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 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!

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 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.

Through The Lens 28 – WWII Weekend

It’s that time of year again! This weekend is Mid Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII Weekend.  After only spending one day there last year, I’m looking forward to a full weekend this year.

Sadly, the P-47 Thunderbolt, Jacky’s Revenge, pictured above will not be in attendance this year. Last Friday, it suffered what is believed to be engine failure and was landed in the Hudson River.  It’s pilot, Bill Gordon, drowned when the plane sank before he was able to get out of the harness.  My condolences go out to the Gordon Family and to the folks at the American Airpower Museum.