Tag: blue angels

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Movies

Blue Angels

For many years I’ve had the Blue Angels at the top of my rankings of my favorite flight demonstration teams. I’ve seen them many times during Fleet Week in San Francisco – having taken photos of them from various venues including on a Hornblower yacht, from Alcatraz Island, along Crissy Field in the San Francisco Peninsula, and out on a good friend’s sailboat. Seeing their airshow is always a treat!

I’ve been looking forward to seeing the new Blue Angels movie produced by J.J. Abhams and Glen Powell and shot for the IMAX screen. It’s only in IMAX theaters for one week (beginning yesterday) before it debuts on Amazon Prime on May 23.

Yesterday I went to an afternoon matinee showing of the IMAX film and really enjoyed myself. The movie was shot over the course of a year beginning with the Blue Angels three month winter training sessions that begin in January in El Centro, California. It tells some great stories of the individual pilots – focusing especially on the “Boss” Blue Angel #1 and his role leading the team through its training and flight demonstrations. Very enjoyable – especially on the big IMAX screen!

Last week I also came across an interview on YouTube of retired Captain Greg Woldridge who led the Blue Angels three times during his Navy career. It’s a great conversation to watch!

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Fujifilm X-T1 Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 San Francisco/California

The Blue Angels on White Seamless

Blue Angels - San Francisco - 2015

A while back, Scott Kelby posted a series of architectural shots styled with a “white seamless” background look. As I was looking back at a few of my Blue Angels images from yesterday, I wondered how that “white seamless” look might work for one of them.

As it turns out, we had a lot of white seamless background during their performance as San Francisco’s Karl the Fog kept intruding into the Bay – forcing the Blue Angels to mostly do a “high program”.

This shot of Blue Angels 5 and 6 doing their slow flight demonstration seemed like a great candidate for the technique – even though the original of this image has a normal blue sky in the background and not Karl the Fog! A started out using Kelby’s white seamless technique and then added a few tricks of my own.

What do you think?

Shot with my Fujifilm X-T1 with the Fujinon 55-200mm lens.

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Fujifilm X-T1 Photography Photography - Fujifilm X-T1 San Francisco/California

Blue Angels 2015 over San Francisco Bay

Blue Angels - San Francisco - 2015

There’s a certain rush to watching the Blue Angels perform. They fly noisy jets (F-18A’s with twin engines) – and their routines combine a smooth rush with a loud punctuated hit of thrust. So they make a wonderful noise – a powerful sound – something special.

And then there’s how they fly – oh so close. Nobody does it better. The aerial ballet of the Blue Angels is quite something – each time I’ve seen them fly, I come away in awe of their precision work – and an appreciation for the work they put into being so perfect.

Today I was out on the Bay in a sailboat of a good friend of mine – Rob Theis – and, although the fog was dancing with the Blue Angels stars, we still came away with that special feeling about these guys – and a few great photos of the Blue Angels in action over San Francisco Bay – 2015 edition. This image was shot with my Fujifilm X-T1 with the Fujinon 55-200mm lens.

Categories
Photography

Remembering the US Navy’s Blue Angels

Echelon Departing - Blue Angels - 2009

On this Memorial Day, I was looking back through some old photos I had taken a few years ago.

I came across this particular image (from a 2009 airshow in Salinas, California) – and it struck me. In the context of our country’s current affairs – the gridlock and sequester resulting from our representatives in Washington, DC – seeing this Blue Angels echelon parade departing seemed unfortunately poignant.

Since the sequester took effect, the Blue Angels – and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds – have been grounded. As a country, we can no longer afford having them fly.

Over the years, I’ve come to really appreciate the Blue Angels – their precision, how they represent themselves, their pride and excellence – and how they carry on their mission handed off from those who came before. To me, they epitomize many of the ideals worth aspiring to.

On this Memorial Day evening, let’s appreciate that excellence – and try to get them flying again. Their spirit is our spirit.