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 :-)