Professional Aviation Photographer Based In Dayton Ohio

The number one destination for my 2023 Los Angeles trip was Clutter’s Park, just south of LAX Los Angeles International Airport. This park was made famous in my world by the crazy brother at the L.A. Flights YouTube channel. Josh and Peter plane spot LAX from this park several days a week, and being an aviation photographer, I had to see it for myself.

In October 2023 I spent 30 minutes at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California. My sole goal for this part of the trip was to photograph NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour. I thought this would be an easy in-and-out stop on my tour or L.A., but I was mistaken.

In July 2023 many of my worlds collided with a once-in-a-lifetime senior photo session behind the scenes after the close of the CenterPointe Dayton Air Show. I was contacted by a friend-of-a-friend to photograph his son, a senior at Bellbrook High School just south of Dayton Ohio. We discussed the upcoming senior session and how it would take place at the air show. I didn’t really understand how we’d get access to do this, but I trusted his judgement.

On July 4, 2023 I was honored to be a special events photographer at the National Museum Of The United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.  Three historic WWII-era aircraft were flying in to historic Wright Field for a two day event provided by the Commemorative Air Force.  One of the last two flying B-29  Superfortress, Fifi (based in Dallas Texas), B-24 Liberator Diamond Lil, and a T-6 Texan, WWII trainer all flew in on a foggy Tuesday morning.  A few times per year I get special access to photograph airplane arrivals from the flightline inside the gates of the museum.

In December 2022, I was privileged to join several other fellow aviation photographers at the National Museum Of The United States Air Force in the parking lot at 6 am. We were there for a pre-open photo meetup, to start at 7 am. Once the museum staff unlocked the door at 7, we gathered in the gift shop to hear policies for the next two hours.

The Museum of Flight in Seattle Washington next to Boeing Field is a great small aviation museum that has amazing views of the airplanes at Boeing Field. I only had less than an hour to photograph this Seattle museum as I took a bus to and from the museum. I ran through the museum photographing as many historic aircraft as possible. I took my time to walk through the Concorde, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and a Boeing 747. It is a dream of mine to fly on a 747 and a 787, but a walk-through was delightful. If you have a few hours free on your Pacific Northwest vacation and you love aviation, make the Museum of Flight a stop on your trip.

Every year I purchase a photo pass for the Dayton Air Show. This allows entry into the Air Show grounds 2 hours before the general public. This year, I added on a photo pit pass which provides flight line seats and a tent for shade. The photo pass was worth every penny, and the weather couldn’t have been any better. Below are photos of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team. These magnificent F-18 Super Hornets are awe-inspiring.

Every year I purchase a photo pass for the Dayton Air Show. This allows entry into the Air Show grounds 2 hours before the general public. This year, I added on a photo pit pass which provides flight line seats and a tent for shade. The photo pass was worth every penny, and the weather couldn’t have been any better. Below are photos of the awesome and powerful F-15 fighter jet.

On my second trip to Tucson, Arizona, I spent two hours at the Tucson airport watching the direction of planes taking off. Combing that with my knowledge of Tucson geography, I was able to get a window seat on the left side of the plane. Shortly after takeoff, I spent 3 minutes photographing the world’s largest airplane boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base from the air. Aerial views of the airplane boneyard in Tucson are even more amazing than I had expected! See some of my favorite aerial images of the Tucson aircraft boneyard.

In June 2022 I was honored to photograph the Spirit of Benovia (Tail #N8336C), “Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber (Tail #N47SJ), and “121” (Tail #N18121) at the National Museum Of The United States Air Force in Dayton Ohio. This was a beautiful summer day that featured several flyovers and a landing on the east/west runway at the Air Force Museum. As a bonus, I was able to photograph inside one of these vintage aircraft.