Ever since 2004, I’ve had a passionate love affair with photography. And come to discover that I have a fondness for photos that come with a story. Over the years, I have shot a few of them. Here’s the next installment in “The Story Behind an Image” series.
Part 10: The Space Needle
After my two epic helicopter flights over LAX, I was hooked and wanted to do one over Seattle. I had envisioned a shot of the Space Needle with the Seattle skyline in the background from high above. The flight was booked via Seattle helicopter tours and was what they called an “Instagram Photo flight”. Which was an hour-long sightseeing flight with my choice of subjects. I scheduled mine for 5pm so I could take advantage of the afternoon light. I arrived in Seattle at about 2pm, giving me plenty of time to get my rental car and do some sightseeing downtown.
I remember being excited about once again navigating through a city that I had never been to before. And I jumped right in, heading straight to Pike Place Market for some street photography, which I came to thoroughly enjoy. I then made my way to my hotel and had a late lunch before heading to Auburn Municipal Airport for my flight. It’s a good time to mention that I live in Michigan where we are 3 hours ahead. And after a long travel day, I could feel the fatigue slowly creeping in.
I arrived 30 minutes early to meet up with Craig, the pilot of my flight. After a safety briefing and a brief description of our flight path, we started our photo flight in a Robison R22 with the doors off for better visibility. Our flight was to take us north to Seattle to orbit the major landmarks, including the T-Mobile Park, the headquarters of Starbucks, and the Space Needle. Then we were to head over to Union Lake and Gas Work Park, Husky stadium followed by Snoqualmie Falls then back to Auburn Municipal Airport to complete the flight.
As we made our way to Seattle, we flew over Blue Origin headquarters and Boeing field which was littered with various brand-new aircraft. As we got closer to the downtown area, we were informed that a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) was about to go into effect over the downtown area due to a Mariners baseball game. Meaning, that once the TFR goes into effect, we cannot enter the affected area which includes the T-Mobile Park and the Space Needle. Fortunately for us, we were allowed to enter the area before the TFR took effect, but we were told to hurry up though. With little time over the downtown area, my priority was to try to capture the envisioned shot that sparked this whole photo mission, the Space Needle with the Seattle skyline. Not being a sports fan, I wasn’t really interested in seeing the stadium. But we did do one quick orbit of the stadium then hauled ass over to the Space Needle.
With the TFR about to start, we made it to the Space Needle just in time. We managed to do two super close and energetic orbits. To put into perspective how close we were, I was using my 18-135mm lens and at 18mm was just barely wide enough to show the whole needle from its base to the top. With the shutter blasting away at its maximum frame rate, I was caught up in the excitement of photographing from a helicopter with the doors off, the brisk pace of the orbits, along with being tired from the time difference, I felt that I had missed my shot I had envisioned. The rest of the flight was incredible but still felt unsure about my results and bummed about the rushed timing above the Space Needle. And I wasn’t going to review my photos in flight and miss any photo opportunities because I was chimping. Safely back at Auburn Municipal, Craig and I talked for a bit, thanking him for the photo flight before I left.
It wasn’t until I was back in my hotel looking at my photos, that I did indeed capture the shot I was after. I was so intensely focused on the Space Needle and trying to squeeze it into the frame that I never saw the Seattle skyline in the background. Man, talk about target fixation!
Since I’ve given up on New Years Resolutions years ago, I’ve found setting some personal goals for myself to be not only satisfying but fulfilling. They are, for me, far more meaningful and manageable to accomplish. I can add to them and edit them to suit my situation. As well as outright delete them. Some are completable, some are reminders, and some are something for me to continually work towards.
What did I learn in 2024?
Life has a way of teaching us lessons through both hardship and growth. I’ve come to realize that there are some mean spirited and fucked up people out there —individuals who, without hesitation, bully and cause harm to others, whether through reckless actions like causing a car accidents or through deliberate cruelty. And because of my experiences with these individuals, it has taught me the value of distancing myself from those who don’t give a shit about their actions. 2024 has also shown me the importance of friendship and the memories we create together, grounding myself in the relationships that truly matter. Along with time, my most precious and non-renewable resource has taken on new meaning as I try to spend it wisely—at work, at home, and in play—choosing carefully who and what deserves my attention. And finally, I’ve come to embrace the value of exploring the quirks of my own mind, even though it doesn’t seem to function “properly.” I’ve come to accept it with a sense of humor and a willingness to grow, knowing that understanding myself is an ongoing journey worth taking.
Where did I go and see in 2024?
This was a bucket list year which included a bunch of firsts for me. Beginning with a mini road trip with my best friends down to Toledo, Ohio to see our first Total Solar Eclipse. It was stellar. (Pun intended 🙂) Our next group outing was celebrating Star Wars Day (May the Fourth) in downtown Detroit.
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Then in July, I began my epic England aviation vacation. My first time “Crossing the Pond”, driving in England along with my first air-to-air photo flight. I struggle with describing how fucking exhilarating it was to photograph World War Two fighters over the iconic English countryside from the back of the famous pink Skyvan. While racking up 1400 miles on a rental car, I had to go and see the infamous White Cliffs of Dover along with one of my favorite all-time aircraft, TSR.2. She is such an amazing larger than life aircraft. And yes, I had to do some plane spotting at London-Heathrow while I was in England. Then I heard London calling, so I answered with another day trip via the train, which I found pleasing to ride. Seeing such iconic and historical landmarks felt like a dream.
