easier to spot the lone planes when they streak northwards over the city and pull high G's between there and Alcatraz (and you're closer to the point for the crossover shots.) Have to give Chrissi Field a shot next year.
I've shot the blue angels from a boat on the log boom in Seattle during the hydro races. The first time was 2006 with a rebel xt and 75-300 f4-56 is. Got some good shots but really had to be quick. I kept the shutter speed at 1/1000. Also, shot them again in 2007 but with a rebel xti and in 2008 with a 40d and the same lens. For me, the best shots were when I was moving the camera and matching their speed as they as they made their passes..
Blue Angels 2008 (pg 2 & 3 of the gallery have the Blue Angel shots)
No chance to do it this year. It was very challenging because the lens I used is pretty slow with af and if you lose them in your view finder the lens starts hunting like crazy. Also have to be careful on the boat and find a good place to anchor yourself while the boat is moving around in the water.
