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 147 – Richie

Earlier this year, I made a goal of photographing more people at the events I attend, particularly the railroad events, and I’m glad I did.  Doing so has helped me get to know some of the folks who maintain the locomotives that I love to photograph so much.  One of those people was Richie Maggs.  The picture above was taken during the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s 2018 WWII Weekend at the Cafe in the French Village where Richie was a reenactor.

Last weekend I received the news that Richie had passed away unexpectedly.  I only knew him briefly, but I know he was a great guy who lived life to the fullest and truly enjoyed his career in steam railroad preservation.  My deepest condolences go out to his friends and family.

Highball, Richie!  Rest easy.

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.

Trip Report – Rosie the Riveter

This past November, Lerro Productions hosted their second Rosie the Riveter themed photo shoot at the Strasburg Railroad.  Several scenes were created in both the machine shop and the engine house depicting everything from hot riveting to toasting bread with an aceteline torch.  As usual, everyone had a great time and made some fantastic images.  Here’s a few of my favorites:

Washing the Locomotive:

Third Shift Lunch Break:

Sparks:

Rivet Heater:

Late Afternoon Break:

Cooking with Gas:

Rosie:

Thanks again to Pete for all the hard work in setting this up, to Dave for his assistance in hosting us, to Jenny, Kathrynne, Jenna, Andrea, Ginny, Shelley, Chris, Sarah and Cassie for  their willingness to model and to the railroad for allowing these shoots to happen!  Can’t wait for the next one!

Through The Lens 75 – Rosie the Riveter

I recently finished editing my photos from last November’s Rosie the Riveter shoot hosted by Lerro Productions at the Strasburg Railroad. I saw a similar shot at a previous shoot and wanted to try it myself.  I’m happy with the results but I learned that its difficult to find a good composition while trying to get the blue glow from the brazing torch to reflect in the goggles.  There’s a very small sweet spot where the reflection occurs.

Check back next Tuesday for the full trip report.