Aug 3, 2016 | Aviation
Alan (TFLM B-25 pilot) sat there and told me this long story of this WWII vet he had meet many years earlier in Sioux Falls, his name was Wendell. Wendell was a B-25 pilot during WWII flying the Hump as well as the Pacific (flying for a time a B-25H … a bird with a 70mm canon in the nose). Wendell had one helluva lot of adventures during WWII and could spend days telling them and not run out! Well, Alan had the honor at that meeting years ago of taking Wendell up in the B-25 as SIC which was a thrill for the then 90yr old. But as happens all too often in life, Alan had lost contact with him. He tried and tried to reconnect with Wendell but was never able to find him again. Alan was sadden by the thought his friend might have passed away.
Alan had told me this story just before he headed off for the brief for the Sioux City AirShow a week ago. The Texas Flying Legends Museum had their six ships at the AirShow which includes their B-25J “Betty’s Dream.” It was shortly after he left for the brief, a gentleman came up to me while I was at Betty asking if Alan was around. I told he was not and he said his dad Wendell was hoping he was there. I stood there for a second when the dots connected. I texted Alan that Wendell was at Betty and soon, the long, lost friends were talking up a storm. That jacket Wendell is wearing he wore during the war. The inside has the original cloth placards that in Chinese said he was an American and provide him safe harbor (in case he was shot down). It’s an honor to meet these vets and record their story they share! This is what photography is all about, recording in this case the reunion of friends, the sharing of their stories with each other and us, our special moments!
Jul 26, 2016 | Aviation
Claude Hone
with photo of his unit, he is on the far right
Claude Hone is so typical of so many WWII vets. He served simply because it was the right thing to do. Claude is not a hero, not an ace, just your basic aviator who did his job under some of the most difficult conditions we could never imagine and came back home to help build a country afterwards. I had the honor and pleasure of spending quite a bit of time with Claude over the past three days (as well as his delightful daughter Nancy) while in Sioux Falls, SD. Originally, it was just going to be for an afternoon for recording his story on video and taking his portrait. Well, we all simply seemed to hit it off and for the next three days, Claude wowed and amazed us with story after story.
Claude Hone
with his WWII memories
We’ll be posting many of his stories we captured on film, but wanted to share this simple yet dramatic one. In the top photo, Claude was very proud even in the hundred degree hangar to show he can still wear his fight jacket from WWII. Above you see the original aviator Ray Ban sunglasses Claude was issues seventy-one years ago. They are still in their original case and Claude can still wear them. Though he will be 96 years young shortly (doesn’t seem a day past 16), he talks about his days flying a Corsair from Henderson Field and then P-51Ds with Joe Foss in the SD Air Nat’l Guard like it was yesterday. With Claude though, it’s the brief stories that get you. See that watch he’s holding in the lower photo. That is the original aviator watch the Marines gave him 71 years ago and its still ticking. The watch band though, that’s the real piece of history. That’s made from the skin of a Zero that was shot down at Henderson Field that he has had all these years! We meet some amazing and memorable vets this past weekend at the Sioux Falls AirShow, but it’s Claude who we struck a real friendship with. An amazing gentleman and vet, a true American that we now call dear friend!
Jul 25, 2016 | Aviation
Wow, it was an amazing weekend at the Sioux Falls AirShow! Ya, there were great aircraft like the six Texas Flying Legends Museum aircraft we were there in support of. But it was the amazing folks we meet and who became new friends that still has us realing! On Sunday as you can see, we had great skies. Above you see the B-17G “Sentimental Journey,” FM-2P and P-51D “Dakota Kid” above, wait until you meet some of the folks in the next post! mtc
Jul 22, 2016 | Aviation
Oshkosh is coming up next week, you going? Team Peterson will be there all week working on our project with the Texas Flying Legends Museum who will be there flying this six ship program. A photography guide has created and is posted to help you with your aviation photography. You might want to give it a gander! And if you’re at Osh and see us, please say hi and if we can be of assistance, don’t hesitate to ask!
Jul 11, 2016 | Aviation
No matter the genre, photographers are always hungry, wanting to get to the “top” of that genre and usually the sooner the better. IMHO, there is no rushing it, it (whatever “it” might be) will happen when it is supposed to. Aviation photography is one of the fastest growing genre in photography. In large part because it requires so little camera gear and in larger part, because it is so exciting and fun! With over 100 air to air photo missions in the book in less than six years, I’m constantly being asked, “What’s the secret?” In the realities of photography, there are no secrets as light is the number one factor that will make or break your success. There is one thing though the might help speed up your success in aviation photography a tad.
I’m going to spend an hour at Photoshop World talking about this very subject, but here it is in a nutshell. Once you understand light and use it to tell your story you start by creating the gorgeous statics! Statics, aircraft that are parked (like the top photo), are aircraft you can gain access to easily in the beginning. Most photographers photograph statics at airshows where you have a vast variety of aircraft. When you can take a “plane” parked aircraft and make it look like something special, you will get the attention of pilots and plane owners. You will demonstrate not only your talent but also your professionalism. Is that the whole secret? Actually, no. There is one more important step to finish this and if you want to learn it quickly, join us at Photoshop World next week. But starting with this, you’re a long ways on your way to success!
