Thunderbirds (Grand Junction, Monument: 2009, chapel, closing)

[Brill]

Not that good? What kind of camera do you have swampy?

They woke me up at 8 when they flew over my apartment. I heard them, but couldn't see them. I hate when that happens.

[Swampy101]

Eh, they're just not up to my standard Brill. Like I said, it was foggy and cloudy so it softened the images up and the lighting is pretty bad on them.

They're only a couple hundred feet above my house when they do the 180's to go back, windows shaking, ground shaking, the whole thing. Pretty cool to have that at my house.

Those were shot with a Canon 1Ds Mark II, 600mm F4 IS L Lens and a 1.4x Teleconverter.

Wonder if they'll practice again later or do it again tomorrow morning.......

[Brill]

I know these are inferior to swampy, but here's a few pics from this afternoon













Someone mentioned the movie theater on Interquest, probably a bad idea due to lamp post and such. I was at a parking lot off of sybilla for these and posts and trees and stuff always seemed to be in the way.

[Swampy101]

I'm so mad. I didn't think I was going that far down and ended up at Academy for lunch. On the way back, they were going to town. I didn't have my camera.

We pulled over for a good 45 minutes and watched.

So, parking situation.

Brill is right, got lamp posts in the way, but they're manageable. Higher up than the field alleviates the fewer light posts along the interstate that are sort of in your way. However, you have the big theater in your way behind you when you're up in that parking lot too and I was watching from the field. I'd see them coming looong before the people in the parking lot did.

The field has changed slightly. You used to have to swing in off of Interquest and kinda drive this dirt road that paralleled Interquest for a few hundred yards before turning right into the field.

With all the new roadwork, that little dirt road is gone and the entrance to the field is right before the snow gates on the interstate onramp.

I'm still shooting for the field. There was a couple of cops parked nearby watching the practice (while state troopers where doing all the work keeping people off the side of the road. haha). I stopped and talked to them and they said the area might be roped off for the field and possibly even the theater parking lot.

There's another issue with the theater parking lot. The management could be jerks and have the police move us out of there (no loitering stuff) at any time. It could get bad enough the day of the actual show for that to happen. It was packed up there for just the practice stuff today!

Anyway, all that said, I'm still shooting for the field. There's a spot I like that keeps me in between two light poles and that keeps them out of a lot of my shots. I'm probably now going to show up at 10am to make sure there's a spot for me to shoot, if the field is closed, then I'll go to the theater parking lot I guess.

[SheridanL]

I hear it is supposed to be very foggy today and, they don't know if the Thunderbirds will even take off. I hope this isn't the case!!
I'll be thinking of you guys meeting up with your camera's and all. Have fun!

[Brill]

Certainly a crappy morning so far, hopefully it will clear up.

[Swampy101]

Watching different radars, patterns and talking to some meteorologists, this fog should start clearing around 9 - 9:30. Should be out in time for the T-birds...

[Charles]

We expect to be there. Hope others can make it.

[SheridanL]

Yay!! I hope you guys get to meet up and take great pics!!! How FUN!!

[Charles]

I'll either be in my white 1998 F-150 supercab with a black toolbox or in my wife's dark blue 2008 toyota sequoia. I will probably meet my wife in the theater parking lot around 11 and then navigate over into the field. I'll be looking for swampy's gold jeep.