close iframe icon
approved icon brettrisen avatar
brettrisen
Banner

Blue Angels



behind the lens badge

Views

3233

Likes

Awards

Chatter Award
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 24
Featured
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
laurahollingshead jadelysetteclowes rollysumampongbaslan Buyanbat hannahgibson JLP_1 arijitmurmu +70
Superior Skill
wild-west markcote Scorrillo alef0 amber1083 CaseyLouisePhotography G-raff +50
Peer Award
Macpwm billmartin_2615 davidjprosser ileanaandreagmezgavinoser NancyFlemingPhotography JuanGiraldo 2001vermont +47
Magnificent Capture
Latitude4236David Albert-Serra-Photography richardpetersen GWarrenPhotog gatorbait38 TC_PHOTOGRAPHY baybig +35
All Star
angeldesireaangelini colinponting JeffK2774 Dammad Nikonic Pixelbug Ranchgirl +11
Genius
elianawittwer
Virtuoso
Picpros

Top Ranks

Creative Boundaries Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Inspired By The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Inspired By The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Skywards Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Skywards Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Skywards Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Covers Photo Contest Vol 24Top 30 rank
Covers Photo Contest Vol 24Top 30 rank week 1
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 8Top 30 rank
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 8Top 10 rank week 1
27 Comments | Report
AlanJakarta
 
AlanJakarta December 15, 2014
Brilliant action capture. Congratulations on being Featured.
catini
 
catini December 15, 2014
Great capture, congrats on your feature!
chuckrickman
 
chuckrickman December 15, 2014
Perfectly timed. Congrats on being featured.
snowdon PRO
 
snowdon December 15, 2014
An amazing study, congratulations on your feature
rmr731 Platinum
 
rmr731 December 15, 2014
Fantastic action capture! Wow! Congrats!
brettrisen
 
brettrisen December 15, 2014
Thanks to all !!
Dmullanephotography
 
Dmullanephotography December 15, 2014
Amazing shot
crackedegg
 
crackedegg December 15, 2014
Cool pic! Congratulations!
jarrodunruh
 
jarrodunruh December 15, 2014
Amazing capture we live 30 minutes from Pensacola so we get to see the Blues all the time and it's always an amazing show.
mbuthe
 
mbuthe December 15, 2014
briliant shot... timing n compo
gondmagdi Premium
 
gondmagdi December 15, 2014
brilliant capture !
Dallas_Wolas_Photography
 
Dallas_Wolas_Photography December 15, 2014
Great Capture! Must've been nice to see them in person, and really loud.
sweetpea72
 
sweetpea72 December 15, 2014
Amazing... Congrats ")
rhamm
 
rhamm December 16, 2014
Love the shot
ruscle860
 
ruscle860 December 28, 2014
superb! well done.
carterrachel
 
carterrachel January 01, 2015
too cool!
Fryguy Premium
 
Fryguy January 27, 2015
Amazing capture. Well done
tptiv78
 
tptiv78 January 28, 2015
A brilliant capture - congratulations on being featured!
Vitta
 
Vitta April 10, 2015
Outstanding piece!!!
ShelleyE
 
ShelleyE May 18, 2015
Congrats on being featured. Awesome shot
rosalynncolombo PRO+
 
rosalynncolombo May 18, 2015
Well done!
TravelmanDe
 
TravelmanDe May 25, 2015
Great shot
jimhelmick
 
jimhelmick June 18, 2015
Great capture of the break.
I_of_Saf Platinum
 
I_of_Saf July 29, 2015
What a brilliant capture!
Cla6Ssy0
 
Cla6Ssy0 September 10, 2015
WOW!!!
nandicmb
 
nandicmb October 26, 2015
Congratulations on both your wins!
Latitude4236David Ultimate
 
Latitude4236David December 28, 2016
Great, great shot.
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

NAS Jacksonville, FL 2014.

Time

Mid afternoon approx 3:30pm.The Blue Angels typically begin their demonstration at 3pm. Clear blue sky - it does not get any better than that.

Lighting

Lighting was natural sunlight.

Equipment

Nikon D800 with a Sigma 50mm to 500mm zoom lens. The Sigma is the only option for an airshow - it has the broadest range of any zoom lens made and is ideal for airshows.It can zoom in to 500mm to capture a shot like this, the formation was over 1 mile in altitude, and pull back enough to capture the entire formation when doing a flyby 500 feet away. Fixed focal length lenses simply do not have the versatility needed for an airshow - the subject may be 500 feet away one minute and 5000 feet away the next. No tripod - handheld only. Tripods are too restrictive and do not allow the freedom of camera movement required.With good sunlight and the optical stabilization of modern lenses you will have no problem shooting at good depth of field and high shutter speeds to freeze the motion of fast jets. How far we have come from the mid 80's when i thought my Nikon FE2 and a Vivitar Series 1 70mm to 210mm was as good as it could ever get.

Inspiration

I like the action and the challenge of airshows.Landscapes and modeling photography on a tripod is one thing-I have done my share of that but shooting F 18's and F 16's moving at over 400 miles an hour handheld is a real test of skill. Also, I love the action and the sound of afterburners in the afternoon- the most fun I have had since I saw Led Zeppelin.

Editing

Yes -this image was heavily cropped - it is a small section of the original image. Even with a 500mm zoom the formation was over 1 mile in altitude.I cropped and rotated the image to get the best action and composition.I used Picasa to edit- nothing more was required for this shot.

In my camera bag

Nikon D800, Sigma 50mm to 500mm zoom and an 18mm to 50mm zoom. This keeps the camera bag small and light and covers a broad range.

Feedback

You will need a Sigma 50 to 500mm zoom or the new Sigma 100mm to 600mm zoom. A 400mm fixed lens would work for this specific shot but would be too limited for the rest of the airshow. I have photographed the Blue Angels over 40 times and have the advantage of being familiar with their show. This shot was taken as the formation climbs to approx 1 mile and then all 6 aircraft break in different directions. Follow them up and wait for the break.You need to be set at continuous frames low at least -if not continuous high. As they break fire a short burst of frames and hope for the best and a good focus lock.They will only be in the viewfinder for a few seconds.

See more amazing photos, follow brettrisen

It’s your time to shine! ☀️

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Already a member? Log In

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, and acknowledge you've read our Privacy Policy Notice.