Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross. “This elegant 1939 Hawley Bowlus design was a natural subject for a formation photo flight. Following my own advice to always use platforms that fly like the subject, my ride was a World War II Laister Kauffman LK–10A sailplane. We aero-towed to 6,000 feet, released, dove beneath the BA–100 (because backlighting made the translucent wing glow), and then flew slow orbits around it all the way to touchdown.”
Northrop Grumman X–47B UCAS (Unmanned Combat Air System). At the unveiling ceremony, the photographer used a telephoto lens to capture this head-on view.
Xaero-A research rocket. "At only 14 feet tall, the Xaero-A was a reusable research rocket built by Masten Space Systems to test engine and material technologies. With its bottom fairings attached, it looked like a boring white bullet, so we removed them. The photo was made at Masten's Mojave Desert launch pad, lit by dusky skylight and three small strobe lights. One, mounted on the engine bell with a full CTO [orange filter], points straight down to mimic the rocket’s exhaust."
Chad Slattery (photo by Jesse Brunt).“ On an assignment from Boeing to photograph a 787-9 Dreamliner, I strapped into an AS 350B helicopter with a climber’s harness, then photographed out the open door as the jet flew directly underneath.”
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. "This shot was made over Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Most of my aerial work is done from a Wolfe Air Learjet 25B. Two Boeing test pilots flew this photo flight. They and the Learjet pilot had flown formation together before, so there was no hesitation when I asked them to tuck in close for this wide-angle shot; our pilot jokingly quipped,'Caution, wake turbulence' as their massive 787 closed in with our tiny Learjet."
Northrop Grumman MQ–4C Triton. “Northrop Grumman requested dramatic photography of its first two Triton unmanned maritime surveillance jets. To help me plan their placement, I borrowed two models and played around with various placements. It became obvious I’d need to be above them; company personnel agreed to provide a high scissor lift. I began photographing in the late afternoon at the secretive U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. As sunset approached I placed strobe lights on the ground and on the scissor lift. For about three minutes, my artificial lighting exactly matched nature’s dusk light to give a bright but shadowless portrait of the U.S. Navy’s newest spies.”
Fairchild Republic A-10 Tunderbolt II. “I imagined this dusk photograph before making it. What I hadn’t imagined was the ramp lighting that suddenly flicked on at dusk, coloring the jet a garish green.”
Dupont Aerospace DP–1C. “On assignment at California’s Ramona Airport, I spotted this DP–1C sitting forlornly in a remote corner. It was possibly the ugliest airplane I’d ever seen. I got curious. It was a great story—politics, scandal, technological breakthroughs, aerodynamic theory, conflict, lots of money, and ultimately failure. Not even late afternoon sun, usually so flattering with its amber liquid glow, could soften the jet’s awkward lines.”
Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross. “This elegant 1939 Hawley Bowlus design was a natural subject for a formation photo flight. Following my own advice to always use platforms that fly like the subject, my ride was a World War II Laister Kauffman LK–10A sailplane. We aero-towed to 6,000 feet, released, dove beneath the BA–100 (because backlighting made the translucent wing glow), and then flew slow orbits around it all the way to touchdown.”
Northrop Grumman X–47B UCAS (Unmanned Combat Air System). At the unveiling ceremony, the photographer used a telephoto lens to capture this head-on view.
Inside aviation photography
