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

There's a Change in the Air!

Wow, it's been a while!  Much has happened since my last post - the Space Shuttle arrived in New York, I've been to air shows, car shows and NASCAR races - but the biggest thing was (finally!) starting a new job as a sales analyst with a financial services company.  While I've been working in Manhattan since March of this year, the position was slated to be based in Charlotte, NC.  Well, the time has come, and this week I'll be loading up my stuff and heading south - with a little detour to attend the Pocono 400 NASCAR race.  Look for updates of my trip down to Charlotte, and reports on life in Charlotte. It will be a new city, new friends, and a new adventure!

In the meantime, enjoy a look at a few of the highlights of the past few months.

The air show at Jones Beach thrilled the crowds.





The American Airpower Museum sent its armored division to liberate Old Bethpage Village Restoration.



It was a hot time at Pocono when the NASCAR circus arrived in town.



Pink Mopars rule!



The Thunderbirds know how to make an entrance!



And finally, Space Shuttle Enterprise arrives in New York to be displayed on the USS Intrepid museum.

Lights,Camera, Action!

Republic Airport was once again the setting for not one, but two different television shoots last week. Damages, starring Glenn Close, was filming at the airport terminal for several days, transforming the Long Island setting into a small airport in Maine. At the same time, Unforgettable, with Poppy Montgomery, was filming in and around the SheltAir building, and on half of one of the airport's runways. They used the American Airpower Museum for meals, so several of us got to watch the action up close.

The scene they were filming out on the runway had a "suspect" attempting to flee in a light aircraft, while the "detectives" chase the airplane onto the runway, and shoot out the nose wheel to bring it to a stop.





The crew taxied the airplane up the runway, with a Dodge Charger chasing along side, and a camera truck following along for filming.




After dark, they headed into the SheltAir hangar, but also did a little filming outside with the airplane.

Photo Fun with Fred...

So Fred calls me up and says he's having a few photo folks over to have some fun and try some new things. With Fred, you never know what to expect, so you never say no! When I got there, he had a fish tank on the table, with extra flashes, some food coloring, and other assorted "playthings".




This is Fred, by the way...


Once we were done with the water, we dried everything off and started playing with lights.





These were created using (carefully) broken light bulbs in a work light holder. Just a quick touch of the plug into the outlet gives a spark of light and a wisp of smoke. A little off-camera flash and a black backdrop completes the scene. Very interesting to try, but if you do - take all necessary safety precautions!

As I said, you never know what you are going to end up with when Fred wants to try something, but it's always worth it!

It's That Time Again

The calendar page flips from 2011 to 2012, and another new year begins. Many use the new year as a reason to re-evaluate life, make new plans and changes. I've never been about making "New Year's Resolutions" - who needs that kind of pressure? Instead, I'll start the new year, and the third year of posting here, with a look at Jones Beach on New Year's Day. It's now three or four years that I've gone down to Jones Beach, to walk along the ocean and take a few photos.


"Happy" wouldn't sit still long enough for her owner to take a picture, so I offered to help.


Later this week, I'll take a look back at 2011, and some of my favorite photos from that recently departed year.