WI
The Flight Brothers
A beautiful historical display – these two venerated ,war birds flew together through the blue skies over Oshkosh, Wisconsin during an airshow at the EAA AirVenture 2019. The upper plane is “Quick Silver, a P-51D, Mustang. The lower plane is a Chance-Vought F4U-4 Corsair.
One of the aspects of AirVenture I appreciate most is their emphasis on honoring our veterans and the hardware our true heroes used to protect and serve. Both of these were used to protect and secure the freedom of others. You can learn more about these vintage war planes through their respective websites – Quick Silver P-51D MUstang and Chance-Vought F4U-4 Corsair.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Dracula vs Shockwave
“Dracula,” the aerobatic biplane, swoops in to race with “Shockwave,” the jet-powered Peterbilt semi. This scene, captured at EAA’s Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is played out at airshows across the United States.
The flashiest of this match up, of course, is Shockwave. It is a semi truck outfited with three Westinghouse J34-48 jets that give it a total of 36,000 horsepower. Shockwave holds the world record for jet-powered full-sized trucks at 376 miles per hour! The smoke, the flames, the roar and speed all make quite an impression…even more so at night.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking on the photo. When you do, a full-screen version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Sudden Downpour
This amphibian, firefighting plane, operated by Viking, demonstrated it’s ability to smother a wildfire with water at this year’s AirVenture airshow.
After take off, this unique aircraft would skim the surface of nearby Lake Winnebago for ten seconds and scoop up 15,000 gallons of water and then return to the airfield. The total time to make its circuit and deliver a drenching to its target was only two minutes. Amazing technology and service.
You can view a larger, full screen view of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Festival of Flights
Fireworks are a favorite, and fitting, way to end the evening air show at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture.
This is like a little slice of photographer heaven for me – combining fireworks, aircraft and long exposures. I almost didn’t get any fireworks shots on this trip because I forgot to bring my tripod with me. Thankfully, I was able to improvise a suitable camera platform by strapping my monopod to folding lawn chair. It was not a very sturdy/stable set up but, fortunately, there was no wind to speak of. Of course, I use a remote trigger when shooting long exposures to avoid even the slightest movement of the camera.
The blurring of people in this image was caused by their movement during the time the shutter was open; about 23 seconds.
As always, the best of this image can be experienced by viewing the larger, full-screen version. To do so, simply click on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Angel on Assignment
A United States Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet is seen climbing against the backdrop of a tumultuous summer sky.
This photo the combination of an airshow performance, a setting sun and a billowing thunderhead in the distance. As the jet was quite a distance away, likely banking to return to the delighted airshow fans. The storm front was miles away, causing no threat but providing majestic beauty. The setting sun colored the clouds in an orange-ish hue, making the scene more dramatic.
If you look real close, you can see the fire of the jet engines trailing the aircraft. I’d like to have a better view of the Jet, but the real star in this shot is the sky. To see a larger version (and get a little better view of the jet) just click on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Good Morning Oshkosh
The United States Air Force’s Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy, a transport plane that ranks as one of the world’s largest aircraft, greeted visitors at the EAA AirVenture 2019 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Shortly after this photo was taken, they allowed visitors to walk through the plane. The angle of this photo makes the plane seem much smaller than it is. This is a behemoth! The cargo compartment is 121 ft long, 19 ft wide and 13.5 ft high. It is capable of hauling nearly every type of military equipment. The nose and aft cargo-bay doors open the full width and height of the cargo bay to maximize efficient loading of over-sized equipment. Full-width ramps enable loading double rows of vehicles from either end of the cargo hold. Aside from the cargo hold, the plane also has an upper deck that can accommodate 75 pasengers.
The lens flare, created by the sun in the background, was an unexpected artifact in this shot. I’m not sure I like it. On one hand, it’s kind of cool. On the other, it’s kind of distracting.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
To the Crowd’s Delight
The crowd’s were delighted, and clearly captivated, by the fireworks display that closed out EAA’s Airventure 2014.
Looking forward to AirVenture 2019, I was looking through my past images and found this one. This is a cool image to view in the larger, full-screen format (click on the photo to see) because of the variety of people – many of which are recording the display with their smart phones. Also, if you look close, you will notice a couple of small planes parked amidst the crowd.
This was a long exposure (2-sec) and most folks were still. However, you can see two ghost like blurs in the lower right of the frame who happened to move while the shutter was open.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
The Heavens Declare
A dramatic, summer storm rolled across the skies of rural, northeast Wisconsin.
These clouds were forming for a predicted, early evening storm. In order to capture as much of the sky in one frame, I snapped this one with my wide-angle lens at about 11mm. I wish I would have had the opportunity to set up my video camera for a time-lapse view of these clouds rolling in.
By the way, this storm really didn’t turn into much of a storm; just a bit of rain.
To get a more dramatic and larger view of this image, simply click on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Frost On a Stick
In a hopeful, “Goodbye,” wave to winter, here is a photo I took a few weeks back on a cold and frosty morning. There was a slight mist in the air before sunrise that provided the moisture for the clinging frost. These are some dormant weeds at the edge of the farm field that borders our homestead.
You can get a better view of the details in this photo by clicking the image. When you do, a full-screen version will open in another browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Warm Emotions On A Cold Morning
On a cold morning, the promise of warmth is conveyed by the subtle hues of a developing sunrise over the frozen harbor of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Kewaunee is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
This is a very large panoramic image. To enjoy the full effect, please click on the photo. When you do a full-screen image will open in a new browser tab. On a small screen you will want to zoom in to see more of the details.
A look at the full- screen, panoramic image will reveal the Kewaunee lighthouse (a small bump, off center, just to the right of the trees on the left) and a historic WWII tug boat, the Ludington decorated with Christmas lights (to the left of the trees on the right). Unfortunately, even in the largest view I offer here, the Christmas lights are not really bright enough to see them. You have to view the very large, original file on my computer with a large monitor to make them out.
This is one of my favorite images of 2018. It is also the last image I shot of the year. It was a cold, December, Sunday morning. Sunrise was early enough I was able to catch it before getting ready to head to church. I decided to shoot the sunrise in Kewaunee from a different perspective – from the harbor facing southeast.
You can see the cracked ice in the foreground. It wasn’t frozen solid. The large sections were floating and gently, and almost imperceptibly, moving ever so slightly in waves. You could hear the slight creaking/cracking of the ice movement more than you could see it. I was at this spot for nearly an hour and ended up painfully cold by the time I decided to pack it in.
To create this wide-view, I had to combine (stitch) six separate images.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.