Friday Video: Fighter Jets

It's Friday and time for another excellent video. You'll love it.

F/A-18F Super Hornet 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

I don't know about you, but I really dig the paint scheme on this Super Hornet. It makes a great desktop background. Enjoy!

F-14B Tomcat Carrier Landing 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

More Tomcat loving today. Here's a great shot of an F-14B catching a wire on a carrier. Love this plane!

USN F/A-18C Fighter Pilot 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

You have to love fighter pilot gear. The helmet, flightsuit, and gloves rock. I'd wear the same stuff flying Cessna 172's but it would be overkill. I guess the only way I could wear it would be to join the Civil Air Patrol.

Here is a fighter pilot sitting in an F/A-18C. Great shot.

USAF MQ-9 Reaper 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

It's been an amazing transformation from using unmanned aerial vehicles as observational drones to using them as killers drones.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a rugged platform with precision strike capability. Times are changing and these UAVs are just the beginning of a complete transformation of military aviation.

Blue Angel F/A-18C 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Allright everybody!
Here's a nice picture from the Blue Angels flying over the Battle of Midway commemoration ceremony.

I added some contrast and a red photo filter.

Pieter

NASA Space 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Maybe you're like me, but when I see pictures of space I find myself in deep awe and wonder. And to think there are billions and billions of stars out there is just overwhelming.

Here's another great shot. Hope you enjoy it.

Friday Video: Russian Super Jet Fighters

It's Friday and time to enjoy another excellent video clip. Check out the Russian aircraft. Impressive stuff.

B-52H Bomber 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a B-52H model "Memphis Belle IV that was sitting on the ramp. I like nose art and always enjoy looking at the details of an aircraft upclose.

Enjoy!

Black Friday Deals

Christmas is coming and Friday Nov 23 (otherwise known as "Black Friday") is the biggest day for great deals on stuff for the year. I got a notice from Amazon.com that they are having some incredible specials. Check out their Black Friday specials page. These deals are typically only available for one day, so get over there.

I don't know what you're looking for this year, but I'm interested in upgrading my DSLR. Enjoy!

C-130 Hercules 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

I'm not sure what version of C-130 this is, but there were a few at the Nellis AFB 2007 airshow.

Have a great day and don't eat too much food.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today in the United States it's Thanksgiving. It's a time to reflect and be thankful to God for all the blessings we enjoy. I want to express my thanks to all of you who visit the blog. Without you, this blog would be meaningless. I wish you and your families all the best in life.

Today, be sure and tell someone you love them.

JT

B-52 Pass and Review 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

The B-52 Bomber is always a star performer at airshows. You can see the huge plumes of black smoke miles away before it makes a pass and the anticipation is electric.

I took this shot during the early afternoon pass and review of Vietnam era aircraft.

Thunderbird #5 F-16C High Alpha Pass 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

In contrast to other airshows, during the 2007 Nellis airshow the Thunderbirds flew before the modern military aircraft.

I got this shot of Tbird Solo #5 doing a high AOA slow speed pass.

Enjoy!

F/A-22 Raptor Raw Power 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

During the aircraft demo, the F-22 gave many opportunities to capture full afterburner maneuvers. In this shot the aircraft is performing a high-g turn right in front of the crowd.

Aviation photography is a blast Enjoy!

A-10 Thunderbolt II 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

During the Nellis 2007 airshow, the A-10 performed and I got a few great shots. Although everything the A-10 is low speed, here is a "low" speed pass with gear extended.

They said that because of the low speed and high turn radius, two A-10s can keep gun fire on a target area every 10-15 seconds.

Enjoy!

Friday Video: Flying To The Grand Canyon

I don't think I've mentioned it before here, but besides loving aviation photography, I'm also a private pilot. Today's video is a brief clip of me flying a C-172SP during my trip to Las Vegas. My wife was seated in the back and took the video.

We took off from North Las Vegas airport, flew over Nellis AFB (we saw F-16's taking off under us but the wife didn't get any shots of that...), and headed out to the Western edge of the Grand Canyon. In this video you'll see some of the interesting desert topography around Nevada and Arizona.

Here's an overview map of our flight route.

The airspace around Las Vegas is class B and is quite busy. The best news is that ATC routing took us over Nellis AFB, McCarran Airport, and then over the Las Vegas strip.

Have a great Friday!

F-14D Tomcat 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's another picture from the navy's grandpa. After 32 years serving in the USN, these planes retired in 2006. The variant F-14A is also famous from the movie Top Gun.

I did some color corrections, the original picture had a red shine. I added some contrast.

Pieter

F/A-22 Raptor 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Continuing with my photographs from the Nellis AFB 2007 Airshow, here's a great shot of the F/A-22 Raptor.

In this picture, the Raptor is taxiing out for the afternoon demonstration. This was a hard shot to get since I had to push by many people to get clear angle.

As you have seen in a previous video here, the F/A-22 is the most maneuverable aircraft in the USAF inventory. The demo was amazing and the raw power of the aircraft is insane. I read at the show that a single engine puts out 28,000+ lbs of thrust at MIL power and 43,000 lbs of thrust in afterburner. This jet has two of these engines! No wonder this baby can supercruise.

F-4E "Col Olds" Phantom 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

It's rare to see a flying F-4 Phantom these days. The aircraft have been retired and most are slated to become drones (sad ending indeed).

At the Nellis AFB airshow 2007, this beauty was flown and performed some individual acts and a heritage flight.

