Some people that I meet leave a great impression. This was the case with Maureen who contacted me to have portraits made.
I knew right away that I liked her kind disposition and easy going personality. Hopefully, that comes through in the photos.
Her plan was to use the photos for her astrology business, social media, and maybe even for some online dating.
We spent our time trying different settings, backgrounds and arrangements. I try to give clients the variety they want, and as a photographer, this allows me to experiment with different techniques along the way. The next photo was made with a special doughnut-shaped ringflash which makes interesting catch lights.
The amethyst ring was a personal gift from her mother that was important to Maureen so we included it. The matching background color ties it all together.
A scarf can be used in so many ways in a photoshoot. No woman should be without one.
My prediction came true… working with Maureen was a pleasure.
What does a photographer do when the rumored distant relative of Al Capone asks you to take photos of his family? You say yes sir… especially when he brings his beautiful pregnant wife, Amber, and adorable daughter, Allessandra.
We had been planning a family session for a while. Spring turned into summer and then summer into fall. If we waited much longer, it was going to get cold and ugly outside.
We met in my favorite local photo spot and proceeded to try and tire Alessandra out. This was difficult to do since she was literally running circles around us. Ah… youth… can you bottle that energy?
It’s important to capture special moments with children when they are young because you’ll never get this close to them when they become teenagers.
There is no question who Allessandra looks like.
Backlit fall trees provided a spectacular background.
I love to mix natural and manmade things in my scenes with walls helping to bring some structure to the composition.
Alessandra found a wondrous treasure and wanted to show it to everyone.
A belly contest ended the day. Jason was trying extra hard to stick his gut out since he is a skinny guy. I guess he should have had a bigger lunch.
Making photos of glass products can be challenging since the surface reflects everything including lights, reflectors, the surrounding studio and even the guy behind the camera. To avoid this, the lights can be moved from the front of the product to the sides or behind. This allows the strobes to shape the edges of the glass product, not the center. Doing this allows the glass to maintain the appearance of transparency while also showing the shape of the object.
The photos were made for www.etchintoperfection.com, a company that makes customized chemical etched art on glassware for special occasions. Their artistic process creates unique keepsakes for weddings, showers, parties or just about any event you can imagine.
My plan was to set up one rig that would accommodate most of the different shaped glasses without having to make a custom shot for each one. This was important since I priced this job as bulk photography, and it was not in the budget to have a custom lighting solution for each style.
Here are a few examples of the glassware for weddings…
My boss just bought a new automobile after years of nursing his aging convertible. It was time for an upgrade after dealing with the decreasing reliability of his old ride.
After weeks of eluding our questions… he FINALLY answered by driving up in a shiny new Nissan 370Z. I am so glad that he bought this version. The design is as stunning as any car on the road today… at least ones that normal people can afford.
I would not consider myself an automotive photographer by a long shot, but I never miss the opportunity to try to shoot something new. One day after work, we went out to the back of our parking lot where some of the fall foliage was starting to catch fire. Between all the cars leaving work and the fading sun I was able to catch a few angles of the car.
I quickly realized that this particular car is so shiny that it reflects everything in the near vicinity. To my eye, that caused a lot of messy reflections which break of the distinct lines of the 370Z as seen below.
My most successful photographs of the car used the cloudy sky as a big soft box which clearly defines its muscular lines. They are also free of street and branch reflections which cause visual confusion.
Next time I would love to photograph this car in a more controlled setting without having to worry about getting run over while I lay prone in the parking lot.
Tonight, I heard the news of a tragic air show crash in Dayton, Ohio involving Jane Wicker and her pilot, Charlie Schwenker. They were performing an exhilarating show of wing walking involving rolls, loops, inverted flight and all kinds of crazy feats of athleticism and aerobatics.
The crash video can be found on YouTube, but I will not list it here. It is a sickening sight of something going terribly wrong. The experts can decide if it was mechanical malfunction, pilot error or freak accident, but that is not what this blog is about.
I was lucky enough to see Jane Wicker perform at the 2013 Sun & Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Florida, and wanted to pay tribute to her in the photos I took that day. I think she was incredibly daring. She will be missed by those who knew her and the spectators who got to witness her amazing acts of bravery.
