Trip Report – WWII Weekend 2018

This past June I had the privilege of attending the Mid Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII Weekend with a couple of friends who always inspire me to be a better photographer. To Pete, Matthew, and Mark, thank you for allowing me to shoot with you for the weekend. Also thanks to John for saving me a seat on the flight line for the airshow. Last but not least, Thank you to Dave for inviting me to hang out in the Cafe.

Photographing people is not something that comes naturally to me. But I learned a couple of things from following Pete, Matthew and Mark around for the weekend. First, for the candid shots, it’s all about being in the right spot at the right time. Anticipating the moment is going to take some practice. Second, reenactors are incredibly kind people. When it comes to posed shots they’ll usually say yes when asked.

Through The Lens 160 – Mid Atlantic Air Museum WWII Weekend

I finally editing all the photos from last June’s WWII Weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum. Look for a trip report on Tuesday.

Happy Friday!

Through The Lens 159 – Happy New Year!

Early Morning in the Yard

As usual with the last post of the year, I’d like to share a few favorite images. The image above is from the Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in Alna, ME. A place I visited for the first time this year and look forward to seeing again. Below is the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, also a first visit for me and I’m looking forward to visiting again in March to see a rare articulated logging locomotive run:

Hathaway Slough Trestle

Next is Multnomah Falls, located in the Columbia River Gorge:

Multnomah Falls Moonrise

Photographing B-29 Superfortress ‘Doc” was a happy accident and lots of fun:

The opportunity to photograph the battle from within the French Village at Mid Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII Weekend was another highlight:

As was photographing the wonderful reenactors:


Can’t forget Klotz. I had two opportunities to photograph this incredible time capsule:

And as always, I’m still working on editing photos from a few trips. Including a second trip to Klotz, Disney, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, the Strasburg Railroad and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hopefully I’ll get those posted soon.

Happy New Year!

Through The Lens 149 – Keys

Keys

I was exploring the French Village at Mid Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII Weekend this past June and stumbled upon this little vignette.  With nice lighting, I had to stop and make a photo.

Happy Friday!

Through The Lens 148 – Bombardier

One of the shots from the photo shoot with Doc that I was invited to participate in back in June.  This was a challenging shot to get, involving carefully holding the camera in the air at the top of a monopod and a lot of guesswork on composition.  The unique angle, featuring the bombardier through the window of the B-29 was worth the effort.

More from this shoot on Tuesday.

Happy Friday!

Through The Lens 143 – Doc

'Doc'

As soon as I heard that the second flyable B-29 Superfortress, “Doc” was going to be at this year’s Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII Weekend I made travel arrangements to be there.  I followed the restoration progress over the last few years and wanted to see it in person.  Even better, I had the opportunity to see it fly.

I also had the privilege of doing a photo shoot with it, but that’s a story for another day.

Happy Friday!

Through The Lens 129 – WWII Weekend

'Takeoff Time'

B-25J Mitchell, ‘Takeoff Time’ performs a photo pass at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII Weekend.  Looking forward to attending again this weekend.

Through The Lens 65 – B-29 Superfortress

B-29 Superfortress - Fifi

FiFi makes a photo pass during the 2016 Mid Atlantic Air Museum WWII Weekend.

The B-29 Superfortress was manufactured by Boeing from 1943 to 1946 and was flown by the US Army Air Corps and later the US Air Force from 1944 to 1960. Of the 3,970 built, only a few remain.  Twenty-two are preserved in museums worldwide, a handful of airframes are in storage plus a couple of known crashes scattered throughout the world. For many years, FiFi was the only airworthy B-29 Superfortress. Recently a second B-29, Doc, completed its flight testing, earning a revised airworthyness certificate from the FAA, allowing it to travel without restrictions.  I can’t wait to see Doc out on the airshow circuit starting this summer.