Lookit, It's A Radial!

-

Today I'd like to share the story behind one of my favorite aircraft images.

Photography Prints

It was a case of being at just the right place at just the right moment. It was August 1997 at the California International Airshow in Salinas. The plane is a Martin 404 converted for executive use and painted in the colors of the former Pacific Air Lines.

At airshows there are usually lots of people around the planes walking around in their shorts and tank-tops, sucking on sodas. It can be a challenge to get good shots of the planes without background distractions, so I would focus on details. I was composing a shot of the plane's engine when this little girl came through on her daddy's shoulders. I knew I had something here, but I wasn't sure if I had everything set right yet. I had half a second to decide whether to click the shutter or not. I didn't notice at the time, but just as I snapped the picture she reached out to touch the propeller. It turned out to be my favorite shot of the airshow.

Framed or unframed prints of this photograph may be obtained in a wide variety of sizes from my Photography Gallery.

Tags:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Political Puzzles

-
Puzzle #1 Who in heck is behind Prop 29? The same measure was on the California ballot the last two elections. Both times it went down in flames and it is expected to fail again. But that's not the weird part. The weird part is that while the NO campaign has been reasonably convincing, there has been no visible campaign supporting it. Not this time nor the first two times. You'd think that after thrice going through the time, effort, and expense of gathering signatures to qualify for the ballot that they'd want to give people a reason to vote yes, but they haven't. So what's the point? Prop 29 is a phantom measure with no visible means of support. Puzzle #2 I can't help but wonder if the abrupt conversion of KGO radio from a news talk station to a sports talk station with an emphasis on betting has some connection to Propositions 26 & 27 which are all about sports gambling. An attempt to drum up interest in sports betting before the election, perhaps? The bi
Read more

Things I've learned

-
At 45 I guess I'm officially at middle age. That means I'll live to be 90. Anyway, it seems like a good time to reflect on some of the things I've learned over the years, listed in no particular order: If you hear or smell anything unusual, find out what it is right away. Meals seem to be more satisfying when potatoes are somehow involved. Cultivate your friendships. Time spent with friends and family is never wasted. (See Tiffany ) The time to buy drain opener is before you need it. Read the owners manual. Don't trust Mapquest. You can never win a political argument. However, in the company of those who have open minds, you can have some very interesting political discussions. Ditto for religion. At the grocery checkout, always put the bread on the conveyor last. This keeps it from getting squished by other items at the bagging end. There’s nothing wrong with sex. When you get onto the freeway, keep plenty of space between you and the car ahead. It makes it much easier
Read more

Oh, Nikki, you're better at math than that.

-
Image
And then there were two. Earlier tonight I watched part of the debate between Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is a jerk, and I can't take him seriously. Haley, on the other hand is a smart gal, and offers some hope for bringing some level of sanity back to the Republican party. But she often dumbs things down to appeal to the simple-minded (mostly Trumpers), and that drives me nuts. Case on point: Haley promised that if elected she would eliminate the federal gasoline tax to reduce the tax burden on working class Americans. Moderator Dana Bash pointed out that the federal gas tax raises over $50 billion annually and is used build and maintain highways and bridges. She then asked Haley how she would pay for those things without it. Haley responded first by evading the question and talking about taxes in general. But eventually she got back around to the gas tax. She employed a classic Republican talking point saying the states collect the
Read more