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PhOTOSTORIES
01
NAME: James Schot
LOCATION : Fort Lauderdale,
Florida
miSS io N : Capture in-flight
images of the Blue Angels during
their display at the 2019 Fort
Lauderdale Air ShowKit: Canon EOS 5DS R, EF
70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM,
Extender EF 2x IIIhttp://www.jamesschotgallerystudio.comPROJECT INFO
Blue Angels
James proves that old habits die hard when it comes to
photography as he captures majestic metal birds in flight
ll’s quiet looking
over a beautiful
beach and ocean
view. There’s only
the whisper of a
gentle breeze spreading
through the delicious air.
Suddenly, instantly, I’m rocked
by an earth-shaking blast,
followed by the blazing roar
from the fire streaking
afterburners. The decibels
quickly diminish as a Blue
Angel F/A-18 Super Hornet
evaporates into the distance.
The Fort Lauderdale 2019
Air Show has started. Other
flying machines make theirappearance, including the
incredible Lockheed Martin
F22 Rapture. But nothing
thrills quite like the
performance of the elite
fighter demonstration
teams, whether it be the
Navy Blue Angels or the Air
Force Thunderbirds.
As a very young lad living
in Holland my father took me
to an air show, and I still recall
being shaken and marvelled at
seeing my first jet fighter. Not
long after immigrating to the
States and becoming a citizen,
I was drafted for the Vietnam
War. I went into the Air Force,and it was then when I got to
see the Thunderbirds and Blue
Angels perform in the same
show. Near the end of my
four-year tour, stationed in
Las Vegas, I got to see the
Thunderbirds practice daily in
their F-4E Phantoms. Around
1990, I took my son to an air
show on Cape Cod, and
photographed majestic
Thunderbirds flying the
F-16/A Fighting Falcons.
At that time, we were of
course shooting film so didn’t
have the luxury of reviewing
the images on the rear LCD
like we do today. NeverthelessA