full throttle

I was making my rounds for practice driving in the vicinity of RKH Hospital when I noticed 7 red single engine planes flying on a V-formation. It catches my attention because these planes usually fly on single flights, but today they were flying in groups and they were performing some acrobatics. Hmm... this is a nice subject to shoot, I thought. Slowly, I turned back my car and headed towards home.

On the way, I was half-hearted to take photographs of the plane. I was divided whether to continue my practice driving or should I go home and take pictures? My reservation was grounded on the risk that taking photographs of any military installation or machines is strictly prohibited in the Kingdom. And when I was about to decide to continue my rounds, I heard a loud noise of jets passing over my head.

Whoaaah!!!! I saw two squadrons of F-15s in the sky flying in V-formation. A minute later, another two squadrons of F-18s made a low altitude pass in full throttle. Gee, the noise was so loud it triggers the alarms of all parked cars in the streets.

That's it.

I pumped the gas pedal and hurried towards home. I was no longer thinking of the risk, and everything in my head was my camera. In 5 minutes, I reached home.. hurriedly grab my Canon 20D then fitted a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L IS and a circular polarizer, and run in the stairway toward the rooftop.

Standing at the rooftop, I could see the Air Control Tower of the nearby Air Base, and the planes were far in the horizon making a round-about for the second pass. The adrenaline was pumping in my body like crazy. The excitement of capturing a good pictures of the planes and the fear of being spotted by military authorities was making me nervous like a porcupine. Crazy thoughts were already filling my head. "What if they could see me through a satellite just like in the movies? Would they send me to jail?" Huwaaahhh!!! crazy, crazy and more crazy thoughts.

After thirty minutes of waiting, I saw the first squadron approaching the Air Base. I hid among the boxes making sure that I was out of sight from the Air Control Tower, and then lifted my camera and started shooting. I made a hundred shots in just a minute. I reviewed it and but not happy with the result because majority were either blur or with bad-composition.

Five minutes later, the second squadron made another pass and performed an awesome herbst maneuver (J-turn) just few hundred meters above the ground. I was dumbfounded. Though I've seen those maneuvers in the Discovery Channel, boy, this was real... and I saw it. Hehehehehe.

I took over 500 shots with 90% garbage rate. Many were blurred, under-exposed or over-exposed, and a few dozens that were quite acceptable. It might not be of publishing quality, but I just console myself of the fact that taking pictures of fighter planes in the Kingdom is already an achievement.

Oh.. did I endanger my self for writing this blog? I guess so. Hah! Addict kase sa photography eh.

Bahala na si Batman...