At the end of the Air Force Academy graduation, the Thunderbirds put on an air show for the crowd at Falcon Stadium. To get this photo, I had to get in an open area; this helped me keep my eye on them most of the time, which really helps when you're trying to focus on something moving so fast. I started watching them through my lens while they were far away. Once they came into range, I took the pictures.

Making the picture

• The challenge: Following the jets, which move so quickly.

• The solution: I didn't use a tripod or a mono pod. Because I didn't know their direction of flight, I found it easier to follow them by holding the large lens in my hand. I used a shutter speed of 2000 to prevent any blurring from hand movement.

• The gear: I used a 400 mm lens and my Nikon D2H. You need to shoot with a fast shutter speed to "stop" the jets. I used a 2000 shutter with and f/stop of about 5.6.

Photo by Ken Papaleo papaleok@RockyMountainNews.com