Two hours prior to launch, Val approached me with a simple question: “How would you like to go up for the A2A?” The ramp was a buzz with the proposed flight, two F7Fs and two P-38s. It was a flight not seen for a very long time and, to this date, has not been repeated. I had no clue my name had been thrown into the ring to be one of the 6 shooters to go up in the C-130. I was at the Reno Air Races as a volunteer for Nikon, the first year NPS was present to support photographers. When I was asked, I said yes, probably before Val could finish asking the question. I have always figured my dear friend at NPS was partly responsible for my name being added to the hat, but Val was the one who made it happen. It is one of the most cherished memories of my career! That was nearly twenty years ago today, it was just like yesterday.

Two pieces of unusually packed gear in the kit were required to make this shot. Swim trunks and surf shoes, since the image was taken while standing in the water. The white towel was present as well, not for me but to keep hands dry while working with the gear. The water wakes splashing up on my sides made keeping steady to shoot at slower speeds were as much a challenge as keeping gear dry. But it was a great angle and a ton of fun, as getting wet is part of it.

Bringing the sense and feeling of motion to a jet, that requires a bit more thought. When you have an afterburner like the MiG17 has, it’s a tad easier. That red exhaust tells the viewer the plane is moving, we mean, really moving. But that’s a small sense of movement. When you have clouds, and they are slightly blurred, you’ve got more sense of movement, and we make some progress. I find, though, that changing the presentation of the jet in the frame truly helps the most. In this case, pushing the MiG to the extreme side of the frame, one can’t help but feel it’s moving and climbing. When you tap the imagination, much of the challenge to tell a story is solved for you. In this case, to the stars and beyond.

Basically a converted B-24, the wing span of the PB4Y is truly impressive at 110′! I truly wanted an arse shot, but the background was way too busy, so I decided to go forward. Not really what I had in mind, especially when I saw I would be shooting directly into the sun. I kept walking and walking, backing up and backing up to get those wingtips in the viewfinder. The Z50f1.2 creates a grand starburst when shot closed down, but the exposure range I knew was going to hurt. I went with -2 exp comp, and the final results weren’t what I thought nor, that I would like it. But as it turns out, I like the mood. Turns out getting further away was a good thing, so much wing!

We sat on the far, far east of the flightline, where aircraft would come the closest doing their banana pass. The clouds were slowly floating away, leaving a solid, blue sky, my favorite (not!) I watched the “replica” YF-16, tracking it in the viewfinder with that solid blue sky background. I made some clicks, but they just had no depth or feel of speed. Then it started to set up for its banana pass, and at that moment, a small cloud popped up. My hopes climbed. I panned with the Falcon, hoping it would come down a little in altitude so the little cloud would be in the background. As it started to get close, I hit the hammer and kept until it was well past the cloud. It’s a shot I so wanted just because, and I was so happy to have a photo of the iconic YF-16.

It’s true, size matters! But it might not be the size that first comes to mind. I have found it far more challenging to have the subject physically small in the frame and still have it smack the viewer between the eyes, AND fill the rest of the frame to keep the viewer’s interest. To tell the story with more than just the subject. When you have a common object, in this case, the clouds in the background, the mind naturally assigns scale to those clouds. Adding the magnificent P-51D Mustang, they now become bigger in the mind while being small in the frame. The incredibly simplistic background makes those birds pop! It’s all a simple illustration that size tells a story.