Brisbane Riverfire 2025 Part 1 - Airshow

photography aviation

We got to see some nice planes.

Make sure to check out part 2 (fireworks).

Updated 2025-09-21 (more growler pics).


See the bottom for details but I basically used 1/1000s and f/7.1 for all of these.

C-17A Globemaster III

I think technically nothing is in focus here but looks kinda neat (ISO 900). globemaster

This is almost fully zoomed out at 240mm but the plane is just too large/close (ISO 900). Actually looks very cool though. globemaster

I was a bit slow and missed some detailed shots of the back because I was too slow at zooming at back in. Perhaps I should have just stayed at 500mm and gotten some very detailed pictures of the bottom (200mm ISO 900). globemaster In a 100% crop you can just make out some crew waving. Couldn't make them out in the moment so quite impressed that my camera picked it up. globemaster

And off she goes (500mm, ISO1400) - we got three passes I think. I sorta blew the first one because I had the camera writing to the SD card instead of XQD so the framerate dropped to a glacial pace once the buffer was full. globemaster

C-27J Spartan

I do really like the lighting in this one. An airshow 30 minutes before sunset tests out the high ISO performance, but you get rewarded with really nice colours (500mm, ISO 1250). spartan

Pushing the light levels around this much also really enhances the sensor dust :|. I can generally edit them out easy enough if I can be bothered but I should just get it cleaned. spartan Once again you can barely make out the crew at 100% (500mm, ISO1400). spartan

I think the lone person looking up at it is kinda cool (500mm, ISO 2500). spartan

And off into the sunset (500mm, ISO 1800). We only got two passes from this one, I was a little disappointed when they started climbing so soon. spartan

EA-18G Growler

I think everything is at 500mm now. Lighting on the nose would be nice here but it does make the condensation above the wings contrast a lot (ISO 1800). growler

A glimpse through the trees. It kinda lines up nicely though (ISO 2200). growler

Upside down jet with a crane in the foreground is definitely a pretty unique shot (ISO 1600). growler

ISO 7200! growler It's cool seeing all the people in the apartment building behind (50% crop). The telephoto compression also makes it look like they're really close to the plane. growler

People seem to really like this one. Silhouette shots are "easy" because you don't need an expensive camera, just expose for the highlights and the noise doesn't matter because you're not pushing the shadows (ISO 140). growler I love seeing the heat out the back of this one (50% crop). growler

Oh the G's! (ISO 3600). The first few times I was caught off guard at how fast they could turn around and do another pass after getting used to how long it took the first two planes to turn. growler

The nice thing with a fighter is they bank enough that you can get a side-on shot even if you're pretty much directly underneath them (ISO 3600). growler Also the detail is pretty nice (100% crop). growler

Lighting in this one is pretty harsh, but combined with the dark smoke out the exhaust gives it a bit of a grungy look (ISO 2000). growler

Don't hit the people! (ISO 6400) growler

I'll put the firework photos in another post to keep load times quick (and because I haven't edited them yet).

If you want a high resolution version (usually up to 8k) of any of these shots for personal or commercial use, reach out to me and we can work something out.

How I did it

Location

More-or-less underneath Kangaroo Point Cliffs, and I got there early enough that I could set up right by the river so I'd have no obstructions for the fireworks (but for the airshow it wouldn't matter as much if you're behind other people).

Gear

Nikon D850 + AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR + Battery Grip (boosts the framerate, 7fps -> 9fps).

General settings

  • 1/1000s, f/7.1 (meant to use 8 but must've bumped the dial), ISO auto
  • Highlight metering with +1 EV
    • I like to capture details in the highlights, I'd generally rather a slightly noisy shot rather than blowing out the sky
  • 3D focus tracking with back button focus
    • Easy enough to line up one focus dot then lock on
  • Continuous HIGH (9fps)
  • I shoot everything in RAW and edit afterwards

I think I could have gotten away with a slower shutter which would have saved having to pump the iso too much, but I didn't want to risk getting home and finding all my shots were slightly blurry (I can't stand any motion blur, but I'm fine with a bit of luminance noise).

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