Trip Report – Photographing Doc

As I mentioned Friday, I had the incredible opportunity to attend a photo shoot with Doc, one of the two flying B-29 Superfortress’ this past June.  The original plan was to shoot one of the B-24’s out on the hot ramp, but an afternoon thunderstorm resulted in the protective covers being installed on the B-24’s which nearly derailed the shoot.  Thankfully, Doc’s Friends were willing to allow us to photograph Doc on short notice.

We started with crew and civilian shots on the ground:

And then we moved inside for some cockpit shots:

It was a great shoot, and I hope to have the opportunity to do it again some day.  Thanks again to Doc’s Friends and Brett for being awesome hosts and to Pete and all the reenactors who made the shoot possible!

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 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.

Through The Lens 35 – Boeing Turns 100

B-29 Superfortress - Fifi

Today is the 100th Birthday of the Boeing Company, so I thought I’d share a photo of one of my favorite aircraft, the B-29 Superfortress which was first introduced in 1944, helping the United States win WWII.  Currently “Fifi” is the only flying B-29, but if things go well on Sunday, “Doc” will become the second flying example.