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And since I fell in love with helicopter flights, you know I had to book a flight over London. And as long as I have been attending and photographing airshows, the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) has always been on my radar. And after 5 days of RIAT, I can say it is a far superior experience to Oshkosh AirVenture. A week after I got back from my England trip and with jet lag in full force, my sister along with my best friend and I headed to Las Vegas for some serious nerding out at the Star Trek convention. The best was saved for last. Two of my best friends got married, my other bestie officiated, and I was the “Best Man” (another first for me). From the rehearsal to the ceremony all the way through to the reception, we had an absolute blast.
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What did I Lose in 2024?
My good friend, Shawn Yost. Tragically, cancer relentlessly took him from us. My wonderful friendship with him started back in 2004 at the Grosse Ile Airshow. I had arrived early and scoped out a spot on the taxiway to shoot from. Shawn walks up and sets down his chair a couple of feet away from me. Opens up his camera bag and I noticed he pulled out the same camera body that I had, the Canon Digital Rebel. And that started our friendship with our shared love of aviation and photography that lasted for 2 decades. Over the years, we traveled coast to coast, shooting tens of thousands of photos, and creating countless hilarious and meaningful memories. We had so much fun together.
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As time passed, we had different paths in life, and our lives slowly separated further and further apart. I was in England when I got the news of his illness. It was two weeks later that I spoke to him, and the first thing he said to me was that it didn’t matter what happened to our relationship, life happens. But now we are starting over. And our conversation picked up right where we left off. We talked about shows and events we attended, shared photos back and forth, just like old times. Sadly, 35 days later, he passed. If I’ve learned anything from this, it is that Life is short. Use your time doing what you love with the people you love being around. Someone once asked me, “What are the images that you shot that makes you smile?” Not your best or favorite. Mine are of Shawn and my fellow aviation photographers goofing around at airshows over the years. I miss you, my friend.
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What did I Gain in 2024?
I’ve had better mental health in the past 6 months than I ever had in the past 40 years. Why now and what caused this huge positive shift? Well, for years now I’ve been putting a lot of effort and dedication into bettering my mental health. And I can say with confidence that looking back at my life, I’ve had poor mental health for years and didn’t know what to do about it. To a point of just accepting and struggling with it. I journaled for years, and it helped temporarily and had no lasting impact. Then I started listening to self care podcasts and philosophy audiobooks, applying what I learned to my life. Some of it suck like glue and some just wasn’t right for me. But as I slowly got to know myself and my triggers, my outlook on life changed as well as having fewer and fewer days of having a noisy and chaotic mind. Then with the death of Shawn, it dramatically altered my perspective. I started to see who and what is profoundly important to me and on the flip side, who and what does not. Also expelling myself from the super massive black hole of death scrolling through social media and the News has been so liberating. It’s a gravity well of anxiety and fear that is relentlessly damaging and tremendously toxic to my peace of mind. This ongoing spiritual journey has helped me discover and realize a meaningful purpose in life.
How I met Cielo
Early this year, I got into a car accident which was caused by another driver’s road rage. Fortunately, no one was hurt but my car of 10 years was damaged. It was repairable but I knew sooner versus later, things were going to start failing and I wasn’t going to start dumping money into her. So, this was my reasoning for getting a new car. From the start of this, didn’t know what kind of car I wanted, just features I knew I wanted. Turbocharged engine, all-wheel drive, heated steering wheel, Apple CarPlay along with the newer technology that my old car didn’t have. Did quite a bit of searching online and found a few possible candidates. While at the dealership looking at various Genesis G70 models, I spotted the Hyundai Santa Cruz, which checked all my boxes. And after a test drive, I told my sales representative that I wanted a blue one. The dealership didn’t have any in blue. But she would contact their other dealerships and if they had one, it could be transported here. The next day, she called and told me that she found one with the same trim level I wanted. A week later, I got my Cielo. Which is “Sky” in Spanish.
Looking back on 2024, it had its profound life lessons, bucket list adventures and strengthening meaningful friendships. From witnessing a solar eclipse and fulfilling lifelong aviation dreams to embracing better mental health, this year’s ups and down has been instrumental in changing the way I live my life. Finding a sense of purpose, cherishing my friendships, and continuing on with my life long spiritual journey are my most valuable takeaways from 2024. So, what’s in store for next year? You’ll just have to stick around and find out.
Departure day, a full day of aviation and photography for the ultra-passionate. Since this was going to be my last opportunity at capturing this year’s attending aircraft, I struggled with how I was going to capture them. On one hand, I can use settings that will pretty much guarantee the shot and the other is riskier but produces a much more striking image. That is to shoot with a slow shutter speed while panning the aircraft as it is taking off. The result is an image where your subject is tack sharp and the background is blurred due to the panning motion. The sense of speed makes the subject appear to leap out of the photo. And after three days of off and on practicing this, I felt confident and comfortable with my panning abilities. I found the key was to shoot within a certain range of shutter speeds.
