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F-4 Phantom: Turn & Burn
F-4 Phantom: Turn & Burn
Dr.Confuser


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2011-11 (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Nikon D3
Lens: Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED
Location: Nellis air Force Base, Las Vegas, NV (USA)
Date: Nov 13, 2011
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 800
Shutter: 1/3200
Galleries: Landscape, Military
Date Uploaded: Nov 6, 2011

 Photographer’s Notes
This photo is dedicated to Darrell Pepper, PhD, professor emeritus at the Air Force Academy, without whom these photos might never have been taken.

Earlier this month, my brother and I attended Aviation Nation, the air show put on by Nellis AFB to thank the people of Las Vegas for putting up with the noise and other disruptions of an active air force base. It's free. But getting there and getting back is NOT half the fun. Normally, you drive to the Speedway and take a bus onto base. That takes awhile because a half million of your closest friends all have the same idea at the same time. And after the Thunderbirds fly, everyone heads to the busses to return to their cars. There's a lot of standing around and waiting involved. Hours and hours of it.

But not this year. One of my brother's clients, Dr. Pepper, was able to get us credentials to park on base and view the airshow from the Thunderbirds' chalet. So we arrived a bit before 10:00 and enjoyed the show, including the Thunderbirds who flew a bit after 2:00 and we were off base before 4:00. All thanks to Dr. Pepper. Did I mention the chalet had seating and served food and adult beverages? Miss Nevada was there! And the cast of the Jersey Boys (who sang the national anthem to start the festivities) was there. Besides a great show, this was a GREAT venue.

During the show, I shot 3,200 photos. I shoot a lot of air shows, and these may be some of the best yet. I'm pretty happy with them.

The sixty best hare here.

This jet is an F-4 Phantom, a Vietnam era supersonic interceptor capable of Mach 2.2 flight for the 12 minutes it takes to burn all its fuel (it's thriftier at slower speeds). Also one of the loudest jets I know of. Its max takeoff weight is 60,000 and it can climb at over 41,000 feet per minute.

Verdict: F-4 is the 'muscle car' of the Vietnam era combat aircraft.

Post Processing
• Convert from RAW (PSCS5 Camera RAW)
• Brightness (PSCS5 Curves Layer)
• Contrast (PSCS5 Curves Layer)
• Sharpen (Neat Image)
• Crop (PSCS5)
• Resize (Perfect Resize)
• Sharpen (PSCS5 USM)
• Color (PSCS5 Hue/Sat Layer)
• Darken Hills (PSCS5 Curves Layer – Masked)
• Lighten Plane (PSCS5 Curves layer – Masked)
• Sky Color (PSCS5)
• Save for Web (PSCS5)


Camera Data
• Date: 2011.11.13
• Camera: Nikon D3
• Lens: Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED
• ISO: 800
• Aperture: f/7.1
• Shutter: 1/3200

Statistics
Place: 32 out of 271
Avg (all users): 6.4074
Avg (commenters): 8.0000
Avg (participants): 6.2963
Avg (non-participants): 6.8519
Views since voting: 1159
Views during voting: 228
Votes: 135
Comments: 15
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
Sony Alpha a7 IV
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM
 12/08/2011 07:16:17 AM
Congrats Doc, good score for an interesting image!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
 12/08/2011 01:00:58 AM
Congrast Doc in a great finish and this mage captures my imagination. Lovely shot of a classic bird
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO
 12/08/2011 12:16:26 AM
Sounds like you had THE best seat in the house!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-50D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
 12/07/2011 01:02:39 AM
I'm fascinated with how sharp the edges of the heat blur are. Very cool shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D800
Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX APO IF HSM for Nikon
 12/06/2011 02:24:00 PM
Excellent aviation shot, love the exhaust heat trail.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO
 12/05/2011 01:29:03 PM
Cool shot of one of a great warbird. Didn't realize that some of the ones remaining in service were still painted with the Vietnam era camouflage.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D810
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 12/04/2011 07:11:19 PM
Wow! My favorite so far!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+
Canon TC-DC58B 1.5x Tele Converter
12/04/2011 11:59:00 AM
I'd take the bet that you took this at the Nellis AFB Air Show. Nice high-speed capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS II USM Lens
 12/03/2011 05:35:43 AM
Very cool image. Excellent clarity and detail.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D800
Lomography Petzval 85mm F2.2 MF
 12/03/2011 02:11:43 AM
What a capture! I love how the exhaust just churns up the otherwise serene background! Great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a1 II
Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS
 12/02/2011 10:36:22 AM
Great capture the vapour trail really adds to the image, I love the distortion it leaves
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D700
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G
 12/01/2011 08:23:49 PM
WOW outstanding capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony DSC-RX100 VII
 12/01/2011 03:06:42 AM
Great catch
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 12/01/2011 12:44:24 AM
Definitely a vantage point that very few will ever get! Thanks for the view!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 12/01/2011 12:29:57 AM
AWESOME capture!! Would love to know the story behind this one.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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