Inspire in 300 is a guest blog series where creative photographers share who and/or what inspires their photography, and in at least 300 words.
My fascination with airplanes started when I was a child. I loved to look at pictures of aircraft in books and magazines. I would run out of the house if I heard a plane flying by just to catch a glimpse. I still do this today. I shot my first aviation photo in the mid-80s at a Memorial Day parade with my new SLR camera and kit lens. A military flyover kicked off the parade and I snapped a picture of the C-130 as it flew over. I thought that picture was the coolest thing and had my little speck of an airplane enlarged to 8×10 and hung it on my bedroom wall.
Being just a kid, I had much to explore besides airplanes. I still loved airplanes, but it wasn’t until many years later that the aviation photography bug bit again. It was the summer of 2009 when I decided to shoot my first air show and I have been hooked ever since.
Why am I hooked? For me photographing aircraft allows me to be a kid again. That’s only one part though; I also love the challenge of capturing moments in time and making them visually extraordinary. Anyone with a DSLR and a zoom lens can take a photo of an airplane or any subject. I want my pictures to be different, stunning and stand out from the crowd. I want the viewer of my work to feel as though they are standing next to me as I take the photo and that we are experiencing the same sights, sounds and smells.
Each spring my excitement builds for the upcoming air show season, an opportunity to capture new aircraft, new air shows, new moments in time and best of all to be a kid again.
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