Thursday Challenge Interviews...

What is the strangest, funniest, most interesting or dangerous experience you have had while photographing?

The most interesting experience, which was also the most dangerous (although I did realize it at the time), was taking pictures on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Midway.

This leads into your request that I show a couple of photographs that I like or that are special to me... This is a photo of No. 3 Wire and was the last in a sequence of EA-3B landing shots I took using the motor drive on my old Canon from the catwalk of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Midway. Being 20 feet away from a 35-ton steel monster as it is yanked to a halt from 135mph in 50 yards is an exciting thing. I didn't know how lucky I was until I was on a different ship and all photography during flight ops was restricted to the small area on top of the island called the crow's nest.

What do you enjoy most about photography?

Seeing something on my monitor that pleases me when I view the captured image for the first time.

What do you enjoy least about photography?

That whole troublesome getting the exposure right thing. Oh, if they only made sensors/processors as powerful as the human eye/brain.

Name a favorite movie or book. Tell us a bit about it.

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle, one the first Sci-Fi books that I ever read. They made an OK movie out of it the first time and a so-so one the second time, but if I had never read the book, either probably would have been great.

What is your favorite food or drink?

Pizza, all pizzas, even those frozen French bread bastardizations.

If you had unlimited time, money and freedom, what would you do?

See the USA in a Mazda. Donna and I would pack (besides clothes, a laptop and a digicam would be musts) the Miata and drive around seeing the sights via roads of no more than 2 lanes.

Let's conclude with another of your photographs that you have taken that you like or that you find special.

I find the sky fascinating. If I'm ever at a loss for inspiration for a photograph (or just plain old inspiration) I just have to look up. Sunsets and sunrises with all their resplendent colors are nice, but most of the time are a bit overpowering, I prefer early to mid-morning. Of course midday can be great too with the bright blues and fluffy white clouds. Wait here, I'm going to step outside for a moment...