It`s your photo of course, But my guess is that putting a white sky would only serve to weaken the shot. The sky that you have implies drama and adds an other- worldly feel to the shot. I wouldn`t change a thing!

Regards - Pete.

Its always good to try out new things, If you enjoy it then you are likely to try it again! The first shot i like very much, If the Bee had been a little further up in the zone of focus then it would be a great shot, Though purists at this kind of photography would probably say the Bee ought to face towards the Camera that would not concern me as long as the overall shot works.
The other two shots i find that the flowers are competing for attention, There really should be one single element to hold the eye for longer than the rest. That might be by differential focus or by use of shape, size, colour etc,etc.
Good effort!

Regards - Pete

Great Shots!
You have a good panning techniqe as you have been using a slow-ish shutter speed to get those prop blades looking as if they are really turning!
Great composition too, The high viewpoint makes a big difference in some shots. Well Done!
I took a couple of shots at Rhyl Air Display but the grey sky and the smoke blowing directly at the crowd i didn`t get any worthwhile shots. At one point they turned off the smoke as it was impossible to even see the aircraft!

Regards - Pete.

All great shots!
Love the moody sky, It really adds drama to the structure , The first shot looks as though bit belongs in a Terminator Film! I have seen the bridge photographed many times with deep blue sky so well done for getting something different and atmospheric.
At the size shown on screen there appears to be dark flecks in the cloud (Image 1 and 2} they are in the same place in both shots, Have you dust on your sensor?
If you have never cleaned a sensor before it can be a bit intimidating but it`s really not too big a deal once you have done it a couple of times. It may even just blow off with a blower bulb.
I often see the bridge from a distance when i have been traveling along the A55 but as yet i have not been up close, Maybe i will next time.
Regards - Pete.

We frequently get Chinooks in for hot refueling. Unfortunately we are`nt allowed to use Camera`s at our workplace.
Last year i was just nipping a few miles down the road from home and for the first time ever i left my Camera behind. What a mistake!!! A couple of dots on the horizon turned into a Chinook with a Seaking as an underslung load!!! I frantically tried to get home to grab my kit but by then it had landed and i was unable to get a shot. When the R A F first took delivery of them they were assembled at Liverpool dock and flown to Shawbury in Shropshire, They would take staff up for a spin (80 at a time!) but i did`nt fancy any of that!I preferred the relative comfort of the Gazelle or Wessex.
I too have an old 200 f4, Its a lovely lens though mine refuses to focus at infinity which is a bit limiting. The M 100 f2.8 is a beauty too but my favourite is the 300 f4 which is still one of my most used lenses, (I have even used it to shoot video on my K7.)

Happy Shooting.

Regards - Pete.

Both great shots, I actually like the tight crop as the blades add little interest to the picture and it allows the fuselage to be larger in the image. Diagonal lines give a sense of movement and the grey sky suits the subject really well. Looks like 1/500th sec?
I think the same Wokka was at my place of work this afternoon around 4pm refueling.

Regards - Pete.

I used the Shake on startup with my old K10 and that did over 50,000 clicks and never a problem. However i have never once used the dust removal on the K7 (2604 shots) as i have not yet had any dust that has stayed on for more than a few frames so don`t feel the need to instigate it at startup (Yet!)
Regards - Pete

I think i`ll stick to plan A!!!
I don`t expect to see any difference at the kind of shutter speeds needed for aircraft photography.
As for technique, Although i no longer go to Airshows these days, Back in the 70`s i spent most of my week-ends at Airshows or traveling around Airfields and Airports sometimes 6 in a day. And Airshows from Hannover Germany to Harlingen Texas. Using Kodachrome 64 which i frequently used 20-30 rolls per month in my 3 Pentax`s. I still use the same techniques now just on different subjects. Plus i still use the same (Modified) Kaiser Rifle Grip as it is by far the most stable way of handholding a 300mm lens that i have tried though i won`t pass up the chance of a handy fence post or wall if one is around!

Regards - Pete.

If my depleted memory banks serve me correctly, When Shake reduction was first announced to the world i recall the term Fuzzy Logic, What i think they said was that the SR worked by creating its own vibration so that when you captured the image it would cancel out you`r own natural vibration.
Anyhow to make things less fuzzy in my own mind i have decided to conduct a trial just to satisfy my own curiosity!
Next week we have a Families day organised at work and there will be aircraft visiting. It`s not an airshow as such but some do a bit of a display. So i have booked the day off and will attempt to use my K7 with my tatty old Pentax 300mm and even tattier Kaiser Rifle grip. I will try and get some shots using Catch in focus so that i won`t have to adjust the point of focus at all and the same shutter speed with SR on and Off.Hopefully the weather will oblige with a constant light source and the Aircraft complete a couple of runs at the same speed and altitude! not much to ask!!!

REgards- Pete.

I`m not really sure that SR would make an awful lot of difference whether it was on or off as the shutter speeds used to photograph an aircraft in flight would be too short to make a great deal of difference either way, SR is most effective at slow shutter speeds. I have used mostly off but at shutter speeds 1/350th sec for prop and Rotary A/C and -1,000th sec for everything else i would`nt expect it to have any observable difference.
I just use a rifle grip for all of my hanheld long telephoto shots. A monopod is useless at an airshow unless photographing stuff at or near ground level. I do however occasionally use SR on even with my Manfrotto 055 pro Tripod when i`m shooting static subjects in very windy conditions as the vibration can be quite pronounced with a 300mm lens when buffeted. A couple of weeks ago i was taking some air to ground shots from a Cessna with my K7 and 50-135DA* with the window open i found it difficult to keep the buffeting under control so i had the SR on and used 1/600th sec in shutter priority at 200 iso. I don`t know if the SR had any effect but i felt more reassured that it was on!
Regards - Pete.