RECOGNITION

Plane & Pilot Magazine 2021 Your Flying World Photo Contest - 2nd Place

    The Thunder Over Michigan airshow, held every summer at the Willow Run airport, provides tremendous photographic opportunities for vintage and state-of-the-art aircraft. As usual, August 8th turned out to be one of the hottest days of the summer; the cloudy sky and high humidity was great for capturing contrails off the aircraft in flight. This was the first time I had viewed the USAF F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter in operation. The image was captured handheld using a Canon EOS R5 with the Canon EF 100-400mm ƒ/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens set at 400mm. I used manual camera settings of 1/2500sec and ƒ/7.1 to capture the aircraft at high speed and used ISO 400 to obtain proper exposure.    

     The F-35A emerged from a cloud bank out of a steep turn, passing left to right an estimated 1,800 feet in front of the airshow crowd. The continuous autofocus mode of the R5 camera allowed me to establish focus as it emerged from the clouds and hold it for several shots as as the F-35A passed. The roar of the Lightning II as it passed the crowds was akin to thunder from the clouds; hence the title “Thunder and Lightning.”  I was pleased by the contrails present along the wings and fuselage, and the darkened clouds directly behind and beneath the jet exhaust providing a nice contrast to the relatively grey flat sky. It really gives a feeling for the speed of the F-35A as it passed.

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Flickr Explore Creative Commons Week 50, 2021

In December 2021 this image was also selected for the Flickr curated Explore gallery, recognizing exceptional images of the week.

Toledo Museum of Art Student Gallery - 2007

     The Toledo Museum of Art, as part of their community education program, conducted several art classes related to photograph.  Part of the recognition from the class work was to have finished projects selected for display as part of a special student gallery in the museum.  Three of my images were selected for display.

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    “October Hunter’s Moon” was shot in Beverly Shores, Indiana showing the full October moon rising over the wetlands that are now part of the Indiana Dunes National Park. The image was shot on a tripod, using a Canon EOS Rebel Xti and a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 [II] with settings of 22mm, f/6.3, ISO 400, and a 30 sec exposure.  I love the reflected moon on the water with the tree silhouettes across the wetland.

     ”Hidden Lake” was shot at Hidden Lake Gardens in southeastern Michigan.  This is a 5 image panorama shot on tripod, using a Canon EOS Rebel Xti and a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 [II] with settings of 55mm, f/36, ISO 100, and a 0.6 sec exposure.  I was looking to capture a strong depth of field for detail throughout the image.  If you look closely you will see a pair of swans swimming on the lake.

     “Gentle Soul” a portrait of our Sheltie kid Reggie; shot at our home in Tecumseh, Michigan.  The image was taken using a Canon EOS Rebel Xti and a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 [II] with settings of 44mm, f/6.3, ISO 100, and a 1/60 sec exposure.  Despite being abandoned by his previous owners at the age of 6, Reggie had a very gentle nature and I tried to capture that feeling in this image.