The aircraft bears the markings of a great fighter pilot named Robin Olds. I caught this shot during a high speed pass just around sunset. The F-4 was definitely one of the loudest aircraft at the airshow and impressed us all.

Thunderbird F-16C 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

I'm back from my vacation in Las Vegas, NV., and I have a ton of great shots from the Nellis AFB airshow.

First, let me thank Pieter for covering while I was gone. He did a great job and I've asked him to stay on and contribute whenever he likes.

I attended the show on Saturday and we had perfect weather with clear blue skies. The show centered around the USAF 60th Anniversary and they flew many aircraft from the different eras.
My shots were taken with a Canon Digital Rebel and a Sigma telephoto lens. This shot comes from near centerline where the Thunderbirds were parked before their show. I've made the usual enhancements and cropped it to 1680. Enjoy!

F/A-18F Super Hornet 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Hello! This is one of my last posts... So I can give you a beautiful wallpaper of a F-18 night shot. The lights of the carrier give the picture an extra nice look.

I added some contrast and level adjustments.

F/A-18F Super Hornet 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Hello everybody! Ok here's a nice picture of some F-18C's approaching a fuel tanker during exercise Malabar 07-2.

The shot was already a beauty, so it didn't needed a lot of color corrections.

AV/8B Harrier 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Due to some personal problems, I will not be able to post much here. But here's a wallpaper of a nice formation flight of F-18 and Harriers. It didn't needed a lot adjustments.

Friday Video: Eurofighter Typhoon

I once saw this Plane of the Italian Air force doing a low pass when I was swimming in the sea. A real European beauty.

A-10 Thunderbolt II 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a shot of one of my favorite planes. the engines are fixed high on the fuselage which is useful when the A-10 needs to land on forward air bases. Also the risk of FOD (Foreign Object Damage), caused by sand and stones, is reduced. This unusual engine setting gave the A-10 his "Warthog" nickname.

I added some contrast and color adjustments.

AV/8B Harrier 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Hello! Here's a shot of two AV/8B Harriers. These planes have the special ability to take off vertically which is very usefull to take off from carriers. I did some level and contrast adjustments.

F-86 Sabre 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Before I head out to Vegas, I'm putting up a shot from my own collection of photos. I took this photo of a static F-86 during an open house near San Diego, CA.

Enjoy!

Blue Angel F/A-18C 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Hello, I'm Pieter from Belgium, the guest author while JT is away.
This is my first wallpaper. I hope to see the Blue Angels some time while they are showing their skills. Tell me what you think about my wallpaper!

F/A-22 Raptor 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a great front shot of the F/A-22 Raptor on the ramp at Nellis AFB. As you have seen in the airshow video, this is one amazing fighter jet without even discussing the stealth characteristics, passive radar, and avionics. Enjoy!

Call For Guest Blogger

UPDATE: Great news. Pieter Vroman volunteered to help out. Thanks Pieter!

Hey everyone,

I'm going out of town starting this Wednesday Nov 7th through Monday Nov 12th. I'm going to be in Las Vegas with the wife and also attending the 2007 Nellis AFB airshow (I hope to get a few decent pictures!).

During my time out, I'd really like it if one of you would guest blog here. Here are the requirements:

1. Love aviation photography
2. Able to use Photoshop (or similar) to crop and enhance public domain images
3. Able to post daily from Nov 7th - Nov 12th.

Please write me at widescreenwallpapers@hotmail.com and let me know if you meet the requirements and are available.

JT

NASA Deep Space 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

I think we've all seen some really amazing deep space photography from NASA. I applied the same post-processing techniques that I'm doing for the fighter jets and I think it turned out great.

Just another reminder of the beautiful and immense creation we live in. Enjoy!

SR-71 Night Vision 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a night vision shot of the SR-71 on a Top Secret mission... ok, well, how about a simulated night vision shot made with Photoshop.

I've written a tutorial about how I did the effect with Photoshop which I'll post a link to later.

Do you love it or hate it? Leave a comment!

Thundbirds Formation 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Sweet shot here of a six ship formation of F-16s over the desert (Sedona, AZ?). The colors are vibrant and it needed minimal rework.


Enjoy!

YF-23 Black Widow 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Let's face it, not all photos can be salvaged with Photoshop and that's why they made filters right? Ok, well, you get the point. I worked on the original for this shot and just was not happy with the final output, but I think it looks great (if you like artistic enhancements) with a filter applied.

In this photo I've enhanced the original as much as possible to correct many problems and then applied the cutout filter to it. Love it or hate it, at least it's free right?

Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. If enough of you like this type of work, I can do others. Consider this a test case. Happy Friday!

NASA F-14A Tomcat 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

If you're a fan of historical photographs, here's one for your desktop. Check out NASA's version of the F-14A over Edwards AFB.

Friday Video: USAF Thunderbird Solo Cockpit Video

It's Friday and that means cool clip of the week time! Check out this excellent video of Thunderbird solo pilots doing their thing.

SR-71 Afterburner 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

The SR-71 (in this shot I believe it is the YF-12 two seater) had the most pronounced and distinct afterburner diamond shockwaves.

I remember as a young boy attending the Pt. Mugu airshow in California. During the show they had an unscheduled appearance of the SR-71. It made one high speed pass and then came around for a low speed pass. During the low speed pass, the jet pitched up, went into full afterburner, and in a matter of seconds completely disappeared from view. Everyone was clapping and cheering. It was an amazing demonstration of pure power and something I never forgot.

In later years I saw the SR-71 again at Nellis AFB while I was stationed there. It made an emergency landing due to some system malfunctions and was puking hydro fluid everywhere.