USAF Heritage Flight

Photos of USAF Heritage Flights that I have had the privilege of photographing during the 2011 air show season.

Click on the thumbnail to view the entire album, and enjoy.

James :-)

Lunar eclipse

I woke up early to shoot the lunar eclipse that occurred here on the West Coast. Totality was shortly after 0600 hrs., just before the moon set. Beautiful sight. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image, and enjoy!

James :-)

'Hawg Heaven 2011

One of the USAF demonstration teams I was fortunate enough to see a few times this year was Capt. Joseph "Rifle" Shetterly and the A-10 Warthog West team. I saw their practice performance and both show performances at "Thunder Over the Valley" in Santa Maria, CA, and I saw both show performances and Heritage Flights at Nellis AFB's "Aviation Nation 2011". I took some time today to put a album together featuring my photos of Capt. Shetterly's demonstrations, the Heritage Flight at Nellis AFB, and a few static display shots of the venerable 'Hawg. Hope all you Warthog fans enjoy! As always, click on the thumbnail above to start browsing.

James :-)

Nellis AFB "Aviation Nation 2011"

Nellis AFB. "The Home of the Fighter Pilot" it's been called. Well, for one weekend in November, it's home to "Aviation Nation"...thousands of visitors being awed by everything from a B-25J Mitchell WWII-era bomber to a modern-day B-2 Stealth Bomber. Oh yeah, we had jets popping flares, a "Phabulous Phantom", and I think some demo team called Thunderbirds may have been there, too.

Anway, here's the pics, all 400+ of them, so sit back, relax, grab your favorite beverage, perhaps a bag of chips, click on the above thumbnail, and ENJOY!

James :-)

Tough times for air show lovers...

If you are an air show fan, you probably heard about the rotten news that came down the pipe from Air Combat Command on 01 Dec. 2011.  If you haven't, well, read it and weep:

ACC Statement on USAF single ship demo reduction starting in 2012

And thankfully, a petition has been started to urge Congress to reconsider this funding SNAFU, and bring the teams back.  Yes, admittedly it's a (very) long shot, but right now, folks, that's all we got:

Urge Congress to increase funding for military demo teams

This was a complete punch in the gut to folks like me in the world of aviation photography, to all those guys that served on those demo teams that made sure the aircraft was good to go on a daily basis for practices and shows, and to the pilots that flew the actual demos entertained many hundreds of thousands of people weekend in and weekend out from March to November. Like I said, the petition is a long shot, but let's not go quietly into the night on this one, folks...let's see what we can do about saving Viper West, Viper East, Warthog West, Warthog East, and Strike Eagle Demo.  SAVE OUR JET NOISE!

James :-)

PS...Nellis editing is still in progress...stay tuned ;-)

Aviation Nation 2011 mini-album up on Facebook.

For those of you who are interested in a sneak peek of some of the shots from Nellis, you can check out my mini-album on Facebook of some of the shots I've already edited. Which reminds me...if you haven't "LIKED" Tomcat Photography on Facebook, while you're over there checking out the album, please do so. Thank you!!!

Aviation Nation mini-album on Facebook

James :-)

Shooting at 2011 Aviation Nation has concluded

Just spent an incredible two days shooting the Thunderbirds' final show of the season, Aviation Nation, at Nellis AFB in Nevada. Let the editing begin! With the perfect lighting and the mountains providing backdrop for a lot of my photos, these will be ones you won't want to miss. Stay tuned within the next few weeks, and I won't disappoint you.

James :-)

Old Glory

Recently, at a local park here in Lompoc, a new flag pole was dedicated to fallen warriors who selflessly gave their lives in defense of our freedom

Enjoy the photos and take a moment to remember all the members of the Armed Services who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

James :-)

NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) launch and VAFB tour

On 27 Oct. 2011, I had the opportunity to tour Vandenberg Air Force Base prior to viewing a Delta II rocket launching the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) payload into space. I would like to thank NASA, Vandenberg AFB and the US Air Force for their hospitality and for making this an experience that I will never forget. Click on the thumbnail above, and enjoy the photos!

