DOYEN REIGN • ARIZONA
45 Artist Proof • 495 Limited Edition
I have spent years researching many of the country’s classic World War II planes. Jumping at every opportunity to shoot one when given the chance. As long as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated with flight, even going to airshows with my family as a kid.
This capture approached dreamlike fiction to actually be granted camera access to this eerie “Boneyard,” encircling thousands of vintage aircraft, making it, unlike any other place on earth!
I arrived before sunrise and waited outside patiently, till I was permitted to enter. Being surrounded by hundreds of aircraft, I quickly began to search for the right one, spot, and everything, as I knew this opportunity could change at any moment.
It was getting later in the afternoon, and I starting to get worried that I hadn’t yet found my shot. I knew time was slipping away. The sky was darkening due to an approaching storm. It was monsoon season so the weather could change without notice.
All of a sudden, there it was! Sitting all by itself in the far distance near the end of the property, waiting there as if the engines were roaring, ready for me to jump in, and take off in this beautiful, classic, aluminum Twin Beech.
I started shooting at every possible angle. When I heard the first thundercrack, it was still far away but I knew my chance to capture this moment was about to disappear with the approaching storm getting closer and closer.
Now, shooting like a madman, I could feel the storm’s static electricity in the air. I shot one long exposure to capture the dramatic moving clouds, and in that exact timeframe, I also captured a series of lightning touchdowns.
Feeling every strike hitting the desert floor, it was almost as if this Twin Beech was being resurrected by Thor himself as if to say, ‘Let’s see what you can do for old-time sake!’
As I exited the yard, a military soldier looked at me and said, ‘You were still out there in that?’
I looked at him, laughed, and replied, ‘Whatever it takes to get the shot!’
He probably thought I was crazy.
Everything about this image – the sky, the powerful storm, and this classic vintage airplane takes me right back to that special moment when I clicked that shutter…a memory that will stay with me forever.
CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE MORE DETAIL.
