Happy 4th of July

Thunderbird History

This weekend is the 4th of July here in the US when we celebrate the nation's birth. I am planning on going to Spartanburg's fireworks show this year. We'll be having a photography club meeting just before the fireworks, and should have a good position for the show.

I have recently found a couple of websites / blogs I would like to point out.

First is Stuck in Customs. It is Trey Ratcliff's site which focuses on HDR (high-dynamic range imagery). Lot's of great photographs and tutorials on his site.

Next is another HDR centric site, but with something a twist due to current events. High Dynamic Range Imaging is Michael James' blog where it reviews HDR software, compares various cameras and equipment in regards to HDR usage. He is an architectural / real estate photograph on Florida's Gulf coast. This is the little twist I mentioned. Some of his recent posts detail how his business has been affected by the BP Oil Spill and how he has had to change his business to compensate for it.

Finally, a non-photography related site that I find really fascinating. I am a long time sci-fi reader and fan. Recently, I discovered Frederik Pohl's blog The Way the Future Blogs. Mr. Polh is one of the "old school" of sci-fi masters who has influenced a lot of today's writers, readers, and scientists. His blog features glimpses into science fiction's past with his memories of other writers he has known over the years. His insights in the the likes of Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clark, and Issac Asimov provide a unique look into the past of some of the people who have had profound influence on the science, fiction, and culture of today's world.

Have a safe and happy forth.

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Thunderbirds

Mirrored

The finale and highlight of ShawFest 2010 was the Thunderbirds' performance. I had hoped to get some nice photographs of them, but was thrilled with some of the ones I actually managed to capture. The photograph above is one of my favorites with the two soloists performing a close pass. I love how the vertical stabilizers are matched together in the shot.

Follow the jump for another shot of these two planes.


Really Close

Now that is close! The aft fins near the rear of the engines look like they are actually staggered together. In other words, they are closer together than the planes would measure vertically. Like I said, it is Close!

Also, look very closely at both planes. They are number 5 and 6. Click the links below the photographs for larger images if you need to. The numbers are painted near the front of the engine intakes. Notice something odd about them? The number 5 plane is the inverted plane in each photograph. See anything odd about his number now? His number is right-side up in each photograph, yet his plane is inverted. He is the lead soloist and inverted in most of his passes past the viewing area. Thus, his number is painted upside down on his plane so that the number is right-side up when he makes one of his many inverted pass in front of the spectators. I thought it was kind of neat when I saw that the first time in these pictures.

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Thunderbirds' History

Thunderbirds' History

One of the demonstrations later in the afternoon was of a restored jet fighter. I don't remember the name and designation of this particular fighter, but it was one of the first, if not the first, jet fighter in the newly formed US Air Force. This was the first US jet fighter to encounter MiG fighters in the Korean War. It was also the first jet fighter used by the Thunderbirds demonstration squadron.

The picture is an odd shape because I had to crop out someone's head and then even out the composition. There were something like 70,000 visitors at the air show that day. I have quite a few photographs of the backs of people's heads. Still, I like the image. It is kind of a history meets the present sort of thing.

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