James :-)

2011 MCAS Miramar Air Show

The 2011 MCAS Miramar was everything I hoped it would be and more. Thoroughly enjoyed every second, and of course, no matter how many times you see the Blue Angels, they just get better and better. Anyway, hope everybody enjoys the photos...and, hey, take your time. There's a lot of them!

Click on the thumbnail above to view the entire album. And as always, thanks for looking!

James :-)

Editing continues on 2011 MCAS Miramar Air Show images

Hey everybody! Editing continues on my shots from a highly successful two-day shoot at the 2011 Marine Corps Air Station Miramar air show. Stay tuned, photos coming soon! MAGTF, F/A-18E Super Hornet, F-16 Viper West Demo and the US Navy Blue Angels, among others.

James :-)

Preparations complete for MCAS Miramar Air Show

Well, I can safely say my photography preparations for the upcoming 2011 MCAS Miramar Air Show are pretty much completed. The excitement continues to build as the show days creep closer and closer. Whenever I travel to one of these shows, I almost feel like a traveling Big Top circus with all the equipment I'm dragging along. Close to 30-35 lbs. of camera gear, a laptop, battery chargers, and all the necessary equipment to transfer and back-up photos on the computer at the end of the day all comes with me.

Another thing I did was "clean up" my computer. No...not like that, you filthy-minded people...sheesh. I mean dumping games that I never use, putting random old photos I took with my old point-and-shoot onto a thumb drive so I could get them off my computer, and basically freeing up some memory to try and speed the machine up a bit. Talk about an exercise in patience. I'm by no means computer-inclined, making this an interesting experience to say the least. The only thing I have left to do is install the newest version of my photo-editing software onto my laptop, and I'll call it finished.

Well, all that's left to do is pray to the air show weather gods that the weather cooperates, and hope the show goes off without a hitch for all involved, and for James to come home with a couple hundred photos that will make everybody say "WOW"!

Adios for now...and see ya at MCAS Miramar, ladies and gents!

James :-)

PS For those of you who didn't notice on the side of the page (because it kinda blends in a little bit, if you ask me), I put links to my previous albums that have been archived here, so you don't have to go hunting for them in my past entries. Also, I'm on Facebook, so feel free to "LIKE" me (yeah I know, who doesn't "LIKE" me? heh heh :p ) there if you so desire. There's a link on the side of the page for that, too.

Tragedy at the Reno Air Races

Take time to say a prayer for all involved in the tragedy at the Reno Air Races today.  Thank you.

James

2011 MCAS Miramar Air Show

The preparations are pretty much complete for photographing the 2011 MCAS Miramar Air Show in about two weeks. The show will feature the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Demo, the F-16 from Air Combat Command's Viper West Demonstration Team, and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, among other military and civilian acts.  Looking forward to shooting there over two days and hopefully having a lot of pictures to share.  I will be the first to admit, I'm like a kid going to bed on Christmas Eve the night before I head out for Miramar.

James :-)

More lunar photography

I took advantage of a rare fogless evening here in Vandenberg Village, CA to snag this shot of the full moon and update my "Lunar Photography" album, click on the thumbnail to enlarge the photo, and enjoy!

James :-)

Weather Photography

A photo of a rare Lompoc, CA thunderstorm (my first attempt at photographing lightning)...trying to hide my camera from the sprinkles while tweaking the tripod to shoot around the makeshift "shelter" (read: eave of the house...LOL) I had set up.

Enjoy!

James :-)

2011 Thunder Over the Valley

Here's the results of three days of shooting (Friday arrivals, Saturday show, Sunday show and departures) at "Thunder Over the Valley" in Santa Maria, California. The show featured a Warthog from USAF's Air Combat Command A-10 West Demonstration Team out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, a Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 122 out of Lemoore, California, and much more. Click on the thumbnail to check it out. Hope you enjoy!

James :-)

2011 Wings Over Camarillo

Photos from the 2011 "Wings Over Camarillo" air show that took place at Camarillo airport, featuring a modern day US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet along with many vintage World War II-era warbirds. Click on the thumbnail above to view. Hope you enjoy the photos...thanks for looking!

