If you’re a pilot, or at all interested in aviation, nothing can compare to EAA’s AirVenture. It is the world’s largest airshow and each year draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world. While the numbers for this year haven’t come out yet, last year brought some half a million visitors and over ten thousand aircraft. It truly is a sight to see.

For the past three years, I’ve been spending more and more time at the airshow each year. It started as a day trip with a friend and our Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). The year after that a different friend and I flew in (since I had earned my pilot’s license) and camped for a night. Then, this year, I visited twice, once camping for 3 days, and then as a day trip. The week flew by, and I’m already anxious for next year’s show.

Unfortunately, because of limited capacity, we weren’t able to camp at the Oshkosh airport. Instead we camped about 20 miles south at Fond Du Lac airport. This meant I wasn’t able to wake with the sun and photograph all the warbirds as I had hoped. Despite this, I still had a great time experimenting with my airshow photography. There is nothing better in life than combining multiple passions in a single experience. Given the limited time I’ve spent practicing, I wasn’t surprised to find my panning skills a little lacking. I was still able to get a few in-focus shots, but not as many as I would have liked.

Another thing I came away with was just how hard it is to find a unique picture. Everyone has a camera, and judging only by equipment, there were quite a few experienced photographers. As I took the standard shooting-into-the-sky pictures, hearing and seeing all the other cameras click just made me realize how ordinary the pictures would likely turn out. My goal next year is to try and find the unseen pictures and explore new angles.

Anyway, here are some of my shots! Let me know what you think.