How many times have we all missed the true purpose of Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day? For many of us, it seems like a good chance to enjoy a super sale or have a cook out. But have you ever really stopped to think that those seemingly small freedoms were paid for by somebody else?
It is said that freedom is not free and that is true. The lives of our armed service men and women are risked, spent and lost to help maintain our way of life and protect our strategic interests abroad. You cannot fight a war with just robots and drones… yet anyway.
For someone like me who has never served in the military, I may truly never understand what is sacrificed by our soldiers. How could I? I have not seen what they have or lost friends that are like brothers. Talking to some veterans makes it clear to me that the memories of those passed friends are still fresh many years later… like ghosts that visit the edge of their mind.
The 80+ year old airmen that I met when shooting photos for the Liberty Foundation (who flew a WWII era Boeing B-17 bomber) are ones that I frankly cannot forget. The stories they told me were epic, sad, funny or terrifying. The one thing that was repeated by every single one of them… “I am not a hero. The true heroes were my friends that died.”
In honor of those soldiers on this Memorial Day, I would like to share some of the photos that I took of these humble Americans who did their duty and should be honored. Hopefully, I have all the facts correct.
Joe, the Ball Turret Gunner
Meet Joe Walters, a ball turret gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress named the Chug a Lug Choo Choo. On a bombing run over occupied France, the plane was shot down. Joe was able to get out of claustrophobic ball turrest and parachute to the ground…only he did not make it all the way down. He got hung up in a tree. A farmer and his son found him.
Joe was rushed away to the French Resistance who eventually got him back to the the Allied forces. Many years later, the families of Joe and the farmer reunited to celebrate.
When I took the photos of Joe, his facial features were amazingly the same. Below is a rare photo showing Joe being led off by the farmer. My guess is that being photographed stealing a prisoner away from the Nazis was a pretty dangerous game, and he was taking a great risk.
Photographer: unknown
Bob, the Pilot
Even at his age, Bob still looks like a strapping flyboy full of confidence and swagger.
Below he is signing the Liberty Belle’s door that was reserved for World War Two veterans only. There was even some signatures from the German Luftwaffe present.
Charlie, the 3 Star General
Charlie was a pretty high ranking officer later in his career. I think he also few a Northrop P-61 Black Widow, one of the first night interceptors of the war.
Roy Reid, Shot Down at Pearl Harbor
I met Roy shortly before his 90th birthday and was there to witness him getting to fly again in a World War Two era warbird. Read my previous blog about him here.
To make a amazing story short, Roy was supposed to land his B-17 at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and got shot down by Japanese fighters. The B-17 crews were not fully aware that the base was under attack due to radio silence. Some of his friends did not survive the crash landing and the ensuing strafing. Roy said that armor plating welded to the back of his chair a few days prior saved his bacon. The photo below may be of his actual plane, but I cannot confirm it.
Photographer: unknown
Roy’s log book is filled with entries of flying exotic military machines from the 1940s.
Sam, the tailgunner from the Shiftless Skunk
The first thing I noticed about Sam was that he wore his pants very high, and that he was a character!
The next thing I noticed was his original bomber jacket with 28 missions recorded on it. The third mission had a parachute indicated instead of a bomb, which means he had to bail out. He said a fire on plane full of bombs during take off was “exciting, but not in a good way.”
Though there are usually many people walking around a plane like this on display, I asked Sam to hang back when everyone walked off so I can get a simple photo of man and machine. Ten men crewed each B-17, and you can see how large these flying pans were. I call them this because many were scrapped after the war to become pots and pans.
Michael Gold, the Jewish P.O.W.
Think about it… a Jewish prisoner of war in Nazi Germany. I am a little amazed that Dr. Gold survived that ordeal. I photographed him in the nose of the B-17 and I swear for a moment, he was really back in the 1940s. I could see it in his eyes.
He was a handsome devil back in the day… ladies beware.
Victory on so many levels… enough said.
