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 :-)