I’ve been trying for quite some time now, but I have yet to capture 1st Place in the AVWeb’s Picture of the Week. I know, it’s a relatively small detail, but as an experimental plane pilot and an avid photographer, I wouldn’t mind a 1st place finish on one of these submissions!
Below is an ongoing list of the ones that made the Picture of the Week Gallery, but didn’t get a win. Photographers get to suggest a caption, but they’re not always used. So, below, there are a few submissions that had the Caption changed from what I would have wanted it to be, but :
15 SEP 2011: “Sunset Over Palomar” – For some reason, my Skycatcher makes hopping in and taking off to catch stunning sunsets like these so within reach. KCRQ is somewhere underneath the marine layer that’s slinking in as I revel from 5,500 feet. This photo is straight from my iPhone 4, shooting in HDR mode, with PhotoWizard to sharpen it.
22 AUG 2012: “Chicago Skyline in Summer” – No retouching and an extremely unusually clear day in Chicago.
29 AUG 2012: “Feeling Like a Kid in a Cockpit” – Taken near Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California. This is of my friend Dave Derby and his meticulously restored Stearman. Nothing like an open cockpit on a chilly morning to get one’s blood pumping.
29 AUG 2012: “Key to the City” – Air-to-air photo shoot of my friend Keith Cleversly’s newly completed and beautifully painted Glasair Sportsman 2+2 over downtown San Diego. (This was submitted by my pilot-friend Todd Bohlman.)
12 SEP 2012: “Sunset Silhouette” – My friend Keith Cleversley took this shot as we were flying formation at sunset over southern California. (This was submitted by my pilot-friend George Kovacevich.)
03 OCT 2012: “Low Sun Coloring” – Keith Cleversley took this shot while formation flying over Southern California at sunset.
10 OCT 2012: “Magical Moment” – Keith Cleversley took this on a sunset formation flight.
09 JAN 2013: “NASA’s Super Guppy at Sunset” – Taken on an iPhone 5 at El Paso International thanks to a kind soul who got us up close.
11 APR 2014: “Wide Angle on 27R at KSEE” – This is actually a still taken from my NFlightCam shooting video while attached to the wing of my homebuilt Sportsman 2+2.
As I look at these, I realize there’s somewhat of a pattern. I am close to obsessed with the indescribable variety of sunsets out my back door here in Encinitas, CA. From the deepest oranges and fiery reds, to Periwinkle, as well as the most intense blues and pinks contrasting against each other; I feel as though I’m seeing Mother Nature at her most spectacular at the end of each day. It reminds me of all that matters most, and has been one of the most helpful therapeutic techniques I’ve ever known.
Here are a couple of my recent (as of this writing) sunset favorites:
