Sundays in my City - The Blue Angels @ Fleet Week in San Francisco


The Blue Angels are the annual highlight of fleet week here in San Francisco. I have been to so many fleet week festivities over the years that this week I decided to forgo the air show and rather get out to the Golden Gate Bridge area during their practice show. I spent a couple of hours chasing them around the skies and after a couple of dozen shots had a few good enough to post. It is so difficult getting shots of the Blue Angels. They fly so fast and so low in the sky that half the time you don't even know where they are coming from until they are literally right on top of you.

They are truly amazing to watch. The above photo is a maneuver where they fly upside down during a downward spiral. They also fly so close to each other that it is a bit scary at times. I am also going to try and get on at least one of the ships this week. Notice I said try. There are literally hundreds of people doing the same so we'll see. Until next week, enjoy the show.

ALL PHOTOS BY JOANNE OLIVIERI . THE VIDEO AT THE END OF THIS POST, COURTESY OF ABC7 NEWS.


















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Comments

Leslie D. said…
These photos made my heart skip a beat. Love the Blue Angels.Thrilling to watch and your photos capture the spirit!
Kelli said…
wow you did an awesome job getting the shots consider just how fast they go.
Joanne Olivieri said…
LD, they are thrilling to watch and difficult to capture. I spent two hours trying to get some decent shots. Thanks for visiting.

Kebeni, Yes it was a challenge but worth it to see them perform. Thanks and have a great Sunday.
BLOGitse said…
I can imagine how busy you were shooting these pictures! :)
Happy Sunday!
RNSANE said…
Jo, you got really great shots. You're better off that you don't drive during Fleet Week! And how smart to get photos during the practices! I know they're doing another show tomorrow afternoon but I think I'll stay close to home. Of course, I could just park on top of Skyline Drive and see them flying over.

Once I had to testify in court at Treasure Island several years back when that was still active Navy....the trial was going ond during the Blue Angel rehearsels and the judge would have to stop my testimony every time they'd go
zooming overhead. You couldn't hear anything for a few minutes afterward.
Joanne Olivieri said…
Blogtise, Someone should have been there filming me running around like a crazy person trying to get shots :D
Joanne Olivieri said…
Carmen, I've been down there for so many years and it's just a madhouse each year so opting for the Bridge during practice was the perfect choice. Not to mention, at the bridge they fly very low and of course you can't hear anything for hours afterwards but since they do fly so low you can get better shots than down the wharf area.

You can even catch them out near baker beach.
Photography said…
They are pretty good shots! They must have been whizzing by. Would have loved to have seen them. Thanks for stopping by - I just joined your blog :-)
mARTy said…
Wow, great job! Know, how hard it is to get them! Tried it once without success--so congrats!
Joanne Olivieri said…
The Clip Cafe, They were whizzing by very fast and low. Thanks for joining and I did the same. I loved your last shot.

mArty, I couldn't get them at all using the LCD screen so I turned on the view finder and that helped. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Duni said…
Wow, amazing shots Joanne! The formations look great up against that blue sky. I bet they were super fast!
Joanne Olivieri said…
Duni, they are so fast it is unbelievable. Where I was by the time you heard the roar of the engines they are right above you and the next second they are miles away. It's very exciting to see.
Amy DM said…
Love air shows. But, don't enjoy the crowds. Good call on viewing the practice instead.
Ann said…
I saw the Blue Angels once when I was a kid. They are incredible. My dad loved stuff like that and never missed an opportunity to see an air show. Unless of course it was to be out flying himself :)
I saw a couple of Blue Angels shows before, and they are spectacular. You captured many wonderful shots, JO!
Anonymous said…
Those are difficult but you did a great job! I like the feel of motion in these shots.
DeniseinVA said…
I haven't seen the Blue Angels in many years. You did great on photographing them. I love the roar of those engines. I used to watch fighter planes touch and go down at the Miramar Navy Base in San Diego years ago. Never got tired of watching that.
Sonya said…
Well done! those shots are wonderful
ruma said…
The lining up is very beautiful.

Thank you.
ruma
Tara R. said…
I live near Pensacola NAS, home base for the Blue Angels. I've attended many of their air shows. They still are a thrill to watch.
Joanna Jenkins said…
Ahh the Blue Angels.... I'd lived in SF for about 2 weeks and had no idea about Fleet Week. I lived blocks from Pier 39 and got a wake-up call like never before when they flew by! It was amazing-- as soon as I figured out what it was :-)
Cheers, jj
Joanne Olivieri said…
Amy, I am the same. It was much better at my vantage point with less crowds. Thanks.

Ann, your Dad was a wonderful man. I can tell by your thoughts about him. The Blue Angels are incredible to say the least.

Icy, thanks so much it was a challenge but fun :)

Lynn, thanks, I almost had motion sickness watching them :)

Denise, thanks, yes I think it's the powerful engines that just get us hooked.

Thank you so much, Sonya

Ruma, it really is such precision, it always amazes me.

Tara, how cool, it must be loud out there :) I would never get tired of watching them either.

Joanna, it must have been quite scary if your didn't know what it was :) Great area in which to live, even for only two weeks.
Kay L. Davies said…
I was thinking about the Blue Angels just the other day. In the late 1970s, I saw them practicing at the naval air facility near El Centro, California, and have never forgotten how amazing they were.

Kay, Alberta
betchai said…
Hi Jo, we watched Blue Angels last weekend here too in San Diego, they are awesome, and I always look forward to their show. Awesome shots Jo.
Unknown said…
These are great shots. I remember seeing them when I was a child. The little photos & brochures you could get as souvenirs were just like these shots!
Stopping by from Sundays in My City to say hi!
Nice photos, thanks for sharing.
Matty said…
Despite their speed and the fact that they sneak up on you, you were still quick enough to get off great shots. Very nice.
Grimmgirl said…
Cool pics. When I see planes like these I always think of Annie Dillard's amazing essay, "The Stunt Pilot" -- about her experience of getting to go up in a stunt plane with a pilot who later died at an airshow. It's not a depressing as it sounds!
ruthinian said…
I always to wanted to watch this kind of show. Too bad Hubby was too busy to bring me to one. Now that he found the time, it was all over. They moved the base to Florida.
I'm impressed that you were able to get any shots of them at all. It's not easy.

My daughter and the dog we live with have been terrified by the sound.
Linnea said…
Oh I love the BA. I was supposed to go out and watch them but never made it! Glad you caught them!
Erin said…
I miss Fleet Week so much! And it looks like you had some great weather this year for it!
AVCr8teur said…
You did a nice job. I love Fleet Week in SF!
Self Sagacity said…
It is truly a great show, I have to catch it live one of these days.
Sree said…
I have been to an air show very recently . But all i could get on my cam was either the tail or the shaky ones . You did a great job there :)
Maria said…
Wow! Thrilling photos!

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