It had been acquired just weeks prior, not flown for quite some time, this veteran of WWII had a story to tell and I was the very fortunate one to get to tell it. Flying over the beaches of DDay +9, it ended up after the war becoming a plane on a stick. It was then rescued and brought back to the skies. That was all in England / Europe / East coast and now lived in Texas. That’s a lot of story to tell and I love a good challenge and when working with the best, the skies the limit so that’s where we went.

Riding in the belly of a TBM Avenger (my favorite flying platform) we launched and went out over Galveston Bay. We found a backdrop, a background for our star placing it back over the marshes of England and we went to work. The light was perfect, not a stitch of wind, it was the perfect conditions to enjoy flying and capture a story. There were literally hundreds of one-of-a-kind images that came from the hour plus time in the sky slamming the door on the first big challenge of telling its story. But it opened the door to others. It was all story-driven.

About a dozen years ago, I saw my first Cessna 195 (about 200 are flying today). Its art deco appearance, classic lines, and “luxury with speed” stance sucked me right in. I was very fortunate to be able to do a quick pickup A2A with it a dozen years ago, but shortly after the plane crashed and was totaled (pilot walked away). Then came a decade dry spell when I would see one or two here and there but had no access to them. I kept looking and made a click here and there, but that was it.

Then last fall I got my first flight in one and it was magical! The 195 is on floats and our flight took us up and down the Columbia River. We were to do an A2A the following day but wildfire smoke came in making it 0/0. Then the next scheduled flight, a mechanical stopped the fun. Then winter and then … that’s the nature of following your passion to get a subject in a viewfinder. Now, I have not one but two scheduled A2A dates with two different 195s in the next month. I’m so counting the days, I can barely wait, it’s twelve years and counting.

For those who have not been part of the Osh magic, you could think of it as the biggest, longest, baddest week-long airshow on the planet. That’s what it is filled with thousands of aircraft and tens of thousands of folks who love aircraft. My best friend Flyboy said I needed to get to Osh as I had literally just gotten into aviation photography. It was a sensory overload, to be honest with you. We flew into Osh in the 206 and camped under the wing. It was so much fun! The other side was I needed to produce from the week, a pressure I should never have put myself in but I did. Flydaddy was there with his A36 so I had a photo platform but I had no subjects. That’s when Jake introduced me to Chris and his L-5. I’ll just say getting off the ground literally was quite the ordeal. Once in the air, it was heaven but it cemented one of the most important lessons I learned early on in aviation. As it turned out we became close friends with Chris and done much more with him since. It’s all about the people making me so very grateful to that first Osh.

My first was in 2011 and I thought I’d traveled to Shangrala! There are so many planes with clean backgrounds, there are great arse shots everywhere you go!!! I like to start by being in Warbird Allery before the sun rises. I scout the possible subjects selecting my top pick. Before the sun appears I’ll be in place and once that shot is in the camera I head to my #2 and if the light is still right, then to #3. Then in the evening, I try to work the evening light like I did here with Duggy. I realize it’s hard to take your eyes off the skies at Osh as there is so much great stuff flying. But I’m here to tell ya, there’s great arse at Osh!

I wanted this image bad! I can’t remember now how many events I went to with the Tora Tora Tora performing and I saw that wall of fire only to capture an empty sky in the background. Then the lightning bolt struck and the brain engaged. It’s really simple math, so simple it went flying past me, literally!

Osh is around the corner where this series of photographs were taken and now is the time to get your game plan figured out. The first elements are the lens and body you’re going to use and practice proper handholding and panning. Osh is a long airshow each day so you must have some muscle, literally to get the shots all day long. With that in your back pocket, you head to Osh. There you need to WATCH not the planes at first but the folks and where they are setting up the pyro, the wall of flame. The vast majority of the time it’s show center, but not always. Then you gotta, and this is a BIG one, figure out the wind! With those two pieces of math, you walk the flight line so the wall of flame when it goes off, the plane is in front of it. In this case, I was at the far left end almost to Warbird Alley! That’s way off show center.

Once I figured this all out, no matter what event I was at, I could nail the shot. And man, is that fun to do! For now, that’s my first thoughts on Osh.

The pilot is one of my favorite guys, he’s the one flying the T-6 round Steptoe for us a couple of weeks ago. At the splashin, he spent the day giving rides in the N3N-3, a plane he loves to fly. i can’t thank him enough for flying around so Steptoe, I thought a sneaky portrait of him doing what he loves would be another thank you. What’s the sneaky portrait you ask? That’s my own title for taking a portrait when the subject has no clue it’s going on, none! In this case, he’s busy landing the N3N and even if he wanted to see me, he can’t. But with the Z600f4TC @840mm, I can see him. Planning the shot so I had the splash, an important aspect of the photo, hiding the passenger and so you just see him took a few landings. Luckily I nailed it, the perfect sneaky portrait.