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Angels at the Gate
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Angels at the Gate



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Every year the US Navy's Blue Angels put on an airshow in SF highlighted by their flights around the GGB.

Every year the US Navy's Blue Angels put on an airshow in SF highlighted by their flights around the GGB.
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cameraCanon EOS 20D

settings Aperture 63/10 ISO 200 Shutter 1/800 Focal Length 400/1 

upload_dateJul, 2016

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649

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Awards

People's Choice in Aircraft Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Karl-Heinz arvindkumar_0813 eddiaz markkrause Fester13 Jerryl lyndacoxon +10
Superb Composition
brettrisen sigridbh danielmichaels Tattyimages lonniewehunt Steve_Thomas klinker44 +3
Top Choice
timothy_a_chadwick thatunicorngal MadisonW Bex81 patticooper jimhelmick TracyD
Outstanding Creativity
alexandranordfriesland silviuioantanasescu Dacemac mickwass
Absolute Masterpiece
Glenn-Leech anthonygesick MikeBoyle michaelfmoore
Genius
mcampi jettahlily008

Emotions

Impressed
jeffgauthier timothy_a_chadwick

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Window View Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
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6 Comments |
jimhelmick
 
jimhelmick July 27, 2016
Remarkable photo, great catch.
chriswhittier Platinum
chriswhittier July 27, 2016
Thanks Jim!
MikeBoyle
 
MikeBoyle May 21, 2018
Absolute masterpiece !!!!
JM18Photography PRO+
 
JM18Photography June 02, 2018
Congratulations!
Pamelabole PRO
 
Pamelabole June 02, 2018
Awesome capture and great timing!! Congrats on your challenge award!! : )
MikeBoyle
 
MikeBoyle June 02, 2018
Congratulations on your winning photo. Nice...Very Nice
jettahlily008 Platinum
 
jettahlily008 July 17, 2019
Amazing Capture & Composition!!! :)

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#jet #blue_angels #Golden_Gate_Bridge #primary_colors
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Behind The Lens

Location

It should be obvious to most that this is the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA.

Time

This was shot around 3:45 PM on an early October weekend when the Blue Angels make their annual visit to the Bay Area.

Lighting

It was bright, clear day, which is not common around the foggy Bay, but is often the case on the days the Angels visit.

Equipment

I shot this handheld with a Canon 20D and Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5 L lens.

Inspiration

I was lucky to be living in the Bay Area at the time and had shot the air show around the Bridge the day before. On this day I found a different spot where I could get this perfect frontal alignment of the Bridge towers in hopes of getting a shot like this.

Editing

I try to minimize post-processing and keep my images to what I actually saw. Here I obviously cropped and straightened a little or this composition along with some slight dehazing and adjustment to the exposure, tones, clarity and sharpness.

In my camera bag

I normally shoot wildlife and now carry just my 5D Mark IV, and one telephoto zoom lens, either a Canon 100-400 L or Tamron 150-600. Most days I prefer to be light but sometimes carry my old 5D (or 20 D if I might want flash- or want the extra "reach" as I did here) as back-up. I do sometimes use a wide angle lens for landscapes or a macro for close-ups and love my Slik tripod, but rarely have the opportunity to use it. I also toy with a circular polarizer sometimes but otherwise avoid filters.

Feedback

The Blue Angels air shows are an nationwide attraction but the Bay Area performances are extra special as the blue planes buzz the orange bridge. Figuring out where to shoot from to align a shot like this isn't hard either- the rest is just timing.

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