It is a gorgeous plane! It’s kinda rare too, but what makes it special to me is, I’ve flown it and more than once. A few years back, I did an article on this amazing plane and it’s always the photographs that are most important to me in telling a story. I knew when I first saw the EQC that I wanted to shoot the static at predawn (what was also used in the article). How’d I know that? Look at the color of the leading edge and cowling, they scream predawn light and color. The cabin color then jumps off the frame and well, it was just that simple. Fortunately for me, the plane’s owner has a son (and great pilot as well) who was more than happy to meet me at the hangar at o’dark thirty to pull the Waco out. Ryan was a huge help, though he didn’t quite understand the predawn requirement until he saw the photos. I will always though remember Dad saying, “It has to be predawn?”

Them clouds, I mean, just look at them clouds! I had to have them in the frame, it was the simple, so I walked to the N3N-3 to incorporate them in the frame. Jake was with me for the same reason, and not knowing how soon the N3N-3 would take the taxi way, we shot from eyelevel. We were on a slight slope, so I walked down it to lower my angle to grab some more of the sky. Then I saw Jake take a knee, and I knew, I needed to do the same. Getting down isn’t really the problem, I just don’t do it as quickly as I once did. It’s the getting back up, popping my knee is just no fun. As you can see, the clouds won as I took a knee. I lucked out that the N3N-3 stayed in place long enough for me to get down, and lucky for me, I was able to get back up. The angle of view matters, those clouds mattered, but it will always raise the question in my mind. Take a knee?

I hit the brakes, went into reverse, and backed up to check what I saw. A small strip out in the middle of nowhere on The Palouse, a hangar door was sliding open. A polished Cessna 140 was being pushed out. By the time I had turned into the small airport, it had launched. The wife of the pilot was standing there watching her husband as I walked up to her. I introduced myself and asked permission to venture out onto the ramp to photograph the fun. I was out looking for landscapes to photograph and came across summer gold. It was a marvelous evening making new friends, and some clicks I really enjoy. I love summer flying!

I grew up with a dear family friend who landed on D Day who talked of just one aircraft, the P-47. It was ingrained in my romance of WWII stories. When I was first taken into the back of the hangar at KMOT and saw the fuselage of the P-47D sitting there, I was instantly sucked in. Recovered from the Pacific where it served, I was intrigued, especially with the holes. They didn’t look like bullet holes, and it was explained to me that they were where the natives had cut the aluminum to make fishing lures. That was thirteen years ago.

When “Bonnie” took to the skies, like so many, I fell in love with her. She is gorgeous! I’m very fortunate to be able to spend time with her, but it wasn’t until a week ago that I was able to be in the skies with her for the first time (that’s a long story). And that was a short seven minutes (an additional long story). It was long enough to get an “I was there shot” at best, and that was all. It doesn’t tell her story, it doesn’t show her off to her best, and it most definitely doesn’t encapsulate what I want in a photograph of a P-47 that served in the Pacific. But I am happy, it was a solid start, I will do better!

There are no words to describe the organized, whirlwind tornado that is the calm of Bernie. He is in constant motion, getting so much accomplished with the simplest of ease and all in stride. I am very fortunate to call him a friend, shot his wedding for him even. So he is kind and puts up with me as I ask question after question as he wrenches on aircraft. On this afternoon, it was changing tires on the Dakota Territory Air Museum‘s Hurricane and then working on the oil pumps. I hand him a rag, carry a ladder, keep folks back while doing the run up, and I love every second as he’ll answer my question so thoroughly and sincerely, adding to my knowledge bank. It doesn’t come often enough for me, but I love a little quality Bernie time.

Them skies, they be bald! What is it with me and bald skies? When they are in a photo, skies dominate the top of the frame. When they are bald, the eye can easily travel up and out of the frame, and you lose the interest of your viewer. When telling a story, that’s not good. Besides that, they are boring to me, so I do everything I can not to have them in my photo. The first solution for me is, don’t take the photo. Seriously! What you see here is my next solution, and it’s done in post. Yes, you can use a split-grad when you take the photo, but it will either not affect down to the horizon line or will affect the aircraft. In post, ACR to be exact, you can pull down the Linear Grad to where you want it, and if it affects the aircraft, just mask out the plane. At the same time, you can “tint” that Linear Grad. In this case, I added magenta. You can add warmth, blue, green, or just make it darker. This puts a visual “cap” to your photo so the viewer’s eye comes back down to the subject. These are my two go-to summer bald sky remedies.