You may remember last year I got the rush of my life when a fighter jet at Death Valley National Park buzzed right over me. The Ultimate Rush?
I went back to the same spot the other day and this time, I had my camera ready. Now I did not have a fighter jet fly right over me but this one was fairly close. The sounds of its engine penetrated my psyche but I did get some decent photos. I planned to video a jet flying over me but it never happened again while I was there for 2 days. More photos of my Death Valley trip to follow soon.
You don’t really hear the jets until they get close but I spotted this one coming in fast so I had time to grab my camera.
The fighter jet is stationed at nearby China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center.
You may not be able to tell, but I enlarged this image in Photoshop and the pilot was looking right at me. There is a second pilot in the back. I believe this is a F-16. I wasn’t using my zoom lens so he was pretty close.
You want to be in continuous shooting mode to maximize the number of exposures you will get. These jets move by really fast!
As he passed me, the jet headed towards this mountain range, turning to the right and around Eureka Dunes. It’s a pretty tight maneuver. The sound from the thrusts of its engine reverberated off the the side of the mountain.
This all happened in less than 10 seconds.
Cool! I’ve seen them making laps around the dunes too, hard to grudge them a little fun out there.
On another note, which way to you drive to Eureka? How was the road?
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I drove Big Pine Rd north from the crater area and after Eureka Dunes, exited towards Big Pine and Owens Valley. The road was fine the whole way.
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Fantastic! You did well to get such wonderful clear shots. I bet those pilots were having fun.
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Those pilots were having a lot of fun.
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Great story!
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Thanks Yvonne!
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That must have been some experience …. great camera work! Those shots took skill.
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Thanks Eliza. The auto focus really worked but it doesn’t always.
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Great photos! We used to get the Blue Angels flying over our house during air shows. I have a few similar to the one you took where you can see the pilot! Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks Donna. It really is a thrill to have a powerful jet fly by closely!
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Wow! Awesome shots!
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Thanks Jesse
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These are awesome shots.
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Thanks Jacqueline!
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You are welcome 🙂
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We live within a few miles of Nellis Air Force Base. When the planes take off in the morning and return in the evenings you can not talk on your telephone, they are so loud. One night recently they were so loud we thought we would have a visitor drop in any second. Thankfully, that did not happen!
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I’m surprised they are allowed to fly over national parks and neighborhoods since they get so loud. I enjoy it once in awhile but would find it difficult to deal with on a regular basis.
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Somehow you get used to it. It’s not every day.
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Wow, cool shots, Michael! I like the enlarged photo especially. 🙂
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Thanks Amy. In that closeup, the jet got within 200 yards of where I was standing.
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Your reaction was good……
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Awesome pictures! WE WERE THERE TOO! 2/13/17
I had stopped the car to get out and take a picture of the beauty of the landscape and when my husband and I got out of the car, not 2 seconds later my hubby saw the jet coming straight at us, following the road like a runway…he was speechless and could not even speak! Then I felt the earth shake …completely took us by surprise…maybe 100 ft above our heads…we felt the rumble to our bones and it was exhiliarating !! I am so impressed with your photos- simply amazing.
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Last year a jet buzzed right over me at the same location as this year, no more than 100 feet over me.For a second I thought he was going to crash. But it was quite a thrill after I regained my composure.
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Fantastic captures, that only you can do!
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Thank you very much!
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