Alpha Collective member Andrew Eggers is a passionate photographer whose recent experience at San Francisco's iconic Fleet Week rekindled the childhood wonder of watching planes soar through the sky. Growing up in Salinas, California, Eggers fondly recalls attending air shows with his family, marveling at the speed and agility of the aircraft. Now, as an adult and a father, he had the opportunity to share that excitement with his own son while capturing breathtaking images using his Sony Alpha 1 and Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master lens. Join us as Eggers takes us through his nostalgic and exhilarating day, filled with Fleet Week photography from stunning San Francisco photography locations.
Photo by Andrew Eggers. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. 1/4000-sec., f/7.1, ISO 500
Join Andrew Eggers at SF Fleet Week as he captures stunning air show images with his Sony Alpha 1. Discover tips for dynamic aviation photography.
Finding The Perfect View
As an adult, the chance to feel like a kid again doesn’t come around too often. It happened to me recently during San Francisco Fleet Week as memories started flowing of being with my parents and sister at the Salinas Air Show as a kid in Salinas, California years ago. I must have been around 10 years old and remember being impressed by the planes and how fast they were, but didn’t have the best view of them flying around the skies in what was a much smaller airshow.
This time, I was with my son, Von, and my Sony Alpha 1 with the Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master lens in one of, if not the most picturesque places in the world. Not to mention, the weather was absolutely perfect with scattered clouds and patches of low fog hanging onto the Golden Gate Bridge almost the entire afternoon.
Photo by Andrew Eggers. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. 1/5000-sec., f/8, ISO 500
We got there early around 10:30 a.m. and thanks to a tip from my good friend, Marcus, we headed to the Marina Greens area and found a great view of the Golden Gate and a partially blocked, but still good view of Alcatraz. It was going to be a long but fun-filled day as Marcus had given us tickets to the Warriors preseason game later that night and it was my son and my first time seeing Fleet Week in San Francisco.
Capturing Details Of In-The-Air Action
The camera was set to aperture mode and ISO 500. I chose this because it’s the Alpha 1’s second native ISO and produces better image quality, lower noise and increased dynamic range when you need to keep a high-speed shutter.
I kept an eye on my shutter speed throughout the day while also going from between f/6.3 and f/11, but a lot of the better shots were shot at f/7. The shutter speed sat consistently above 1/2000-sec. as the light meter was set to underexpose at -0.7. The goal was to retain as many details in the images since there was plenty of sunlight that day.
Photo by Andrew Eggers. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. 1/2500-sec., f/11, ISO 500
The first few acts were great but the real show started when the jets arrived with supersonic speed and sound whipping around the Bay Area in a matter of seconds. It wasn’t long until you would hear people in the crowd start clamoring with excitement.
“Look! There’s one there!” a person in the crowd called out as my head was now on a swivel like Brock Purdy avoiding the pass rush.
It was very exhilarating when the groups of planes would split up and seemingly go to another corner of the bay to return individually and then eventually all together back into formation. The Blue Angels put on a great show as expected and all the planes and pilots were fun to watch without a doubt.
Photo by Andrew Eggers. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. 1/2000-sec., f/9, ISO 500
Holding Focus On Fast-Moving Objects
My Sony Alpha 1 was so good at holding focus even though I wasn’t the most steady camera operator going from up and down and side to side to get certain shots. With a little more practice the shots could have come out a little sharper in certain cases and that’ll be the goal for next year.
Photo by Andrew Eggers. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. 1/5000-sec., f/7.1, ISO 500
My teenage son didn’t seem too excited about the airshow at first, favoring the ongoing NFL games and his fantasy team at first, but his attention changed quickly especially when the F-22 came out. We had a great time and then made it across the city just in time to watch the Warriors beat the Pistons in what was a very memorable day. Thanks to Marcus for being one of the best people I know as well.
See more of Andrew Eggers’ work on his Alpha Universe Profile and on Instagram @andreweggers.
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