Collings Foundation WWII Planes

Janet and I drove out to Hooks Airfield again today to photograph the Collings Foundation planes. I say again because we drove out day before yesterday when they were supposed to arrive but because of the weather they were delayed for a day.

I was in hopes of getting some photographs in the rain.

Last year when the Lone Star Flight Museum planes where at Hooks, Jerry Krumpp shot some great photographs very early in the morning in the fog. They had great atmosphere and I was hoping for the same this morning.

Dawn was at 7:07am and sunrise at 7:31am. I wanted to be there before dawn so we got up at 3:45am and arrived at Hooks about 6:45am. It was heavy overcast and no sign of fog. Larry Belt arrived a little before seven and I went out to photograph with him. There were some flood lights on the B17 so we concentrated mostly on it for the first shots. Later I shot a few of the B24 but truthfully, I was so disappointed that there was on atmospheric conditions to aid the photos that I didn't get very inspired. I had spent a great deal of time last year photographing the planes from the Lone Start Flight Museum that I had a pretty good collection of shots of the planes and what I was doing this morning was mostly redoing last years shots.

I tried to take advantage of the low light and the flood lights to give the pictures a little difference but the lack of rain or fog was still disappointing. I had hoped for a WWII airfield atmosphere.

I did post process these three images but I wouldn't call any of them a keeper. But it was good to get out early so it wasn't a wasted trip. Of course, I could hardly hold my eyes open coming back in on I45.

An example of a photographer snapping into reality his own flat little world with a wave of the magic clone tool.