Arsenal of Democracy World War II Victory Capitol Flyover

Braineack · May 10, 2015

I was able to get access to a really cool vantage for the VE day flyover. It was a really awesome sight to see.

The lighting was crummy as hell. It was humid and hazy and the flyover started at 12 noon. Each shot got progressively better as the sun became more and more directional and the sky became more and more blue and clear. Had the flyover been at 3pm it would have been SO much better.

I had lots of sucess at 1/1600sec without VC vs. 1/1250sec with or w/o VC in terms of sharp captures and keepers. Only the mustangs flew the correct path and height so I was hand holding since the planes were very unpredictable from the direction of approach and my building I was on prevented you from being able to see them coming.

Here's a couple of my favorite shots of the hour, along with the full set:

Arsenal of Democracy World War II Victory Capitol Flyover - an album on Flickr

Trainer Formation - North American AT-6 Texan by The Braineack, on Flickr

Curtiss P-40 Warhawks by The Braineack, on Flickr

Consolidated B-24 Liberator "Diamond Lil" by The Braineack, on Flickr

North American P-51 Mustangs by The Braineack, on Flickr

North American P-51 Mustangs over D.C. by The Braineack, on Flickr

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress "Aluminum Overcast" by The Braineack, on Flickr

Douglas C-47 Skytrain "Miss Virginia" by The Braineack, on Flickr

Boeing B-29 Superfortress "FiFi" by The Braineack, on Flickr

Missing Man Formation by The Braineack, on Flickr

My parents went and saw them yesterday at the airport and got to get inside a few of them. I might go after work tomorrow and see them in person as well. For $500 I can even fly in one

waday · May 10, 2015

Very nice shots! I like the Warhawks and Mustangs, as well as FiFi!

PropilotBW · May 10, 2015

I would have loved to see this formation flyover. Nice pics!

tirediron · May 10, 2015

Great shots... do you have any with a slightly slower shutter speed and a bit of motion blur on the propellers?

bribrius · May 10, 2015

tirediron said:
Great shots... do you have any with a slightly slower shutter speed and a bit of motion blur on the propellers?

lol. i wondered that too. But the shots seem about spot on, he did great imo and made that comment on the ss in the original post. ..

JoeW · May 10, 2015

Great event. I was there too (between the Lincoln Memorial and the Potomac on the steps). Very nice work Braineac--well done!

Braineack · May 11, 2015

tirediron said:
Great shots... do you have any with a slightly slower shutter speed and a bit of motion blur on the propellers?

No I don't unfortunately. I started at 1/1250 and went to 1/1600sec. I wanted to make sure I got crisp clear shots as this was a once in a lifetime thing. Had they all flown over like the formation of Mustangs I would have kept the monopod on and tried a few slightly slower shutter pans. But my keeper rate are even 1/1250 at 600mm was significantly less than at 1/1600. When It's apparent in the LCD you know you got issues.

gsgary · May 11, 2015

Shutter speed way too fast, static props is a big minus

runnah · May 11, 2015

Arsenal of Democracy?! Lol that is like "Chainsaw of Peace"

I like the one with the Washington monument in the background.

Braineack · May 11, 2015

Yeah I was really happy that they flew low and was able to catch them with Georgetown and DC behind them--they were eye-level to me.

Were were expecting them all to flew that same route and elevation, but it was a bit random from formation to formation. Some cut the corner, some flew directly overhead, some came from my right. Made it hard to maintain a starting position for my lens, and I couldn't see the approach.

A few of the planes that did fly directly overhead, I wish I was able to go to the other side of my building for. The two formations I moved for they flew so far away from my building that I was able to get any keepers of them.

The Tamron did a bang-up job nailing and maintaining focus--granted most were flying slow.

Braineack · May 11, 2015

gsgary said:
Shutter speed way too fast, static props is a big minus

I was more than willing to freeze the props in order to achieve crisp clear shots. Doesn't bother me at all.

I haven't much practice with the lens and the approaches were too random to fool around with panning and slow shutters. Even at 1/1250sec I was getting a lot of blurred shots as I was handholding at 600mm. My keeper rate jumped significantly once I bumped up to 1/1600.

Granted I should have tried a few at 1/1000 or 1/500, but there was nothing to practice on and I wanted to make sure I was able to capture them all.

gsgary · May 11, 2015

1/320 for props, static prop kills them

Braineack · May 11, 2015

in your opinion.

lambertpix · May 11, 2015

What a great opportunity. Nice to see Fifi again -- I understand there's a chance another B29 will join her in Oshkosh this year. It would be amazing to see two in the air together.

Gary A. · May 11, 2015

The Washington Monument is a big plus. Prop blur would have been nice. The B-29 looks elegant the B-24, (from your angle), doesn't even look airworthy.