Time is precious! When I have time with Thunderbird, a spectacular P-51c, I want to make the most of it. If that opportunity, like a week ago, comes with shooting in a 30knt wind, making the cabin a bouncy house, so be it. It was a low percentage proposition, and some great frames were lost like this one, when all the elements are clean lines, well, I get a bit depressed. It’s from this that I learn and put in the back of my mind to improve next time. Because I just can’t get enough of Thinderbird.

I love that shine! Along with the historically accurate construction, and “Bonnie’s’ paint scheme, the shine grabs your attention nearly as quickly as Bernie’s flying of this great warbird. I’ve been fortunate to spend some “lone” time with Bonnie and contemplate each opportunity how to bring that shine to a single click. This past weekend, the bald skies and tarmac helped me along. The combination of the two, along with shooting at 600mm, the P-47 shape, Bonnie’s shine and power comes through with her still on the ground. While not perfect, I feel I’m going in the right direction for shinny, shinny, shinny.

It was the classic case of a day late and a dollar short! I had come to know and become good friends with the Boeing 40, just after he had sold it to WAAAM. And amazing aircraft, one of a kind and a unique piece of our history as well as aviation history, I really wanted to photograph it in every way. I did an A2A photo mission with it early that morning and needed to finish up with statics. When it was parked on the grass, it was facing the wrong direction with the worst background with bald skies. I was toast! As the day wore on, I kept checking on it, hoping for the best. Late that afternoon, many of the public had left for the day. All of the aircraft parked around it had flown off. And the skies finally started to fill with the evening overcast. I finally was able to make some clicks, and I finished the piece. It was one for the books, truly accomplished on a hope and a prayer.

It was two years ago this N3N-3 took to the skies after decades of collecting dust. Painfully and carefully brought back to airworthy, I felt humbled to be flying beside it, taking its portrait in the sky. Especially since that is our son Brent in the rear seat! Once back on the ground, I chatted up the team. It was then that plans were put in motion to further the progress of the N3N-3. No matter whether you have inside intel or not, following up your photo mission with conversation (and prints) often does, the majority of the time, yield more photo opportunities. And before I knew it, the N3N-3 was on floats! I’m here to tell you, that went fast!

The sweet light is often before the sun breaks the horizon in the morning and after it sneaks down in the evening. If you have the good fortune of flying in formation, though in the wee light hours and you’re launching or recovering, that’s not the time not to be shooting. That’s what’s happening here, we are on final heading back to the airport. When Keith went lower over the beach, even though backlit and just a glint of light, I went for the shot. The odds of coming back with one sharp image are slim to none, but in the final analysis, the worst that could happen is you delete all the images. The most, you come back with one click like this. Being story driven, I went for it, thinking the whole time, in coming!

I love being around aircraft! There are many reasons, one of which is the history they share with us. That’s what typically goes through my mind as I line up statics in my viewfinder. This morning on the ramp at KMOT (where our A2A Photo Clinic is held next month) the Spirfire MkIX was pulled out on the ramp with this one shot in mind. It’s all because of the partial moon. A few years before, I had met WWII Spitfire pilot Barry Nedham at KMOT, who related his story from WWII of being “at the ready.” That story has always stuck with me. There was a moon that morning Barry was at his Spitfire, which he said he focused on while killing time, at the ready.