Thunderbirds

I live in Northern Virginia, close enough to Joint Base Andrews to easily visit for the biannual air show. I like photographic challenges and airplanes, so this is a good event for me.

I’ve done this enough times to know most of their routine, what to look for so I’m ready to shoot, and what kind of shots I like. Here are some of my favorites from the 2025 show.

Mirror Image Pass

Unusual To See #7 in the Formation

Vapor Trails

Head to Head

#5 Is Frequently Inverted

Head to Head

Calypso Pass

It was a very bright sunny day, making it really difficult to get good exposures of the white airplanes. I had to shoot everything really underexposed just to keep from blowing the whites out. There was also a lot of heat haze. And the wind blew the smoke back toward the crowd area to my right so most of my shots to the right were smoky. I keep trying, and failing, to get sharp shots of the head-to-head passes. When I see the solos converging from opposite ends of the runway, I pick one to follow and spray the shutter when they get close, usually getting both of them in one frame, but the one that I’m not following is always blurry, even at 1/3000 second shutter speed.

So, not my best work, but I got some keepers.