Musings of an Aviation Photographer

“Artoo, Lightspeed to Endor!”  That’s how the journey to Endor has begun for years, following a few minor mishaps of wrong detours.  Millions of people have heard that line over the last 23 years, and somehow they always never make it to Endor.  I’m of course referring to the Star Tours attraction at the Disneyland Resort.  It’s a simulator motion ride based on the Star Wars movies created by the director George Lucas and amazing minds at the Walt Disney Company.  Opening in 1987 to the Tomorrowland section of Disneyland, Star Tours was an innovative ride that combined the motion of a military style flight simulator synchronized with the wonderful footage of a Star Wars space battle which highlight the tour to the Moon of … [Read More]

One my favorite things to do is stumble across scores that, at first glance based on the movie/show that it provides background for, you’d automatically dismiss as most likely a low budget score with a synthesized sound at best.  But after watching the movie or listening to the score, you discover that the soundtrack leaps beyond your expectations.  Sometimes, the soundtrack can even overshadow the movie and stand apart! I’m going to share some of those ‘Surprise Soundtracks’ (as I call them) when I stumble across them and even some sample tracks!
Surprising Soundtrack #2 – ‘Evan Almighty’ by John Debney
Movie Synopsis: After being elected to Congress with his slogan ‘Change the World,’ former newsman Evan … [Read More]

The lure of Pinups have lasted through history for over 70 years.  Since the first pinups became popular in the 1920s to they outbreak of their fame in the 1940s, they’ve represented not just fantasies but symbols of an ideal time and the celebration of the female form.  While the pinups of today don’t quite have the same classy clean fun as the art of yesterday, the main idea and love of the playful pinup lives on in various forms.  The Pinup of yesterday was created from the brush on an artist, usually being inspired by real life models for the artist.  Today, the pinup is most often found in photographs in favor over the airbrush or watercolor.  A resurgence of the style has emerged … [Read More]

In the field of Aviation Photography, I’ve had some pretty amazing experiences.  I’ve gotten to not only see some of the world’s rarest and most famous historical aircraft fly along side me during air-to-air shoots, but I’ve also had chances to ride in some warbirds as well which served as camera ships for shoots.  Air-to-Air photography is a special type of photography, where you get to capture aircraft in their prime as they should be captured! I’ve had the chance to fly in various parts of a World War 2 era North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, which in itself is an adventure and experience all on it’s own with the cramped space to move around.  But the views are spectacular. But no matter how … [Read More]

Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth. It’s the home to the ever growing lineup of beloved characters that graced our TV screens through our lives.  Visited by millions of people every year, Disneyland is not just a theme park tourist trap, but a special place for everyone who enters the gates.  An escape from our normal lives, Disneyland presents you with another world full of Pirates, Princesses, Mice, and much more.  From Mickey Mouse to the Mad Hatter, Princess Aurora to Cruella Deville; Disneyland and all the other Disney parks in the world are the keepers of magical characters that come to life before our very eyes.  This series on Disney will focus on photography at the Disneyland Resort in Southern California. … [Read More]

When many people think of Pin-Up Art from the 1940s and 50s in this day and age, they often will think of Alberto Vargas’s work, which goes from the classic PinUp look to the dawn of the Playboy style art.  However, if you were to ask someone from World War 2 into the early 50s, you’ll find they remember a different type of PinUp: The Petty Girl.  The Petty Girl was not just art for the fancy of men in magazines, but she was a symbol for a homesick GIs at war and a metaphor for the innocence of the times.  The Petty Girl captured the classic PinUp look that has, in my opinion, never been matched since and it’s all due to one … [Read More]

Let’s get right down to it, I’m a huge Soundtrack fan.  I work on computers editing photos, making websites, and etc quite often, and I find soundtracks are by far the best way to help keep me focused on the task at hand.  From mainstream composers like John Williams and James Horner to smaller film composers such as Christopher Young and David Schweitzer, soundtracks provide a wonderful score to a working day.  The collection of soundtrack scores I’ve acquired over the years grows every week it seems, both with old and new films.  And let’s not forget the increasingly ‘movie score’ quality of newer high budget TV shows, and even cartoons!  Put it all together, and you have a vast sea of symphony scores adding … [Read More]