"Storm Clouds"

Hello again.  I took this photo over 3 years ago and it only recently came to mind to post it on my blog.  Considering this is the single most important image I have ever taken in my life, that is saying a lot.  So, here's the rest of the story... 

It was June of 2022 and the day of the photo shoot was cloudy and overcast.  Frankly, I was disappointed about that.  I was looking for some warmer, sunnier weather.  For my air show photo shoots I prefer scattered clouds as a nice backdrop to my photos.  The clouds are interesting and add depth to the scene and any aircraft airborne doesn't look like it's hanging by a thread in front of a solid blue canvas.  Plus, it is undeniable that sun filled photos just look, well warmer and more inviting.  Since I had gotten to the airport early I thought what the heck, might as well start taking photos.  I was a credentialed photographer for the Moses Lake Air Show held at Grant County International Airport, WA.  The aircraft shown, a US Navy EA-18G "Growler" based out of Whidby Island was parked on the ramp near the airport terminal and there was nobody around.  'Click', I take the photo and a few more and move on.  No, "ah-ha" moment, no "man, that shot is money".  I spent the rest of the day at the airshow taking over a thousand photos (oh, and the sun did come out later).  After every photo shoot I'm excited to see what I have and start "culling the herd" to select my best photos.  Then the editing starts.  A friend had mentioned that black and white images were recently gaining more popularity so I said to myself, why not.  The monochrome tones really brought out the solid overcast clouds which seemed to roll on forever to the horizon.  No special effects, no editing treatments adding fake clouds.  That's when I knew there was something special about the finished image.   

It had been a few years since I had entered an aviation photo contest and I thought, what have I got to lose.  I entered it into the 2022 Aviation Week Photo Contest with low expectations. This is the grand daddy of them all. For context, the Aviation Week magazine was first published in August 1916 under the name Aviation and Aeronautical Engineering.  Since then it has been in continuous publication for 109 years and is considered THE preeminent aviation industry journal.  The photo contest has been called the top global aerospace competition. Categories include commercial, defense, general aviation and space.  Top aviation photographers from all over the world submit photographs for this prestigious contest. That year more than 600 photos were submitted to the contest from 181 photographers in 24 countries, representing five continents.   My photo titled, "Storm Clouds",  won the grand prize for 'Best of the Best' across all categories that year.   It was surreal.  It felt like winning an Academy Award or the Pulitzer Prize.  The contest itself has only existed for thirty years.   To think I am one of only thirty people on the planet to have won that contest is giddy to say the least.  Now, I don't mind cloudy, overcast skies so much at an air show. Who knows, I just might find another needle in a haystack.