James :-)

Nojoqui Falls

Finally I'm updating again after a "minor" photo hosting site issue. It's great to be back! Here's a small album of shots I took at Nojoqui Falls just outside of Buellton, CA. They are an awe-inspiring sight after a rain, which is when I these were taken.

Thanks for looking, and again, it's GREAT to be back!

James :-)

Bear with me...PLEASE!!!

I'm having some minor issues with my photo hosting service, so I'm kinda dead in the water when it comes to uploads for now. Hopefully the problem will be resolved within the next week or two (or sooner). On a happier note, I shot the "Wings Over Camarillo" air show in Camarillo, CA on 20 August that featured a Tailhook Legacy Flight and many WWII warbirds, among other things. And even better, I'm shooting 3 days (Friday arrivals and practices, Saturday performances and Sunday performances and departures) at the "Thunder Over the Valley" show in Santa Maria, CA, which will feature the A-10 Warthog demo team, on 26, 27, and 28 August. I am SO looking forward to that!

Like I said, uploads will resume as soon as possible...I promise! Until then, you can check out (and hopefully enjoy) the other albums I've uploaded.

Thanks for your patience!

James :-)

Historic La Purisima Mission

Mission La Purísima Concepción is probably most famous for it's ghostly goings-on (the television series "Ghost Adventures" visited there a few years back), but it is also famous for being one of the most picturesque places on California's central coast. I visited the mission as a child many, many years ago when my class took a field trip out there, but at that time I was way too young to appreciate what I was seeing. However, as I toured the grounds this time, the historical significance of this place was certainly not lost on me.

Enjoy the album and thanks for looking!

James :-)

PS...if you're wondering, no, I did not have any ghostly encounters ;-)

Lunar Photography

I've always been fascinated with astronomy and pretty much anything that has to do with the sky, so I took to photographing the moon as regularly as I can. Unfortunately, due to the fog situation around these parts, lunar photography can be a difficult task at times.

Hope everybody enjoys the photos. Thanks for looking!

James :-)

Surf Beach - Lompoc, CA

One of the beautiful things about living around here is obvious in this album. I consider myself more than fortunate to be able to live in an area such as this.

Click on the thumbnail and enjoy the photos. Thanks for having a look!

James :-)

July 4th in the Lompoc Valley

I had a beautiful vantage point of the local fireworks show from one of my prime rocket launch watching locations...the parking lot of St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Photographing a fireworks display was something I wanted to try as soon as I got this camera, and I finally got to give it a shot on July 4th.

Click on the thumbnail above, enjoy the album, and as always, thanks for looking!

James :-)

B-17G Aluminum Overcast flight

26 April 2011 was a pretty special day for me. The Experimental Aircraft Association's B-17G bomber, Aluminum Overcast, was going to be visiting Santa Maria, so I decided to grab a flight on her. It turned out to be an absolutely perfect day for flying, and the folks from EAA made the experience something I'll never forget.

Click on the thumbnail and enjoy the album!

James :-)

Delta IV Heavy Inaugural VAFB Launch

On 20 Jan. 2011, the Delta IV Heavy, the nation's new heavy lift launcher that replaced the Titan IV, took flight from Vandenberg AFB. Here are some photos from the public viewing site at Surf Beach in Lompoc, CA. It was a beautiful day for a launch.

Click on the thumbnail above to check out photos from the event.  Thanks for looking!

James :-)

USMC Rotary Wing Power

On July 17, 2011, Santa Maria Airport was the site of a segment of the United States Marine Corps pre-deployment training. The Marines, based out of Camp Pendleton, CA, used the airport as a "forward arming and re-fueling point". Very impressive display of the Corps rotary wing power.

Click on the above thumbnail to view the entire album, and as always, thanks for looking!

James :-)

Welcome to Tomcat Photography

First off, welcome to Tomcat Photography. Thanks for visiting! Since I'm a sucker for pretty much anything military and/or aerospace, I figure I should get this thing started off right. Enjoy some shots I've taken of launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base on rare fog-less days.  Click HERE to check out the album!

Thanks again for stopping by and having a look!

James :-)