Merry Christmas!

Santa Claus is on his way!

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

We've been having unseasonably warm weather this week, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. On Saturday, I took advantage of the weather to visit the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer. The museum is located at was once the historic Spencer Shops, at one time Southern Railroad's largest steam locomotive repair facility on the East Coast. The museum includes a restored roundhouse, operating trains, and displays on the transportation history of the state, including automotive and aviation.



Santa and his elves get a ride on a 1935 Ford, the only known remaining car from the NC Highway Patrol's first fleet.



A replica of the Wright Flyer, which of course had its first flights in North Carolina.

Shooting in the Dark

Usually, airplane spotting is a daytime hobby - after all, it's hard to see, and harder to shoot, an airplane flying past in the dark. That's why most spotting photos look like this...




But short days and long work weeks don't always cooperate, and when you have a handy spot like the Charlotte Overview, and some unseasonably warm evenings, you have to take advantage of what you can.

Thanksgiving in New York

Thanksgiving week, and a trip back to New York. Between a few days of work, and celebrating the holiday, I managed to squeeze in a little photography.

It was cold and windy at Howard Beach, but the departure shots were worth it!





It wasn't all about aircraft spotting. I did get to spend an evening with a friend shooting the New York City skyline at sunset.




Heading home on Sunday, about the only traffic I encountered was in Virginia, where the intricacies of traffic lights have not been mastered by all.

I'm Back!

Catching up on a few more photo ops...

Fall colors on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Linn Cove Viaduct.



Visiting Charleston, SC for the first time in more than thirty years - this wasn't there the last time I was in town!


A weekend trip back home on Long Island means a stop at JFK for some spotting.


Today's lesson - landing on a pickup truck...


Interesting visitors keep dropping in to CLT - Vice President Joe Biden departs after an overnight visit to the Queen City.

Catching Up...

So, what's been going on lately? A few air shows, a visit to Charleston, more interesting stuff showing up at the local aerodrome...

Chasing waterfalls in the mountains of western North Carolina.


Labor Day Weekend at the American Airpower Museum.


Shooting with some friends at Huntington Harbor.


Gravely Point Park, next to Washington National Airport - in your face!


Afterburners, baby!


Flying in a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor


Massive An-124 cargo jet approaches Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.


I'll save some more for the next time...

The New SmugMug is Here!

Tuesday, SmugMug unveiled a complete rebuild of their photo-hosting site, with a whole new look and new features. It hasn't received a warm welcome from some users, but moving to the new format was fairly painless for me. I still have some tweaking to do - and I'll need to make a few changes here, once I figure out all the HTML stuff that has to be modified to look more like my SmugMug site.

Since it's been a while since I last updated this (yes, a very long while...) let me share a few recent photos.

Space Shuttle Discovery at the National Air & Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center



The Presidents Race at Nationals Ballpark, Washington, DC. I had to go all the way to Washington to watch the Mets lose...



Charlotte, NC skyline