I know I haven't taken part in the recent comps, but FWIW I agree with John too.

I also don't see why a separate PhotoBucket account is needed - surely just a link to a suitably hosted picture that's no bigger than 800 pixels on the longest side. People can then enter their own photos. Once a pic is reduced to the right size it's rarely bigger than a couple of hundred KB - is there any need for an additional file size limit?

Is it possible to add a poll, but only after the closing date, given suitable privileges? If so, the pics could accumulate visibly until then, and voting could then ensue. At the end of the voting the winner could be declared and discussion could commence.

It could all be on the one thread, then, couldn't it? Sorry if I've missed too much of the earlier discussion to be making much sense..

He ain't having mine, his aeroplanes are too good already.

Love the Hunter, but the second one of it seems very noisy (it clearly isn't speckled green on the left hand side of its nose) as does the Grob.

What was going on in the editing there?

Nice Sea Hawk. I messed up all the close ones of it I took. I've got one just like that, except a ton of camera shake

Again, great detail with the F16, but I'm not liking the way they're all so tight in the frame, especially the A380.

Otherwise, terrific.

I don't see that kind of detail on mine - I'm hoping it's the extra pixels that makes the difference, since if it's my technique I may as well shoot myself now, and if it's the glass then it'll be a long time before I can afford better than I have...

With light like that, I think they're pretty good.

Could have done with longer exposures really, to get a bit more prop blur.

Otherwise, good. Forget improving the background in light like that. Piotro's suggestion is good if you like that sort of thing, but if you want to keep the realism, you're stuffed really.

I think you've retained quite a decent amount of detail on the undersides, which with cloud like that as background is not easy.

Likewise, apols for rambling on on someone else's thread..

Re the photos in the OP, the first two aren't really my thing - not enough aeroplane in the first one, or in the second, but that's not at all a criticism.

Looking at the larger version of the 3rd one, it's a great view of the C21J, but it looks a shade oversharpened to me, and could have done with a somewhat slower shutter speed to get a bit more prop blur.

The C21J was actually the aircraft that impressed me the most at the show.

It's not small, yet its performance is extraordinary. It flew the whole length of the runway in knife-edge flight (which means that it's banked at an angle of 90 degrees, with the lift coming from the side of the inclined fuselage, not the wings, helped by the inclined thrust vector from the engines).

You see aerobatic singles do that kind of thing all the time, but for a socking great cargo aircraft it was quite a sight. It would have been light of course, but even so.

Last time, in 2008, we went straight back to the car park, and it took us more than an hour and a half to get out. First in really does mean last out.

This time, we hung about on the field for an hour or so, watching some of the departures, then meandered back through the static displays.

Then hopped on the shuttle bus, and had an ice cream.

By the time we left, it only took us about 10 mins to get out. No earlier, but a lot less stressed.

Hey, how did you get to see the 850-odd shots I haven't posted!!

Nice idea, but it would have to be diehards only, really.

I was up at 5.30am, out of the house at 6.15, with other half, fold up chairs, coolbox and camera bag.

Dropped other half at the gate at 6.45 with stuff, drove up to the car park, legged it back to the gate.

Waited in the queue till they'd let people through, then long walk to favourite spot carrying all the crap... in place all set up with coffee at 7.30...

... ready to start the long 5 hour wait until the airshow proper began at 12.30.

It's what you have to do if you want a good spot at the front of the crowd.

Not that that stops people forcing their way to the front and trampling all over your stuff if you're not careful to defend your little patch. Grr...

Found another one....

Fans of the movie Top Gun will recall the early flying sequence, where, prior to their posting to Miramar, Maverick and Goose encounter a Soviet fighter. They fly cockpit to cockpit while flying an inverted loop with the Soviet pilot, outside, flying a normal loop. Goose photographs the Soviet pilot with his Polaroid camera while 'flipping him the bird'.

Well this is the manoeuvre, from two of the Blades pilots, flying Extra 300Ls. Formation aerobatics doesn't get much better than them.

[IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/chris5gd/Aviation/Farnborough%202010/IMGP0896.jpg[/IMG]

Or indeed minor zit-cloning. Fingers crossed