Red Bull Air Race San Diego 2017

[rpcrowe]

These are just a few of the many images I shot at the Red Bull Air Race today using my 7D2 and 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II lens...

1. 312mm


2. 330mm


3. 330mm


4. 371mm


5. 286mm


I brought my tripod and gimbal head but did not use them because in order to stay in front of the crowd (I arrived at 7:00 AM and the crowd didn't get there until several hours later), I had to sit on the sea wall. People were very impolite and kept edging in front of me no matter what I said. Once I sat on the edge of the sea wall, there was no way to get in front of me except by jumping into the San Diego Bay... No one took that option except this spectator

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[rpcrowe]

I mada a conscious decision to shoot at a high speed, even though it would freeze the props, I wanted the background of the San Diego Skyline to be sharp...

200mm


400mm


I think that the unique thing about these races are that they are flown in commercial harbor areas, at a very fast pace and at a very low altitude.

[Shadowman]

The shutter speed chosen helps convey the environment, it looks so unsettling to see those buildings looking so close.

[rpcrowe]

That is what I wanted to convey... One problem was that the breeze was in my face and the smoke from the smoke generators drifted over to me obscurring my view for a while.

266mm


Additionally, the waterfront was so crowded that once I left my spot, I couldn't get near the water for another viewpoint. I wanted a view between the pylons to see the plane cutting between then from the front of the plane...

349mm


Here is an overall view of the race. They were actually time trials, no aircraft raced each other while I was there.

100mm

[Barbara Ponder]

Great set, and yes it definitely made me think wow those are really close to those buildings!

[rpcrowe]

BTW: I have decided to buy a folding wagon/utility cart to carry my gear on shoots like this.

https://smile.amazon.com/Mac-Sports-...=folding+wagon

I had to walk a long distance between my parking spot and the shooting location, carrying a folding chair, tripod, two cameras and some drinks and food. That was a load. Several of my group had wagons like this and that made life easier for them.

[Rainforest]

Exciting images Richard and well executed.

[Shadowman]

BTW: I have decided to buy a folding wagon/utility cart to carry my gear on shoots like this.

https://smile.amazon.com/Mac-Sports-...=folding+wagon

I had to walk a long distance between my parking spot and the shooting location, carrying a folding chair, tripod, two cameras and some drinks and food. That was a load. Several of my group had wagons like this and that made life easier for them.

Richard,

Was security beefed up around the spectators sections, I remember getting my camera bag searched one year for the America's Cup?

[rpcrowe]

There may have been extra security on the San Diego Side of the Bay - where they had the paid grandstands. However, I shot from the Coronado side of San Diego Bay from the Coronado Ferry Landing and from the park along the Coronado side of the Bay. There was no extra security in effect there (that I could notice) except for a couple of Coronado Police members, in shorts, riding their bicycles

The crowds were a lot heavier on the San Diego City side of the Bay because, some folks just don't want to take the extra drive and cross the bridge to the Coronado Side of the Bay (even though the bridge no longer requires a toll)...

The major attraction for me in shooting from the Coronado side was that I could get the buildings along the San Diego waterfront in the background. Most airshows I have shot have only boring sky in the background. I think that these buildings make a big difference.

A drawback in attending any event in the City of Coronado is that there are only two ways to drive in and out of that city which get jammed quite easily: the Coronado Bridge and the Silver Strand which takes you about 15 miles South and deposits you on the mainland close to the Mexican Border. There is also a passenger ferry but, the parking on the San Diego side is horrendous during events like this.

I avoided the traffic by arriving quite early and leaving early...

The 7D2 and 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II did a wonderful job in autofocus on these small planes flying very fast and isolating the planes against the sometimes very complicated background...

[Donald]

My compliments, Richard.

When you told us about this event a couple of weeks ago, you said then what your shooting plan was. You have executed it perfectly and, if I may say so, spectacularly. There is absolutely no doubt that, as you envisaged, having the city buildings as your background just makes these images sing.

A superb lesson for others in thinking about and planning your shoot.

[rpcrowe]

Thanks Donald, it was a fun day and helped by having some of my friends from my photo club there. That way, I was able to go to the restroom and to go and change hats which I had left in my car.

There were lots of fellow photographers with 100-400mm Mark-2 lenses there as well as quite a few Tamron 150-600mm lenses. I would guestimate that there were about 2 Tamrons to each Canon. Of course, there were a lot of people with shorter lenses such as various 70-300mm, 70-200mm models as well as a couple of Nikons of different zoom ranges. Of course, there were numbers of P&S cameras as well as a kid shooting the event with a tablet, which he dropped and broke. His dad was very patient with the accident

It's nice to have a plan and then to be able to pretty well carry it out... A hundred yards or so difference in the course of the race would have placed us in an altogether different set of circumstances. I erred when I estimated the angle of the sun. I thought that the planes would be back-lit but the sun was directy from camera right...

There is always a concern, when attending events like this, with the weather but, our April weather is pretty well uneventful and by 11:30 to noon, the time that the event began, any marine layer or coastal mist is usually burned off. It was perfect weather, in the low high 60's to low 70's F. somewhere around 20-23 degrees C, with a slight breeze....

[Davejl]

Very impressive series of shots

[rpcrowe]

Very impressive series of shots

Thank you. I was extremely impressed with the skills of the pilots.

[rpcrowe]

I keep finding new images that I like. I apologize for posting so many...

[Donald]

I keep finding new images that I like. I apologize for posting so many...

Enjoying them all.

[Mike Buckley]

The images are so good with the buildings in the background that they eerily remind me of 9/11. I live just a few miles from the Pentagon and I'll never forget the military jets suddenly flying in our area for weeks just to keep an eye on things. I can't imagine what it was like for people in the European cities, especially London, during World War II wondering when the next series of bombs would fall.

[rpcrowe]

One thing that I missed seeing/shooting was a plane clipping a pylon. That is no safety problem. The pylons are made of Ripstop nylon and have Velcro seams so that neither the plane nor the pylon is damaged. It does, however look spectacular. There are crews waiting in large Zodiac-type inflatable boats and as soon as the plane which clipped the pylon is done flying its route, the crew speeds out to the damaged pylon or pylons and repairs it or them.





As an additional answer to John's security question, the were U.S. Coast Guard as well as San Diego Harbor Police in evidence, But, it seemed that their major task was to keep the Bay clear of private boats during the competition...



I tried a B&W conversion...



This was the original color version...



I like the color version due to the bright contrasting colors...

This Red Bull series is a good example of a long focal length's ability to compress distances...

[mugge]

Richard, just my two cents worth. Beautifully done.
Ole

[rpcrowe]

Richard, just my two cents worth. Beautifully done.
Ole

Thanks Ole... That's worth a lot more than two cents to me!

BTW: I shot these using Aperture Priority with ISO from 200 to 640 and apertures of f/8 and f/5.6 primarily but, shot a couple of exposures at f/20 to slow down the shutter speed. I did not like the results because the buildings were blurred from the panning.

I used Zone Autofocus.



I was thrilled how the focusing system was able to separate the aircraft from the buildings in the background and how the autofocus picked up the plane instantaneously!