Why Aviation Photography ?

This is a question I get asked somewhat frequently.

It all started when I was little. I would go to air shows with my father. We would spend time wondering around the static displays as well as tour any aircraft that we could. When I was old enough I would borrow my mom’s camera (a Canon AE-1 Program) and go to air shows. My dad and I would get there just as the gates open, so we could get some good shots of the static aircraft. Then about two hours before the air performance started we would find a spot along the fence line. We both would watch the show through our cameras waiting for that perfect shot (since we were shooting film). At the end of the four hour show we each would have between eight and ten rolls of thirty six exposures (roughly three hundred images). It was always fun going through those images after getting them developed.

Now that I’m older, and have a greater understanding of the significance of some of the aircraft, I shoot for a different reason. I shoot because there is no telling how long some of these aircraft will still be flying. Most of the aircraft from World War II are well beyond the flight hours they were designed for. And recently(October 2019) a B-17G Flying Fortress (a four engine, heavy bomber) crashed that resulted in a total loss of the aircraft.

I also shoot because I enjoy seeing what the magnificent and beautiful machines can do while they are flying. To see a WWII fighter fly, hear the roar of its piston engine; then see a state of the art jet fighter fly some of the same maneuvers is simply amazing. And to see both the WWII fighter and the newest fighter fly in formation is truly spectacular.