Angels

I got my camera back from the Canon hospital just in time for the Blue Angels at the Sioux Falls Air Show. Saturday I went to the airport and tried to fight through the throng to find a decent place to shoot with the 100-400mm zoom. I got a few shots worth posting but I never really did find a good spot.

Sunday I tried something different and went to a hill a couple miles southwest of the airport. No crowds, and no danger of bonking someone in the head while swinging around the big 500mm on a tripod. My positioning was vindicated by this shot as the main formation passed directly overhead; in fact the planes were too close and I barely got their wingtips into this 4:3 crop of the image. Click on the image for larger version, or click here for the gallery.

Blue Angels

The gallery also includes several shots of a P-38 Lightning, including in Heritage Flight formation with an F-22 Raptor. Compared to the P-51 Mustang, the Lightning is fairly rare, and in fact this was my first view of one in flight.

Heritage Flight

Final result

The robin raising process is almost over. This little one was resting in the shade of my parsley plant. It sat quietly as I got a few close snapshots. Then I went to pick a tomato for dinner and it decided then to panic and fly off. One of the parents witnessed this, decided I was a threat, and made a few strafing runs. I was able to get a tomato without injury. Click on the image for a larger version.

The Birds

I didn't photo the robins for a few days, but I do have to go into the back yard to water my tomatoes. The robins always chirped at me when I appeared, but the past few days one of them (I presume the father) has taken a more aggressive attitude and has buzzed me a few times. I set up the camera today, but partly to avoid confrontation and partly for a change of pace, I set it on the other side, further under the deck.

The little ones are growing and changing color, and now look more like robins than dinosaurs. Click on the image for a larger version.

Robins

I found a robin's nest under my deck a couple weeks ago. Every few days since I have set up my G6 to take images from about a foot away every few minutes. I didn't have any headroom to look down into the nest, so it took a while for the little ones to get big enough to be seen. Today I got a few shots of feeding time, and there appear to be three chicks. Click for larger versions.