Asking a Really big favor from anyone that might be interested...

I am an amateur/hobbiest aspiring photographer that has attended the EAA in Oshkosh since 1974. I have been flying since I was 16 years old and have been around long enough to know a few of the "do's and don'ts. I have always been a big Warbird fan and even volunteered to work the fuel truck back in the old days. I would like to ask permission to photograph a few Warbird aircraft ealy in the morning during the week at EAA (about two hours). Yes, I don't touch without asking and hopefully having the owner present. I anticipate using two of my favorite things in the shoot, beautiful aircraft and beautiful girls. I would like to get some "wing and cockpit" photos with the model if possible. The photos are not sold and I do not get paid or make any money on this venture. The model gets free admission from me in trade for her time. As the owner/pilot, you would receive edited photo(s) of the model with your aircraft emailed to you after the show. Any interest would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks, Mike.

I just have a lowly O-2A (with 14 bullet-hole patches) but I plan on being there all week, and I usually am on the line myself shortly about dawn, gawking at the other airplanes in that beautiful light and pre-crowd peace. So, if that interests you, I will be there.

Chris Mayer
N424AF
www.o2cricket.com

Thank you for the offer. No such thing as a lowly warbird. I will be in touch as things get closer and become more finalized. Very much appreciated. Mike

You might want to ask EAA first. I was wandering around outside in the "public" area outside the fenced off warbirds area taking night shots of Rudy Frasca's Spitfire and was chased away by some "warbirds security" folks in a golf cart. I guess the warbirds see a lot of vandalism from people who stealthily flash camera strobes in the night. I was told I couldn't be there even though it wasn't fenced off and there were no signs. This was some time ago so things may have changed, but seldom do they change for the better in my experience.

Yes Zack, I'm still complaining about this... ;)

Thanks for the info...

Plan to shoot in daylight with grounds open and owner/pilot present. Should hopefully prevent any security problems. Request was posted in EAA email newsletter this month without comment. Thanks Mike

I have been fortunate to have received some offers from gracious warbird owners, but now as EAA gets closer, I would like to request again, permission to shoot (photograph) warbirds with models early in the morning on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank you in advance. Mike

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Originally Posted by avinuts

I have been fortunate to have received some offers from gracious warbird owners, but now as EAA gets closer, I would like to request again, permission to shoot (photograph) warbirds with models early in the morning on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank you in advance. Mike

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I am an air show air boss, and your posts reminded my of an incident that occurred at one of my shows:

We had a photographer make a request similar to yours, but he didn't mention the models. With permission granted (there was actually an official "dawn patrol" photo op offered by show organizers), he was allowed onto the hot ramp in the early morning, and started shooting photos. Some of those photos included shots of a nude or nearly nude young woman posing on and around the West Coast Viper Team F-16, and in those shots all sorts of identifying information about the aircraft unit and crew could be seen-- including the pilot's name painted beneath the canopy.

Someone with authority (airport manager?) came onto the airport as this was happening, and the next thing you know there's a meeting going on involving the photographer, the airport manager, the air show director, the pilot and crew chief of the F-16, airport security-- and, on conference call, an Air Force general. It became a HUGE brouhaha, with the Air Force threatening to pull the Viper team from the show, the photographer and the model threatened with violation of various state and federal statutes, etc. The pilot and crew chief were particularly upset, they believed that any publication of the photos, anywhere, would be career enders for them.

It was eventually resolved when the photographer agreed to surrender the memory card containing the photos, which was destroyed. If he uploaded them to the cloud or had other backups, he must have been sufficiently intimidated, because the pics have never turned up anywhere that I'm aware of.

So, if permission is granted for you to take such photos at Airventure, the Thunderbirds and other military airplanes may be a tempting target-- but if you'd like to avoid a similar confrontation, I'd stick with civilian-owned warbirds.

Thanks for the advice. This and all input from those with previous experiences are sincerely apppreciated. It is unfortunate that at a great event like this, most of the help received was/is in the form of negative information. There seems to be a lot more information out there as to why I can't/shouldn't do this rather than providing a "controlled" situation where it can happen. The Thunderbirds will be parked by Basler when they are there, which will be the last weekend of the show. Most "military" aircraft when on static display are located at Conoco Plaza. The Warbirds area is for those aircraft that may be privately owned or provided by some organization. My original request was mearly for "permission" from owners to shoot thier aircraft early to mid week. There is no nudity involved. This is a family oriented venue and believe me, I do respect that along with someones aircraft. You will probably be less likely to see me shooting my photos, than the thousands of other amateur photogrphers that week taking pictures of thier wives and girlfriends without any "controls". I don't sell the photos, make calendars or profit from them in any way. Perhaps you are right, maybe it's just not worth trying to do it the right way....

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Originally Posted by avinuts

The Thunderbirds will be parked by Basler when they are there, which will be the last weekend of the show.

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Will they? They show manual would seem to suggest they will be parked at show center.