Richard, back on the B-17 sixty three years later
This man held up a slip of paper showing the last time he was in a B-17 bomber, which was March 26, 1944 exactly 63 years to the day earlier. The only mission data that I found for that date that looks like the writing was a V-Weapon site in La Sorellerie France. The V-Weapons were the first long range missiles used in war.
The rest of the photos have fewer details to share. I did not catch their names, but it was an honor to meet them nonetheless.
“It’s all coming back… “
I always felt honored to have these men in my presence. They are MY heroes.
The next time you meet a veteran, thank him or her for what they have given you, whether you know it or not.
It had been several years since my last “Sun and Fun” adventure which took me to Lakeland, Florida, the home of the second largest U.S. air show. Only the Osh Kosh Fly-In is bigger.
I am lucky to have a wonderful client who lets me hitch a ride in his twin engine airplane making the boring ten hour drive in just two. Thanks Dan.
The trip revolves around several days of aerobatic performances, modern and vintage aircraft, a huge aviation trade show, and miles of walking.
The photo below is of the AeroShell Flight Team. These guys are incredibly precise, and they move like one plane during their performance. I look forward to seeing them every year.
From communist China, two Nanchang CJ-6 trainers demonstrate acrobatic maneuvers below. These are often mistaken for the Russian “Yaks”. I can look beyond the political origin of the planes and just enjoy them as beautiful flying machines… or “war trophies” as the announcer called them.
The big draw for me has always been the Warbirds section dedicated to fighters and bombers of yesteryear’s wars. To me, they stand as proud symbols of some of the greatest triumphs of the American people. There is no denying that World War II and the sacrifices made by that great generation made the United States the superpower that it is today.
My favorite photo of the trip happened by ignoring the air show that was going on. I decided to wander about the Warbirds line while the crowds were elsewhere. This is when I saw a wonderful enthusiast in vintage flight gear watching the planes fly by. He made it easy to imagine what young pilots in the 1940s looked like, and it is the one photo that captures the love of flight to me. The skies are calling to him.
Even before George Lucas made his “Red Tails” movie, I was interested in the famed African American 332nd Fighter Group called the Tuskegee Airmen. It is hard to imagine a pre-civil rights world where whites and blacks were segregated in most aspects of life, including the military.
Many contemporaries expected the Tuskegee Airmen to fail in this experimental program, but instead they served honorably earning many citations, medals and the respect of their fellow airmen. They put their foot in the door of equality that had been shut for African Americans paving the way for future generations of black military men…. and beyond.
The Tuskegee Airmen and their all black ground crews fought with distinction and honor putting their lives at risk and proving that they were a formidable fighting force. Their role as long range bomber escorts deep into German territory is legendary saving countless American lives.
Being a bomber crewman was one of the most dangerous jobs in the whole war. B-17 and B-24 bombers carried up to ten men and thousands died from Luftwaffe fighters and accurate flak. I have read figures of over a 50% death toll for the flyers of the heavy bombers. The protection afforded by these fighters gave them the nickname “Red Tail Angels”.
This fantastic B-Model of the P-51 was on display by the inspirational Rise Above organization. This model uses an older fastback design instead of the later cockpit bubble. It really changes the look of the aircraft, and probably affects rearward visibility. Check out that flip up canopy.
For comparison, the later model P-51 with the bubble canopy is shown below. This one has been elongated to fit two people.
The owners of “Crazy Horse” must love to polish because this plane’s skin sparkled like a mirror.
Some twin engine B-25 bombers were at Sun and Fun, and were great to see flying. Even though they may not be as sexy as a fighter, they did great damage to the enemy. Panchito’s polished aluminum skin shined like chrome.
Yellow Rose had painted camouflage and bristled with twelve .50 caliber machine guns that could unleash fury on a strafing pass. These versatile planes could hold bombs, rockets and torpedoes too.
Nearly 10,000 of these were manufactured, and the distinct split tail can be seen from miles away.
The weather during our trip was a mixed bag. We experienced everything from steamy Florida afternoons to dark and ugly rain clouds. Shooting photos in these extremes can be interesting.
The available lighting conditions affect the photos that I take of the airplanes. I think I only saw blue skies one of the afternoons we were there.
