Brood II - Periodical Cicadas

If there is an insect you can have fond memories about, mine would be the cicada.  I collected their shells every summer morning filling Folgers Coffee cans in my Parents garage.  I remember me and a childhood friend searching the trees for cicadas for hours.  I had a hard bound copy of Borrow & White's The Field Guide to the Insects, all black and white with color plates in the middle.  It had a picture a cicada but it was dark with orange wings and red eyes and that was not what we were finding in the trees in Tulsa.  At the time, I didn't realize they were a species only found in certain areas and mainly the east coast.

So Now that Brood II has arrived, I have found the bug I was searching for so many years ago.  And I think I am as fascinated with them now as I was back then.

These guys were shot in the wild just south of Ft. Belvoir, VA.  They encompass a couple of different trips to the same local.  I hope to return again in the evening to witness a nymph and the amazing transformation they go through.

I have also decided to collect a few specimens for some future studio photography.  They are still in the process of drying and I hope to shoot them soon.  But in the mean time I think I will visit these guys again.

Night Hawk - Touch and Goes

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to shoot touch and goes at the Naval Observatory in DC.  These are the choppers used to ferry the President.  While most people will associate them as Marine 1 and 2, those call signs only occur when the President or Vice President is actually occupying the chopper.  Their call signs were Night Hawk 5 and Night Hawk 6.

I arrived as Night Hawk 6 was finishing up their last round of touch and goes.  The Sikorsky UH-60 was what I had envisioned I would be shooting, as I see them flying all over the DC area all the time.

But Night Hawk 6 was a Sikorsky VH-3D Sea king.

I have had an affinity towards flight since I was young.  My Brother is the pilot but I think I'm more caught up in the romance and the fantasy of flying and especially its visual impact.  This was certainly the closest I have been to helicopters taking off and landing.  At one point on its approach I was directly under Night Wing 5 balancing precariously on a knee when its down wash blew me on my backside.  I kept shooting but I couldn't help but wonder if the pilots were laughing.

And while I never had the opportunity to meet the pilots, they were kind enough to maneuver and hover the chopper so I could get some decent shots.  Have to say a big thank you to my buddy/Neighbor Thom for setting this up.  In fact it was his idea to begin with!