# Redding Airshow (2011)



## GrauGeist (Oct 22, 2011)

The Redding Airshow at the Redding Municipal Airport was held through the weekend of September September 24 25.
The weather Saturday was nice, but of all things, it was overcast and raining on Sunday (the day I went) so everything was gloomy. I can't complain though, the last airshow (2009) had temps of 111° and had people dropping from heat exhaustion!

I took a good deal of photos but didn't have all my lenses with me because of the weather, so I wasn't able to get alot of "walk-around" shots of the static displays like I wanted. I did manage to get some decent shots of the flight demonstrations in spite of the overcast, so that was my trade-off!


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## GrauGeist (Oct 22, 2011)

Statics continued...


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## GrauGeist (Oct 22, 2011)

Statics continued...


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## pbfoot (Oct 22, 2011)

Looks a good show wish I was there , I have a long haul til my next ome


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## Crimea_River (Oct 22, 2011)

Me too. Thanks for posting.


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Oct 22, 2011)

Excellent shots Dave!!!! I noticed the SU-2, Terry Schilson flew those in the Navy. He's the one I go flying with. The Stearman is gorgeous as is the Stinson(?). Hope we all have a better airshow season next year.


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## GrauGeist (Oct 22, 2011)

Thanks guys, and yes Aaron, that's a Stinson!

I took a break from posting, there's just a few static display photos left and then a series of flight demonstration pics coming up!


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## GrauGeist (Oct 22, 2011)

Last of the statics...

Thought I'd toss in some shots of the WWII vehicles that were there!


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## Trebor (Oct 22, 2011)

what's the bird with the folded wings and twin radial engines?


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

That's an S-2 Tracker from the USS Hornet (CVS-12)


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

And now for the fun!


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

More...


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

More...


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## rochie (Oct 23, 2011)

nice shots Dave, despite the weather


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## Njaco (Oct 23, 2011)

I like that they had a Canadian flag with the parachutes. And I think A-10s are just [email protected]!!!! Great pics!


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

By this point of the Airshow, the drizzle had stopped.

I've been using my 70-300 lens through all of this but the gloom was really pushing the photo quality with lower shutter speeds


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## Geedee (Oct 23, 2011)

Wow. Got some great stuff there Dave... hope there's some more ?


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

After a brief intermission for civil/commercial traffic, a few Airshow participants left.

Then the Canadian CF-18 took to the air with a great display!


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

Yep Gary, there's more! 

And the clouds started to part just in time for the United States Air Force Thunderbirds!


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

And finally, the last set of photos.

The Thunderbirds put on a great display and because of the overcast, they and all of the flight demonstrations, were done at slightly lower altitudes than they would have normally, so no complaints there!

Thanks to everyone for looking, I hope you've enjoyed the pics!


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## Gnomey (Oct 23, 2011)

Cool shots Dave!


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## rochie (Oct 23, 2011)

great stuff Dave


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## evangilder (Oct 23, 2011)

Nice stuff, Dave! I recognized a lot of those performers from my neck of the woods. The colorful Canadian F-18 looked great. 

Nice shooting, Dave!


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Oct 23, 2011)

Dave, you will not ever hear me say I don't enjoy your shots. Excellent work my friend. You were talking about a slower shutter speed due to the overcast. If you don't mind me asking, what was you shutter speed because I shoot at 1/125 for most of mine and that may be why mine are never as sharp as I would like to see them.


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## GrauGeist (Oct 23, 2011)

Thanks Karl, Eric and Aaron!

I thought you might recognize a few of these, Eric!

Aaron, I was using my Sigma 70-300 ranging between f/6.7 (1/350) to f/8.0 (1/250) for the statics and f/8.0 (1/500) to f/9.5 (1/750) for the flights...

The problem I was facing was the varying contrast with the cloud cover...if I opened up to say, f/4 for better light, I got a decent image of the aircraft, but the clouds looked over exposed. Also the cloud cover was terrible, light in one spot and dark in another...and that was constantly changing.

Perhaps we could turn to the expert and see what Eric does on overcast days


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Oct 23, 2011)

I had the very same cloud problem at the Abingdon show. Light changing constantly. It'll drive you NUTZ!!!


