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! It’s time to step out of 2016 and into 2017! Another New Year has quickly appeared out of what seemed like nowhere, leaving behind another year that zoomed by. With that, it’s time for the yearly reflection on the best photography moments! 2016 was quite the year overall, with a lot of surprises along the way for the entire world. Some good, many bad… but as we cross that threshold between years many look to 2017 for something brighter. For me, this year was certainly for aviation… as nearly ALL of the top moments this year came from air to air shoots, airshows, or special aviation related events. With most airshows picking back up after … [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]

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]

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]

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. The thing about sunset shots at airshows is you have to stay late after the airshow … [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]

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]