Tag Archives: show

Chicago Air and Water Show

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The Air and Water Show, here in Chicago, has been a regular for me since moving here – and why wouldn’t it be when I can actually walk to the show!?  This year, though, I was not so inspired.  The line up was not looking to be too diverse (at least as far as the things I like to shoot) and they had moved it an hour earlier which means more of the show is in the harsh lighting from a bad angle.

I skipped practice day and Saturday was almost rained out.  Sunday the weather was good and I eventually found I couldn’t quite quit cold turkey and grabbed one camera and one lens (plus a bottle of water) and decided to walk slowly up the lakefront.  This would give me a chance to take some shots from further away but looking more up the display line.  It also made the sun angles a bit better.

As the show progressed, I gradually drifted up the lakeshore until I got the North Avenue beach, around show center, just in time for the Thunderbirds display.  I should point out my timing was better than that of the Golden Knights and the Thunderbirds.  The Golden Knights had finished their jump and were lined up on the beach being introduced by their commentator.  Each member of the jump team was given a personal introduction and they were just getting to their special guest of the day who was getting the ceremonial baton when the Thunderbirds roared in from behind the crowd.

That was the end of the presentations as far as the majority of the crowd were concerned since the PA was switched over to the Thunderbirds commentary team who had probably been doing their introductions previously without knowing that no-one was hearing them.  Don’t know whether the Golden Knights were running late or the Thunderbirds were early but, either way, not a smooth handover.  The Golden Knights jump ship had been orbiting offshore awaiting its final pass but I guess they were told to make themselves scarce once the show box was handed over to the Thunderbirds!

The show was not too bad.  I’m glad I went and I took the reverse stroll home which also worked pretty well.  I guess I can’t pass up an airshow on my doorstep, even if the schedule doesn’t get me too excited!

Thunder Over Michigan

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I made a last minute decision to go to Thunder Over Michigan at Willow Run.  For some reason, I have never been to this show before.  I have seen plenty of interesting shots of the aircraft from previous years so why I have never been is a mystery to me.  There are some practical issues about going  but not that can’t be overcome.

Being just outside Detroit, it is the best part of a four hour drive to get to Thunder.  It is also a time zone change so making the trip across early in the morning is not a practical proposition.  Therefore, an overnight is required.  I decided that two nights would make for a more relaxing time.  In the run up to the show, the heatwave across the Midwest was still forecast to be in place and the chances of storms were mixed in with the high temperatures.

I booked the room since I could cancel it at short notice and then decided to wait and see.  In the end , I figured I would take a chance.  Nancy was convinced I was not going to make the trip and looked amazed when I finally walked out of the door.

It was definitely worth the trip.  I met up with a bunch of people I either already know or have crossed paths with online including the team at Warbird Digest who recently published the article on Warbird Heritage Foundation I wrote.  Greg was particularly generous as he had a photo pass I could use for the show.  This was a welcome addition since it not only provided a good location but also included shelter from the sun and cold drinks!

The weather ended up being okay.  The heat was pretty significant and the light moves round during the day making the shots a bit trickier. It also got cloudy when the Blue Angels closed out the show.  however, it was the warbirds that I was there to see and they were a lot of fun.

I would include pictures to share with you but instead, I have written a piece for Global Aviation Resource which is illustrated so here is the link to that instead.

http://www.globalaviationresource.com/reports/2011/airshows-usa-thunder-over-michigan-review/index.php

Not this year!

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Two years ago, I made my first trip to Oshkosh for the EAA extravaganza that is Airventure. I have no idea why it took me so long to get there but there’d always been some work related reason why I hadn’t gone. I loved it. So much good stuff to see, plenty of space, even when shared with thousands of your closest friends, and more variety than you can imagine.

Last year it was sacrificed because I had made the quick trip to the UK for RIAT and, as it turns out, I missed the chance to get very wet. This year, timing was again tricky. It coincided with the last week of a consulting contract i have with a client so planning ahead was not easy. By the time it looked like I might be able to go, the chance of finding anywhere to stay within an hour of the event was minimal.

So, I am in Chicago, barely two and a half hours away but I am not going. This is a big disappointment to me but hardly something I can complain about. I have a bunch of friends there, (another reason for my disappointment) so I can hear how it all went but it won’t be first hand knowledge. No looking at unique aircraft, no watching some of them display, no chatting to people sitting under the wing of their pride and joy and no lounging by the lake at the seaplane base enjoying the tranquility that contrasts so much with the rest of Airventure.

Next year maybe. In the mean time, I will have to look back at some shots from two years ago.

Indy Air Show

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The beginning of the air show season has already arrived but my plans for the year are rather sparse.  Some things I had originally planned to go to have been overtaken by competing events so there are relatively few shows that are presently a firm fixture in my calendar.  That is fine.  If the other things weren’t things I wanted to do, they wouldn’t have taken precedence.  Besides, when I am looking at a show, I am looking for something a little different since there are a bunch of acts, all good in their own right, that I can see any number of times through the year.

The show in Indianapolis caught me off guard therefore.  I hadn’t really been thinking about heading down to it.  I had read that the lighting is a bit harsh and had originally thought I had something else on.  However, I ended up being free and they had some aircraft that piqued my interest.  Besides, it is only three hours to drive down.  The forecast was looking mixed but I decided to give it a go.

The drive down was not inspiring!  Crappy conditions in Chicago as I left got worse as I drove down through Indiana.  At some points, the fog was quite bad with the wind turbines looming out of the murk as I headed down I-65.  However, as I reached Indy, the skies parted.  We were pretty lucky for weather for the rest of the day to be honest.  There were bursts of sun but mainly clouds.  However, I watched a few heavy looking downpours approach and they all passed east of us – at least until I was back in the car!

The show had a nice mix of performers.  I had never seen the PV-2 or C-1A fly before and that was nice.  They organized some warbird combined flights which were pretty good and photogenic – well, if the light had been better they would have been.  Overall, a good mix of things to keep me interested.  The light was tricky all day and there are a lot of shots that will never be seen in public because they are just blah!

All in all, though, a good day out and it was nice to get back into practice of shooting things moving rather fast.  Also nice to bump into some familiar faces during the show.  Good to see you guys!