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## Njaco (Oct 23, 2011)

Excellent pics. That one shot of the Warthog looks like a painting!


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## mudpuppy (Oct 23, 2011)

Really enjoyed these, thanks for posting.
Derek


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## Airframes (Oct 24, 2011)

Great set of pics dave, especially considering the lighting conditions. Thanks for posting.


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## DBII (Oct 24, 2011)

Nice shots. Most of the airshows in Houston are cloudy also, I hate it. I would love to see the Yak 9 and the biplanes. 

DBII


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## Thorlifter (Oct 24, 2011)

Lots of great pics. thanks for sharing.


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## evangilder (Oct 30, 2011)

Changing lighting conditions happen at every airshow, guys. Whether or not there are clouds, you get different light in the morning than in the afternoon. If you are having funky exposure issues, play with your metering settings. One most cameras, you have the choice of spot or matrix metering. Matrix metering will try and meter throughout the frame, which can be inconsistent and end up underexposing your subject. Spot metering will meter from the center. You may get a little over-exposure from the light behind it, but the main thing is that the airplane doesn't end up as a silhouette. I use shutter priority so that I can control the shutter speed to get the prop blur I am looking for. Aperture priority looks good for statics and things that aren't moving, or moving as quickly. Of course, it is all about what the shooter likes to do, but I happen to find shutter priority works best for me.


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Oct 30, 2011)

Eric, the problem that I had at Abingdon was in one pass the lighting could change four or more times due to cloud density. I can deal with light change of a period of time but in a span of ten to fifteen seconds I can't operate the camera fast enough and shoot photos to. It ends up being a crap shoot, no pun intended.


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## GrauGeist (Nov 1, 2011)

Great advice, Eric and I use Shutter Priority and Aperature Priority more than any other.

I was constantly changing the settings during the airshow to try and stay one step ahead of the constantly changing light conditions...I was bouncing between f/8.0 and f/9.5 and then adjusting the shutter speed accordingly.

Not sure if that's a good Airshow technique, but I'm in the habit of setting the Aperature and Shutter manually for landscapes. I was in AP mode when the flight demo first started, but I quickly discovered that the skies were just way too dark so I went to manual after that.


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## evangilder (Nov 1, 2011)

You have to watch your metering too. When you are using shutter priority, it will usually adjust the aperture accordingly. Using spot metering will give you metering based on the center area, where you are focusing. The reason I let the camera do the aperture based on shutter speed is for conditions where there are dark and light skies, with varying degrees on each pass. Chino this year was a great example of challenging conditions. Not all of them will work (true even on sunny bright days), but that's been what works for me. The one thing you may also have to contend with in that situation is when the shutter speed isn't slow enough to let the light in. Then you have two choices; 1. Get out of your comfort zone and go slower on the shutter speed, or 2. Up the ISO setting and deal with some grain. Both have benefits and drawbacks. BUT, getting out of your comfort zone can bring you shots that you may never have even attempted before. My Mustang pan shot at Riverside a few years ago was WAY out of my comfort zone. The result was a shot that has been a good seller and the most views on airplane pictures. I did that one on a dare, and it worked. 

So practice shooting out of your comfort zone at other times, and when you need it, the knowledge will pay off big time. Kamikaze Kamera taught me how to take shots where I couldn't put my head (like leaning into a cockpit to get a photo of the cockpit, or shooting directly behind me).


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## N4521U (Nov 2, 2011)

Isn't she too old to fly yet????????????

I was at the Hamilton Air Base air show many years ago when she got married in a DC3 while in formation with a bunch of planes. Quite the show. Been around for a very long time in that plane.


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## evangilder (Nov 5, 2011)

She is still as feisty as ever. I love Julie, she's a great performer and a neat person.


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Nov 6, 2011)

Apparently I haven't had a comfort zone have I Eric?


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## nuuumannn (Nov 12, 2011)

Excellent pics despite the weather; at least that Canuck special scheme makes the Hornisse stand out, otherwise it'd be pretty grey. 9th picture from the top of the opening page; imagine the confetti if the C-17 suddenly started its engines!


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