There are some events that I like to stretch my photography skills with, and go outside of my typical outdoor photography genre. I thought I’d give the Atlantic City air show a second shot. I highly doubt I’ll be returning if it continues. It was a hot and extremely humid day, with barely any wind. You can see the haze in the shot below. This evolved into a sea fog in the afternoon causing even more issues.
I arrived at 9AM and went straight to the beach. A large section of the beach blocked off which forced so many people to be packed next to each other. The cell phone shot below was what it had already looked like at 9:00 AM, and the show was set to begin at 11:00 AM. I’ve only heard a few reasons on why the area was blocked off, and I don’t want to propagate rumors with my guessing. I was in the center area last year though, and people were much more spread out. I’m not a fan of large crowds in general.
Ah, finally the show begins with the US Army Golden Knights flag jump.
Seeing this Harrier jet fly up along the coast and slowly come to a complete stop and hover was a sight to see first hand. As it spun around in place, many of the shore birds on the beach flew away. But as seen on one of my photos, one took the opportunity to look for fish that were moving away from the jets downward exhaust.
The scheduled time for the USAF Thunderbirds was 2:45 PM. I understand that delays happen, be it safety or weather related. They didn’t actually fly until almost 5:00 PM, and instead of a full show, it was cut short unfortunately. Many people began leaving the packed beaches long before that. I should have been one of them, but told myself I should just stick it out. I was out of water and food. I was close to being dehydrated (maybe I was) so late in the day due to the high humidity. I had enough of the crowds, the heat and the waiting. Once it was over, there was a bit of chaos with traffic trying to get out of the city. I wanted nothing more than a cold glass of water, and a shower to wash the day away. Enough of my grumbling, on to the final photos of the day!
I’ve had my fill to last me many years to come. There are only so many photos of airplanes in the blue sky you can take before they all start looking the same year after year. What’s the point of getting the same type of shots over and over? Sitting on a hot and humid beach in August, while holding a camera and heavy lens is not for me! Give me a cool and rainy forest, or even better, a dark night sky soon.
Excellent shots despite the conditions. You are certainly a photographer dedicated to his craft!
Thanks so much Barbara! Once I’m in it, I try to give it all. Sometimes you just want to give in.