Aviation
The Thunderbirds over Nellis, an F-22 Raptor and an HH-60 against the desert mountains.
Six-Ship Delta Climbing Into Blue
About
About this collection
Nellis Air Force Base is right next door, so airshow season is a big deal in Las Vegas. Tracking jets at 200mm is a workout, and the Thunderbirds' formations over the desert mountains are some of my favorite things to shoot.
Camera settings across this collection: Sony a6500 · 200–210 mm · f/6.3–11 · 1/500–1/320 s · ISO 100–125
06 · 15 frames
Photographs
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/8 · 1/400s · ISO 100Thunderbirds Delta Over Desert Ridge 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/7.1 · 1/400s · ISO 125Solo Vertical Climb With Smoke Trail 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/7.1 · 1/400s · ISO 100Three-Ship Echelon Trailing Smoke 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/11 · 1/500s · ISO 100Three Thunderbirds Beneath Overcast Cloud 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/6.3 · 1/400s · ISO 125Three Thunderbirds and the Daytime Moon 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/9 · 1/400s · ISO 100Skydiver Under Canopy With Pink Smoke 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/8 · 1/400s · ISO 100Magenta Aerobatic Plane Banking Through Clouds 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/10 · 1/400s · ISO 100F-22 Raptor Weapons Bay Pass 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/10 · 1/400s · ISO 100Raptor Turning Low Over the Ridge 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/11 · 1/400s · ISO 100Afterburner Bank Above Antenna Ridge 
Sony a6500 · 210mm · f/8 · 1/500s · ISO 100HH-60 Pave Hawk Flyby 
Sony a6500 · 200mm · f/10 · 1/320s · ISO 100Thunderbirds Delta Skimming the Mountains 
Sony a6500 · 200mm · f/10 · 1/320s · ISO 100Five Abreast and One Solo 
Sony a6500 · 200mm · f/9 · 1/320s · ISO 100Smoke Trails Under Cloudy Peaks
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Captions
Notes on the photographs
- 01Six-Ship Delta Climbing Into Blue
The full six-ship delta pulling up and away, with the smoke trails stretching almost the whole height of the frame. Shot at 210mm on the Sony a6500 at 1/400s, which was just fast enough to keep the jets sharp.
- 02Thunderbirds Delta Over Desert Ridge
My favorite framing from the day: the six-ship delta passing low along a desert ridge, so the mountains give the jets a real sense of scale. Shot at 210mm, f/8, 1/400s.
- 03Solo Vertical Climb With Smoke Trail
One Thunderbird peeling off and going straight up on a single column of smoke. It was a tiny target in the viewfinder even at 210mm, so the smoke trail does most of the work in this frame.
- 04Three-Ship Echelon Trailing Smoke
Three jets stacked in a tight line with their smoke trails peeling off to the left. Everything else was clear blue sky, which made the exposure easy at f/7.1 and 1/400s.
- 05Three Thunderbirds Beneath Overcast Cloud
Three Thunderbirds in close formation on a pass in front of the clouds. The flat light isn't as dramatic as the blue-sky shots, but I like how the smoke hangs against the grey.
- 06Three Thunderbirds and the Daytime Moon
A three-ship in a tight triangle with a pale daytime moon hanging in the corner. The jets are small, but the moon is what makes this one for me.
- 07Skydiver Under Canopy With Pink Smoke
A skydiver drifting down under canopy with a trail of pink smoke behind. Tiny in the frame even at 210mm, but I like the line the smoke draws across all that empty sky.
- 08Magenta Aerobatic Plane Banking Through Clouds
A magenta aerobatic plane rolling into a bank past a few wispy clouds. Tracking a small, quick aircraft like this at 210mm and 1/400s was good practice for following the jets.
- 09F-22 Raptor Weapons Bay Pass
The F-22 rolled up and popped its weapons bay doors open right as it went by. I was at 210mm on the a6500 at 1/400s, so the jet is small in the frame, but you can still make out the open bays.
- 10Raptor Turning Low Over the Ridge
The Raptor pulled a hard turn low over the mountains with the afterburner lit. I like having the ridge and its antenna towers in the shot for a sense of scale.
- 11Afterburner Bank Above Antenna Ridge
Two frames earlier in the same pass, with the F-22 higher against the sky and the afterburner glowing at the tail. Shot at f/11 and 1/400s to keep everything crisp.
- 12HH-60 Pave Hawk Flyby
The HH-60 Pave Hawk came by slow enough to fill the frame at 210mm, cabin door open with a crew member looking out. The 1/500s shutter froze the airframe but left a little blur in the rotor blades, which I actually prefer.
- 13Thunderbirds Delta Skimming the Mountains
All six Thunderbirds in the delta formation running low along the mountains with the neighborhood rooftops in the foreground. What looks like leftover smoke from their earlier passes was still hanging in the sky.
- 14Five Abreast and One Solo
From the ground the five-ship line abreast stacks up like a column, and a solo jet was cruising above them. Simple shot at 200mm against a pale blue sky with the mountains along the bottom edge.
- 15Smoke Trails Under Cloudy Peaks
A cloudy day gave the mountains some real mood as the four-ship formation cut across them with smoke on. You can see what look like smoke trails from earlier passes drifting lower over the valley and the rooftops.