To me, it can be less interesting to shoot airplanes in a dreary dead light of overcast skies. The clarity of the images are affected by the haze in the air too.
Still, I was there to get what I could. My goal was to get a perfectly focused plane in motion with the propeller blurred. This was not easy for me to do for many reasons.
First of all, I was shooting at the equivalent of a 900mm telephoto zoom, and I was panning to track the planes’ flight paths. At that magnification, even tiny shakes can ruin the photo.
Because I wanted the props blurred, I was shooting in the 1/250 of a second shutter speed.
I could have raised the shutter speed to 1/1000th of a second, but that makes the prop “freeze” in place which ruins the suggestion of motion like in the photo below of a Helio Courier. This plane is used by missionaries in remote locations, and is designed spiral upwards in very tight places like canyons and runways hacked out of jungles. I’ve never seen a plane fly so slow and in such a tight radius. It was amazing.
One of the air show highlights for me was seeing the dare devil wing walker, Jane Wicker. I am not saying that she is crazy, but she is much braver than I am. Just thinking about hanging off a wing as the plane does flips and loops is enough to make my hands sweat.
There were no parachutes or safety lines… if something happened, it would be a deadly disaster. I bet she has great abs because she has to do crunches against at least 100 mph of wind pressure, centrifugal forces, gravity and an ex-husband at the stick. To see Jane’s acrophobia-inducing act, check out theYouTube video.
There were several helicopters in attendance including the Vietnam era Bell UH-1 “Huey”. The unmistakable “wump wump” of the rotors sound just like they do in the movies.
The amazing Bell AH-1 Cobra attack copter was selling rides. Maybe I should have gone because I doubt I will ever get another chance. Would you believe the original design dates back to 1965?
Some aircraft at the air show never make it off the ground, but that still does not diminish their appeal.
Take this 1943 Hawker Tempest Mk 2 for instance. This extremely rare bird was the fastest radial engine powered plane of the war, and the shape is beautiful. This one will be restored in the future.
Its engine had 2,250 horsepower, and the plane was influenced by the design of the German Focke-Wulf FW-190. The war’s end and the jet age made them obsolete before they had a chance to shine.
The beefy bird below is a Westland Lysander. It was pretty much already obsolete as World War Two started, and it was used as a spotter plane.
One thing for sure, it is chunky… no wait, that is me.
There were other infamous and important warbirds on the line including a pristine Vought F4U Corsair.
I remember this kind from “Bah Bah Black Sheep”, the 1970s television show chronicling the exploits of “Pappy” Boyington and his Black Sheep Squadron.
The Corsair’s design seems to be unique with its gull wings.
There was also a Curtiss SB2C-5 Hell Diver. I’ve read that these planes were not loved by the men who flew them and they had several colorful nicknames including the “Beast”. This photo shows the flaps with holes deployed on divebombing runs. This is not a small aircraft… it even had a rear seat machine gunner.
Below is a sample of the only kind of wing walking I would ever attempt.
There was another mystery plane which stumped me and several pilots I questioned. When asked what it was, they replied “I have no idea”… and these are guys that eat and breathe aviation.
I found out that it started life as a North American AT-6 like the one shown below which is nice, but kinda boring compared to the slick custom built plane.
Some relatively modern jet fighters showed their stuff including the Douglas A-4 Sky Hawk. This small fighter was made for maneuverability. The Blue Angels used to fly these. I love seeing the hot jet exhaust distort the background.
Below my friend, Lewis, was wondering if he could hotwire this thing… the answer is probably “yes”.
One semi-affordable jet is the L-39 Albatross. “Affordable” is a relative term to pilots… as in “This plane costs 1/3 of what a million dollar P-51 Mustang does.”
The L-39 originated from Czechoslovakia, and the first one flew in 1968. They are still used today.
Something not often seen is the Grumman OV-1 Mohawk, an Vietnam-era observation plane. Notice the bulging cockpit windows designed so the pilots could easily look down. To me, this thing looks like a giant puffer fish with propellers.
There is plenty to see on the ground too…
Pyrotechnics go “boom” during simulated bomb runs.
