Musings of an Aviation Photographer

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 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]

Here we are again, the start of a New Year! With the start of 2013, the world has changed a lot in just this one year that was 2012.  Advancements in the world have been overshadowed with devastation, financial crisis, and tragedy this past year.  It’s been a tough time for many struggling to get ahead in the world as it seems to leave them behind.  New rules, major budget cuts, and the unsustainability of many things we’ve come to expect or take for granted have made huge impacts all over the country.  Many programs have ceased to be because of these troubled times, sadly costing the enjoyment of many.  When we reflect on the previous year, like everyone does around this time, we then realize just how much … [Read More]

Once again we find ourselves at a New Year on the horizon.  With the end of 2011, we look back on all the events that took place. In this rapidly changing world, where technology seems to advance faster than you can purchase it and conflicts seem like everyday news, it’s necessary to take a moments pause to remember how we got here. When it comes to photography, each passing year offers its own challenges, opportunities, and learning experiences. Photography is an evolving medium, even though it has been around for decades. Aside from the every changing technology where in two months an upgrade to the brand new camera you just bought is released, photography as an art form is ever changing. Like fashion, what makes a ‘good photography’ seems to … [Read More]

As the 2010 year ends and we usher in 2011, it’s time for many people around the world to reflect on 2010 and all the many events that have filled those 365 days.  Regrets, fond memories, the best and the worst, all those memories flood the world during this New Year’s Eve.  For myself, it’s a time to look back at all the adventures and fun moments of 2010, and while not forgetting the bad moments, trying to learn from them and see how they can improve in the next year.  Especially for myself, I favor looking at the fun times, the great moments that define the year for me.  As a photographer, some of the best moments were captured on camera, spanning all over the United … [Read More]

The Petty Project started out as an idea to recreate all of the late George Petty’s famous airbrushed Petty Girls from the1940s and 1950s through photography and photoshop.  Using real models in a photography studio, the famous artwork Petty created launching the golden age of Pinups would be recreated in painstaking detail as close as possible to the original.  While most of the times the Petty Girls are in impossible real world poses and their proportions not entirely correct for a normal human being, the use of photoshop would bring these photos closer to how the Petty Girl looks while still keeping the real world natural shape if at all possible.  Finally, using various photoshop tools, the finish photo would be converted to look like the … [Read More]

The Satin Dollz: You may have seen them at any number of events around Southern California or you may have just heard about them from a friend.  Whatever you may or may not have heard, one things for sure; these beautiful and talented ladies sure know how to put on a show! If you’re a fan of the classic pinup and burlesque style of the 40s and 50s, then you’ll for sure want to see them perform.  With a mix of wonderful vocals, choreographed dancing, and vintage outfits the Satin Dollz recall the times when the Pin-Up was the symbol of women of the retro eras.  Having seen the Satin Dollz perform many times, I can honestly say that their performances turn every head and quiet everyone … [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]

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]