HDR?

So Lance's post (which I read a few minutes ago) would have helped me a lot on this shoot...

I got to pretend to be a photographer a few weeks ago and am just now getting a moment to post stuff from this summer - and comments on others' posts too. 

Before you look too closely, I need to make a few disclosures...

1. That day was a smokey one, so all the pics started out gray and blue.
2. I was in a chase plane that could not keep up easily, and had only 2 clear angles to shoot from.  Distance was difficult to maintain as was angle... ...often you got one or the other, not both.
3. Airplanes move.  Imagine trying to shoot from a boat plowing through small wakes and you get the idea.  My shoulders were sore from holding the camera when I got back.
4. I always try to expose for the brightest part of the composition.  When you shoot airplanes, you are often shooting a brilliant white or highly reflective surface.  Couple this with the motion of everything in your shot and you might want to bump the shutter speed - that would be mistake #1.  You DO NOT want to show a pilot a beautiful picture of his airborne masterpiece with a "frozen" prop!  Nice, round discs are the thing to have - "it ain't a glider!"
5. My wife quite literally saved these pics with her instructions on editing - and I got maybe a half dozen that are "good-enough" - out of a possible 400 that I shot.
6. I shot the whole thing without considering a different white balance.  Might have helped!

Most of these were shot at 1/125, which makes holding the camera steady VERY critical.  I found through the shoot that I could go up to about 1/350 and still keep the prop moving.  Next time, huh?  I hope there is one.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone involved in this.  Along with the photoshoot we took a soon-to-be-deployed soldier (army) for a flight - as a "Thanks for serving gesture".  I am grateful on many levels to have been a part of this.