The look like mini mushroom clouds.
These fireballs sometimes make smoke rings of epic proportions. This one dwarfs a nearby plane.
The volunteers who work this show are incredible. I see the same guys year after year, and they do a great job keeping everything organized.
If you get tired of looking at flying contraptions, you can always resort to people watching.
I met several people in period clothing including this German soldier with his own Kubelwagen with a working MG-42 machine gun and a very rare 1944 Sturmgewehr MP-44 assault rifle, which was the first of it’s kind. It reminds me of an AK-47, except this one is said to be worth $30,000. I got to hold it too. It looked incredibly modern.
I hope next year brings more planes, warbirds and interesting people to watch.
There are just too many photos to stuff into this article.
The fun thing about building web sites at Graphic Works is that I get to learn about new and interesting products. Take something as common as eyeglasses… did you ever stop and wonder how they are made? Most of us are told to come back to pick them up, but that is about it.
Our client, QSpex Technologies, Inc. makes the state-of-the-art equipment that allows eye care practitioners to make their own lenses in-house with a liquid monomer in a proprietery molding system.
This web site was built to explain the different lens options available in the AQuity HD line of High-Definition lenses. From glare-free to photochromic and anti-glare, you could really get a very high quality pair of glasses without having the wait too long. Check it out at www.AQuityHD.com
When I found out that my work friend, Barbie, had 2 Great Danes, I just had to take their portraits. Her dogs were different than the tan “Marmaduke” Danes that I knew. Instead, their fur is an amazing pattern of white and black splotches. In person, they are absolutely stunning creatures.
My sister had a 180 lb. great dane and she loved that dog. He was fiercely loyal, protective and looked like a small deer running around their farm. He could easily look you in the eye if he put his front legs on the window to look in. With his pointed ears, dark shiny eyes and long face, he looked like an alien scanning the room before making an abduction. I’ll admit that he was a bit scary to me. The snapshot to the right shows him with my dog, Winston.
The build of these dogs is unlike the average canine. Look how long those legs are.
Bella is a beautiful lady and less than 2 years old. Jackson is her half brother sharing the same father.
“Jax” was only 3 months old at the time of these photos, and very much a puppy despite his size.
I am told that since these photos, he has eaten lots of food, and he is on the fast track to becoming a big man.
To me, showing the dogs in “puppihood” is something that should make people exclaim “Awww… too cute!’ They they will never be this small again… especially this breed.
The other thing that I like to capture is the love between the owner and the” adopted child”. Any dog lover will tell you that this can be a strong unbreakable thread that lasts a lifetime and beyond.
The affection between Barbie, Bella and Jackson cannot be hidden.
Little Jax is still labeled a puppy, enven though at 50 lbs., he would be considered pretty large for a normal family dog. He could easily grow to be 150 lbs. or more when he grows into his enormous paws.
For convenience, we met outside the Graphic Works studio. My plan was to take some outdoor shots since the weather was unseasonably warm. The advantage was two-fold. This would allow the dogs to unwind from the car ride and get used to me pointing a big camera at them. Also, it would give a chance for them to empty their bladders which Jax did on my shoe in the first minute he saw me. I avoided an in-office disaster with a a little pre-planning.
Even though we were in the middle of an office park. I wanted the photos to look like we were in a city park. By strategically shooting up from a low angle, I was able to hide much of the parking lot and busy street in the background.
When I sensed that hey were tiring, we went inside to try some studio portraits. I had photographed dogs on paper rolls before, but not this heavy. They poked holes in the paper in no-time flat, but that is what Photoshop is for. Next time, I’ll use a muslin backdrop.
I wanted to emphasize the size difference between the two dogs which will disappear in a matter of months.
I also wanted to capture the unique personality of each animal. Talk about charisma… these two have it in spades. Here they were having a beautiful tongue contest.
I thought a speckled background might look good with our spotted doggies.
To me, this angle only makes Jaskson cuter!
As a photographer I cover the basic angles, and then I try to make images that are not what you would expect. A little experimentation can yield some interesting results.
Call me strange, but this last one is my favorite.
Check back again soon. There will be followup photos.
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