WTI 1-15

[Jeff D. Welker]

Thanks Scott for your kind words. I was hoping that was you in the Herc getting some great shots of the Hornets. On that leg of their refueling circuit, there was some nice storm clouds and the Gila Ridge in the background. With the late afternoon light, it could have been very nice.

When I have some texture or variation in the cloud layer, I can usually pull some detail from the background. Especially if the clouds are a mix of dark (primarily) with splotches of white. However, in some cases the cloud layer was solid with little if any texture or contrast. That has been a real challenge for me with several images - like the one below. What little creativity I have in my brainpan was quickly exhausted trying different techniques to mine even a smidgen of texture and contrast from a nearly solid grey/white background. It was very frustrating that the Prowler and background clouds wall was nearly the same color/hue. Any efforts I made to separate the two was not effective. After many failed attempts, I finally embraced the wall of grey/white and tried to create a stormy mood. I'm not sure how well I like this particular effort, but it is much better (IMO) than the RAW file.

NO VISIBLE HORIZON

[Matt Ottosen]

Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion
Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 (HMH-461) "Ironhorse"

[Jeff D. Welker]

^^^^^ Terrific photograph Matt. Much love for the CH-53's and you've shown this robust helo wonderfully. The low light and warm colors of sunset always make the HADR evolution of WTI a great photo-op and experience. I am looking forward to seeing the other great work from the AzAP members in attendance yesterday. I wish I could have joined you.

Another image from early Tuesday before the tropical depression really brought the soup. Sniper 00 going for the midfield break.

CLOUDPIERCER

[Matt Ottosen]

^^^^^ Terrific photograph Matt. Much love for the CH-53's and you've shown this robust helo wonderfully. The low light and warm colors of sunset always make the HADR evolution of WTI a great photo-op and experience. I am looking forward to seeing the other great work from the AzAP members in attendance yesterday. I wish I could have joined you.

Thank you, Jeff!

[Dave S.]

A new player to the game, a couple of UH-1Y Venoms came in to evacuate some 'civilian' personnel.  Was pretty early in the evolution, so not much in the way of that beautiful light that Jeff was referring to.

[Joe Copalman]

SUNDOWNERS AND SAINTS

Getting in on the F-5 love-fest.  Cool thing about this shot - the pilot is an augment from VFC-111, the jet is on loan from VFC-13, and the lead pilot in this two-ship was an Air Force F-15 pilot on an exchange tour with VMFT-401.  So it was a Marine adversary sortie with no Marines. 

[Jeff D. Welker]

A new player to the game, a couple of UH-1Y Venoms came in to evacuate some 'civilian' personnel.  Was pretty early in the evolution, so not much in the way of that beautiful light that Jeff was referring to.

Dave, the "cool" factor of the Venom makes up for the lack of glamor light. Knowing about this little wrinkle in participating platforms only increases my angst for not being there. Luckily, I can count on you guys posting the "next best thing to being there" images 

[Jeff D. Welker]

SUNDOWNERS AND SAINTS
Getting in on the F-5 love-fest.  Cool thing about this shot - the pilot is an augment from VFC-111, the jet is on loan from VFC-13, and the lead pilot in this two-ship was an Air Force F-15 pilot on an exchange tour with VMFT-401.  So it was a Marine adversary sortie with no Marines. 

While not as flamboyant as others, this is probably my favorite VMFT-401 color scheme. Cool info on the pilot Joe.

[Joe Copalman]

While not as flamboyant as others, this is probably my favorite VMFT-401 color scheme. Cool info on the pilot Joe.

This is kind of a photographer cop-out, but my favorite scheme depends on the light I'm shooting them in.  The way the brown camo ones (without the green) pop against the background during the golden hour is just gorgeous. 

[Dave S.]

SUNDOWNERS AND SAINTS
Getting in on the F-5 love-fest.  Cool thing about this shot - the pilot is an augment from VFC-111, the jet is on loan from VFC-13, and the lead pilot in this two-ship was an Air Force F-15 pilot on an exchange tour with VMFT-401.  So it was a Marine adversary sortie with no Marines. 

While not as flamboyant as others, this is probably my favorite VMFT-401 color scheme. Cool info on the pilot Joe.

Jeff, I'm quite digging your shot of '00'.  The diffused-just-enough light, accented with a nice bit of sun driven rim light, and the appearance of a wings-level attitude just makes this shot pop for me.

[Jay Beckman]

Subtle? Yeah, not so much....

[azspyder]

Very nice shot Jay!

[azspyder]

[Jay Beckman]

UH-1Y Venom from HMLA-269 "Gunrunners" during the VIP Extraction phase.
Don't know if they had the Wagner rolling, or if the pilot was just singing "Kill The Wabbit, Kill The Wabbit..."

[Jay Beckman]

Giant Grey Cuisinart...