When I came home from Breakfast with the Blues, I wanted to immediately start uploading and blogging, but the event went viral. I didn’t want to put myself out there for countless media outlets to contact and I wanted the dust to settle a week or so, and now- we’re two months out so I think it’s safe!
Breakfast with the Blues was WILD this year! It was my first time going in several years and boy, did they put on a show.
If you’re not from the Pensacola area, the Pensacola NAS (Naval Air Station) is home to the Blue Angels.
We are incredibly lucky to have them in our backyard. You can catch them practicing throughout the year, and many aviation enthusiasts stay on top of their schedule. However, when it’s homecoming week- the entire community shows up. Just take a google at what time the parking lots close (2 AM, 3 AM). So, if you’re not forking out a boat load of cash for a hotel on the Gulf, Parking, or camping out overnight on Friday evening… You’re walking the bridge or you may miss it.
That’s why I love Breakfast with the Blues. It takes place on Wednesday (most people haven’t taken off work yet) so it’s heavily local. It’s at 7:30 AM so the heat hasn’t completely taken over the beach yet. The other air shows are around 2:30 P.M.
The whole point of Breakfast with the Blues is to allow the Blue Angels team to get familiar with their airspace. It’s called Circle and Arrival- and the team gets comfortable with their maneuvers and land references for the show on Saturday. Since it happens so early, people bring Breakfast with them. Last year, the parking lot closed at 6:30 A.M. so I played it safe and got there at 6 AM. The parking lot closed shortly after that.
I got settled and was taking it all in. There is something about the buzz in the air- no pun intended.
There were hundreds of photographers with $10,000 gear and lenses on their necks. It was unbelievable. I loved watching the show but I love watching people more. The kids’ expressions, the adults who are first timers, the Blue Angels crew on the ground watching their every more. The show is remarkable in every way.
When the show started, everything was going swimmingly. Everyone was on their feet, cheering, yelling and anticipating the next move. Then, all of the sudden a pilot took a passover the beach side a little too low. Now, when I say a little.. a small difference in height of a jet plane moving that quickly over people can make a big difference.
It sent the umbrellas flying upward along with everyone’s belongings and the sand was whipping! It was over in about 10 seconds. The crowd erupted cheering and laughing because everyone was okay. All social media platforms started broadcasting the videos from spectators. The disappointing part is many media outlets took the event out of context. They portrayed the event like children were screaming and fearing for their lives. That never happened. If a child had their hand over their ears, they were probably like that the entire time- most children wear headphones or earplugs.
I was pretty close to the shoreline and only had my 135 mm lens on (very close up). By the time I realized what was happening, I whipped around and took as many high speed images as I could of the umbrellas floating. That was all I got, the jet that did the pass was long gone!
I posted some stories on my Instagram about the event and I had reporters start filling my inbox with messages.
If there’s one thing I know- I’m not going to ever put the Blue Angels in a bad light. Over the next several days, our community showed an outpouring of support for the pilot. Afterall, this event gives the Blue Angels a chance to acclimate to their airspace.
All in all, Breakfast with the Blues is my favorite event of the entire Homecoming Week! I hope you’ll join us for the next one.
Want to take pics with the Blue Angels? Send me an e-mail at hello@jordanwestphoto.com.
Comments Off on Breakfast with the Blues 2026