Musings of an Aviation Photographer

It’s that time of the year again. We’re already a few days into January and steaming forward into 2018! 2017 went by faster than ever it seemed, and suddenly it’s time to take the annual look back into the top photo moments of 2017. As usual, this blog serves as my look back to the previous year showcasing 10 of the top photo moments with an honorable mention. This year was chalk full of aviation with so many airshows, air to air shoots, and other aviation related adventures that at times it was a bit overwhelming. October was the busiest month of the year with back to back major three-day airshows that kept me very busy. 2017 was also the second year … [Read More]

It’s that time of the year again! Well, the end of a year and the start of another… and with the end of 2015 coming and going like it was a distance memory (it pretty much does feel like that now being it’s already a week after the start of 2016!) it’s time to reflect on the best of 2015 and look forward to what’s to come this new year! 2015 was a pretty normal year as far as aviation goes, with some new shows here and there and the military appearing a bit more now almost fully recovered from the sequestrations that brought many airshows to a halt. It’s been a rather quiet year for photography overall, especially Canon in the upper … [Read More]

Here we are in January, another year has passed. 2014 seemed to go by in a flash, and the world keeps spinning faster and faster it seems. 2014 proved to be a much better year for aviation with many airshows and military acts finally being reinstated after two years of government uncertainty on budgets. And boy did it return with a bunch, much like how it used to be. But not all airshows were so lucky, nor were the various military demonstration teams that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing each year. Still, it was infinitely better than the previous years so who could complain? Photography continues to advance at a quick pace, not just with stills but also video. Cell phones with cameras on … [Read More]

Here we are again, a new year. With the close of 2013, and the opening of 2014, the world is rapidly changing. Electronics have advanced to where cell phones are also cameras with 40+ megapixels. Smart glasses and watches seem to be the way of the future. Now you can just tell your phone to take a photo rather than actually take it yourself. Digital cameras are getting more powerful at the cheaper range. High end professional cameras seem to be slowing a little compared to the consumer level cameras which seem to have a new one released every few months. The world is getting more and more high tech, even with serious budget crunches. There’s still a recession, but in … [Read More]

If you live around Long Beach, California, no doubt you’ve heard them lumbering through the skies announcing their arrival with loud roars.  If you’ve been to airshows, you’ve seen them performing incredible maneuvers during their demonstrations which never get old and always make the crowd’s mouths hang open.  It is the second largest airlift aircraft in the United States Air Force (and the entire military all together) created by a company no stranger to large complex aircraft through the history of the United States: Boeing.  Serving with 6 different counties including the United States, this massive aircraft has set the bar for all future transport and cargo aircraft from now on, paving the way with it’s four massive Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofan engines that provide an amazing 40,440 … [Read More]

Occasionally, you’ll shoot that one photo that really stands out above the rest.  Sometimes it can be totally unexpected, and you don’t even realize it until you see the photo on your computer.  Other times, you can see the photo falling into place allowing you to click the shutter button at the exact moment that you know you’ve caught your own personal masterpiece.  Ever so often I’m going to showcase some of what I personally think are interesting and pretty cool photos I’ve taken, with a bit of info behind the photo and how it all came into place. First up is a photo from recently, in fact it was from last Saturday (August 7, 2010).  I was at the Naval Base … [Read More]

When I first heard about the Airshow taking place at the former MCAS El Toro base in Irvine, California, naturally it really peaked my interest.  Having grown up next to the former home of the Third Marine Air Wing, I was beyond excited to not only be able to step foot on the base once again, one of the first times since the 1997 last El Toro Airshows, but to also see aircraft flying over the base.  I used to fall asleep to the sounds of F/A-18A Hornets taking to the skies on night missions, and since the base closed finally in 1999 and was sold to a Miami developer and renamed into the ‘Great Park of Irvine,’ a silence has fallen over the area … [Read More]

Tilt-Shift Photography
It’s all the rage these days, tilt shift photography and video.  But what is it exactly?  Tilt Shift is the process of taking a normal image, or video, and mimic a shallow depth of field in order to fool your eye to think the image is of a small miniature.  Uhhh, what?  Basically, if you’ve ever tried to take a picture of an action figure, micro machines, a lego car, etc you’ll notice that the depth of field, or how much of the image is in focus, is very limited.  Usually just a part of the subject is in focus, with the things nearest to the camera and the things behind the subject completely out of focus.  That’s how we’ve all been brought … [Read More]