My range was as slow as 1/80th and my safe zone was 1/200th. A factor that you must keep in mind is the speed of the aircraft as it is taking off. The faster the takeoff, the faster the shutter speed you can get away with. This also means the slower the takeoff, your shutter speed had to be slower as well to show a sense of motion. Something else to keep in mind is that it is far easier to successfully pan with a small lens versus a larger one. For example, I had no problems shooting as slow as 1/60th of a second with my 18-135mm. But compared to my 100-400mm, the slowest I comfortably shot at was 1/125th. Unfortunately, shooting a large telephoto zoom at such slow shutter speeds, my keeper rate drops significantly. Remember, all you need is one to be spot on.
I’m not going to say it was an easy decision and to execute it. Shooting aircraft with slow shutter speeds, handheld with a large telephoto lens, sitting down on the next to last upper row of the grandstand, was so unnerving. Especially knowing there’s sure-fire technique just one turn on the main dial away. I was super hesitant to shoot the Greek and Turkish Phantoms with a slow shutter. But I had to trust in my abilities and knowing that the outcome would be totally worth it. So, without further ado, here’s 45 of my favorite images from Departure Day at RIAT 2024. Enjoy!
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As a seasoned aviation photographer who has attended both the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and Oshkosh Airventure, I can say with confidence that RIAT is a far superior experience. I’m sure some would argue that you can’t compare the two events. Because one being the world’s largest military airshow and the other is the world’s largest fly-in. But both are world-renowned events that draw thousands of aviation photographers. And that’s how I’m going to compare RIAT with Oshkosh Airventure, as an aviation photographer and not as an airshow enthusiast. My reasoning is threefold. First, the unparalleled variety of attending aircraft. Second, the nonstop and lengthy flying displays, and finally, the unmatched quality of the catering to photographers. It is because of this unique combination that sets RIAT apart from AirVenture.
Let’s start with the unparalleled variety of attending aircraft. Holy fuck! Where do I begin? How about the 20-plus F-16s on the “Viper Line” from 8 different Air Forces. Or the stunning pairs of F-4 Phantoms from Turkey and Greece. What about the two new F-15QA Advanced Eagles from Qatar. Plus, the six national aerobatic teams, which included Swiss Air Force Patrouille Suisse, the Saudi Hawks, the Finish Air Force Midnight Hawks, the RAF Red Arrows, the Royal Jordanian Falcons, and the petite Yellow Sparrows from the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Let’s not forget the single-ship demos. Starting with the Eurofighter Typhoon demos from the RAF, the Luftwaffe, and the Italian Air Force. Alongside two Gripen demos from the Czech and Swedish Air Forces. Also, those beautifully painted F-16 demo teams from Turkey and the Danish Air Forces. Along with the stunning Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornet in it’s 100th anniversary livery. Last but not least, the two noise makers. The RAF F-35B and the Spanish Navy EAV-8B demos.
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Most airshows and aviation events start flying about 11:30 to 12 o’clock and the show wraps up around about 3:30 to 4 o’clock. RIAT on the other hand, starts its flying displays at 9 AM and goes nonstop to 5 in the afternoon with little to no downtime in between demos. There’s not even a break for lunch! Quoting Top Gun, it’s a target-rich environment. Some of the highlights from this year for me were the Royal Danish Air Force F-16 demo that sported an amazing 50th anniversary of the F-16 liveries, the Qatar agile fly by wire-controlled F-15QA, and the impressive fighter-like aerobatics of the Italian C-27J Spartan. It was refreshing seeing numerous European fighters as well as the rare bonus of the USAF flew two U-2s during Saturday’s show.
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Last but not least, the unparalleled level of catering to photographers.The Friends of RIAT (FRIAT)package provides the best access I’ve ever seen at any airshow or aviation event. It not only gives you entry to the show but also includes access to arrival and departure days with choice of various shooting locations including an elevated Grandstand along with flying programs available daily. No need to wait in long lines for food and restroom breaks. Within the FRIAT area, there is dedicated catering, private restrooms and not the standard port-a potty. There’s also luggage facility to securely keep your camera bag overnight, so you’re not having to lug it in and out of the show each day. Also, for protection from Mother Nature, the FRIAT enclosure has a large tent with plenty of tables and chairs to get out of the elements if need be. Conveniently, there is also a lense rental service within the FRIAT area with tons of big & fast glass for Canon, Nikon, and Sony mounts. Other included amenities are an official RIAT souvenir program, and exclusive FRIAT gift. This year’s gift was a gold-colored F-16 pin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fighting Falcon.
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Let us recap, the Royal International Air Tattoo offers an unparalleled variety of attending aircraft, nonstop and lengthy flying displays and the unmatched services that caters to photographers. Oshkosh’s Airventure is an event that every aviation enthusiast and photographer should experience at least once in their lives. And if it blows you away, then go to the Royal International Air Tattoo to redefine awesome.
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Gear used:
Canon 90D (X2) shot in Shutter Priority from 1/60th to 1/200th with Image
