Fun Friday: Warriors over the Wasatch Airshow 2018 | Layton, Utah Photographers

“Oh no!!” Liam yelled as he covered his mouth, gasping. We looked up to see smoke coming from the back end of a propeller plane. The plane zipped, and zoomed, rolling and drawing figures in the sky with smoke. While sitting on Dallin’s shoulders, Liam looked down at us for reassurance that the airplane was okay. That was his first introduction to the Warriors over the Wasatch airshow, he was in total awe.

Last month we spent a Saturday together on our local Air Force base watching the Warriors over the Wasatch Air Show. Pilots both local and from around the country, as well as the Air Force Thunderbirds came to perform stunts and show off their planes. This was our first experience going to an airshow and we had a total blast. We were especially impressed with Liam. As parents of a toddler, you never know if they will be able to handle such a long day and miss nap time. Liam definitely proved us wrong and had easily the greatest day of his life. He still won’t put down his toy F-16 and F/A-18 that he clutched in his fists throughout the show. They are definitely his favorite toy.

We went to the Warriors over the Wasatch Airshow hoping to have fun as a family, but we also went to try to capture some pictures of the planes. This was our first attempt at airshow/airplane photography. It’s a completely different ballgame than weddings or portraits of people. Thankfully, we knew that beforehand and spent plenty of time learning and prepping for the opportunity. With plane photography you don’t get any do-overs or second chances. If you don’t capture the perfect image on your first try, the planes will never be in the same position in the same place again. You have to be fast, stable, have exactly the right settings, and a little bit of luck. We rented a huge zoom lens to try to get the extra reach and it turned out perfectly! Big thanks to Mike at Farr’s Jewelry for always being great to rent with!

We’ll be back to shoot more pictures at the next airshow in two years. We don’t know who’s more excited, Liam or us!