First, let me say that it was an honor to be selected to attend the
photo call at NAF El Centro. The officers and sailors were very cordial
and welcomed us warmly. What a great group of men and women!
Special thanks go out to Public Affairs Officer, Kristopher Haugh and
Executive Officer, Commander Adam Schlismann.
As a first-time participant in a photo call, and a new ISAP member,
I didn’t really know what to expect. I had read previous ISnAP
articles, but that in no way prepared me for the experience. This really
is an ‘up-close-and-personal’ experience.
The event started on Wednesday with an all-day meeting with ISAP
President Larry Grace. We got to know each other and shared some of
our old aviation images with the group and had an interesting critique
session. I know each of us learned from this. Larry had some great tips
for each of us.
After lunch, we took a field trip to the base, where Larry’s familiarity
with the facility really paid off. We shot some Canadian CT-155 Hawks,
Navy helicopters, and T-45 Goshawks as they set up for landing.
Then we then moved to the end of runway 30, where we were not on
the base, but we only a few hundred feet from the threshold, where we
got some great shots of the Blue Angels as they approached directly
over us.
Larry then noticed an Osprey approaching Imperial County airport,
so we jumped into the van and headed over to Imperial. (Thank you,
Michael, for shuttling us around!) Once again, Larry’s experience took
us to the perfect spot to grab some shots.
Thursday morning started with an early trip back to the locations
off-base where we had front-row seats to the Blue Angels’ morning
practice. Then, on to the main event. Once on base, we were introduced
to the XO and PAO, given a safety briefing and had the chance to eat
and take a bathroom break before heading out to the field.We were then treated to a personal, show-center, Blue Angels
demonstration. You will never have a better view of this unless you’re
in a cockpit. What a thrill!Then, we relocated to the approach end of runway 26. The flight
activity was sporadic, giving us time to chat with fellow photographers
and move to different vantage points. There were the same aircraft we
had seen the prior day, but this time we were much closer. This was
a great chance to get some close-up shots of the pilots and details of
the aircraft.The windsock was fully horizontal the whole day. Sustained winds were
probably in the 20-knot range – gusting to about a million! This made
for some interesting approaches as the aircraft crabbed into the wind,
followed by touchdown of one wheel at a time.As the sun got low and the clouds started glowing, four beautiful
F/A-18s taxied up to us and seemed to be posing. Then, one by one,
they treated us to afterburner take-offs into the setting sun. All in a
day’s work for these pilots. The thrill of a lifetime for the photographers.
Thank you NAF El Centro.