Ribbon cutting at the air show...

[IzzieK]

We went to the St. Louis Airshow last weekend. I must have taken a lot of photographs...maybe I have a lot of keepers, but these ones below are some of it...not award winning but I am happy with them.

1 Antic to prepare for ribbon cutting..


2 Pretending to missed the ribbon by a foot


3 No ribbon cut off of course....


4 Another pass and the top ribbon was cut


5 Top ribbon


6 Second ribbon cutting

[Shadowman]

Wow, I like that blur in the fourth image.

[flashback]

Great shots Izzie, too bad you couldn't be right there at the ribbon, head on shots....omg.
I too like #4, definitely conveys the thrill and excitement of the airshow. [I see faces...]

[Rita]

Nice ones Izzie.

[dje]

Good shots Izzie, that pilot must have a death wish !

Dave

[Stagecoach]

Well done Izzie, I'm not sure who has got the death wish there, the pilot or guys supporting the poles

Grahame

[Mike Buckley]

#4 is really terrific, Izzie! Very well done on all of them but that one is special.

I'm not sure who has got the death wish there, the pilot or guys supporting the poles

All of them.

[ShaneS]

Nice work Izzie in a very challenging atmosphere (read fast moving subjects). I agree with others that the fourth is great and like the story that you told with the series.

[Dave Humphries]

Very interesting Izzie,

You see, I always pan with the plane (and blur everything on the ground), but for a stunt like this, I think your way is better.

Hmmm, may be an old dog just ...

[bnnrcn]

Nice shots Isabel, I agree with the other members about #4 , it is very interesting

[IzzieK]

Thanks John and everyone who commented...I got these ones (and others) on the second day (Sunday) of the show. All my pans of similar shots were off on the Saturday because of my (and others' knowledgeable) commentaries around me while I was shooting. So I decided to hang in the towel and decided to take it easy and just observed, do my counts (as I used to do before). Then that night I discussed things and other stuffs with my husband and agreed on a couple of things on how to take those frustrating shots. As he used to be an acrobatic pilot too in his young-er days I thought he must know how it goes, when to cut those ribbons and how long (many counts) he can stay on the nose of his plane near the ground. Then we implemented our plan. Instead of him asking me if I "got the shot?" he stayed behind me and did the count we planned on. I experimented on Patty Wagstaff, the first performer...that was a fluke but close. These ones above of Skip Stewart was my first success I this show...and I believe of others around me too who decided to rely on my husband's counting and "barking orders" on when to press the shutter. Many thanked him after the show.

Jack...it would have been a bloody airshow afternoon if I could have been the ribbon. And now I have to make sure I look for faces too...ROTFL (no icon)

Thanks Rita, Shane and Dave for looking and commenting. I do really appreciate it very much.

Grahame...most acrobatic pilots (and car racers) have that same kind of adrenalin in their makeup. Some people love jumping from the highest peak or from tall buildings. We have a friend in Fort Upton (Colorado) who loves wetting the tip of his taildragger in Lake Elmo (MN) and really enjoying showing off. He had 3 marriages. This last and 4th one stayed when he stopped doing stupid stuffs like that. Me? I go shopping or stay in Australia when hubby was in an airshow.

Dave, I do a lot of pannings when shooting airplanes too, but in kinds like this one above, I reverted to another camera and lens depending on how far we are situated at the airshow center and use manual. I always bring two to an airplane event like this so I do not have to change lenses in a very dusty environment, three cameras if possible, excluding the P and S, depending on the dictate of my mule. . Force of habit I suppose...I only change modes. I suppose as we get older we cannot keep up much with jet performers as before so pre-planning is the order of the day, plus position near the airshow center, plus listening to the narrator (announcer) what a particular stunt demonstrator is going to do, then count. All of these are important. If you know the pilot too, it will help. The question to ask is "when do you do it?"

[Loose Canon]

Now this is something you don't see everyday! These are awesome Izzie!

These guys never heard of scissors?

(too easy?)

[Brownbear]

Great shots! I too, especially love the 4th image. (energy, beautifully colours, and that plume of smoke) Beautifully captured!

[IzzieK]

Thank you for looking and commenting Christina, Binnur and Terri.

If truth is to be told, this is not different from most photographers and beginners alike do with their own shots. Planning is important. With studio photography like yours Terri, you plan, you prepare your stuffs, you shoot. And I love all your shots for what you do and respect that. Product photography is also adrenalin filled and exciting and through your uploads, I would like to delve in them too...one day when we moved to Tennessee, if we ever get to move that is, so I have more room to make a mess... A small carpeted room like mine with bookshelves and expensive cabinets is not the right environment for me here. Too tight.

Christina and Binnur...I admire your shots too as I do many others here. If I can get as good in other mediums like yours even though they may not be as perfect as yours I'd be a very happy camper indeed.

Geoff, Grahame, Dave and the rest of the members here are so good in their own right too...William Boyer, Frank Miller and John, John 2, Neil...and more I cannot remember -- you are all my inspiration in my desire to learn. Hopefully I can contribute better and yet make you all smile every now and then.

And who can forget Jack? Sometimes I do but with his creativity and John's street photography, both of you have been inspiring too...

Love you all guys...thank you all for commenting and letting me know I still have hope in furthering my passion and little knowledge through you.

[leslie1283]

Very nice series. Especially #4.

[Saorsa]

Nice sequence.

Have you ever seen Manfred Radius at an airshow? I've seen him do a ribbon cutting like that. Inverted. In a glider.

From his webpage

[TonyW]

And you thought snakes were scary! These are fantastic photos though.

[Colin Southern]

And when things go wrong ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkwKqD9ylLo

(Don't worry, happy ending!)

[Jeffbridge]

Fantastic set. Loved them all.

[John 2]

Well done Izzie, I'm not sure who has got the death wish there, the pilot or guys supporting the poles

Grahame

My feelings exactly. Nice series Izzie. Which one were you flying?