P#25 Q1A: What Was Your First Experience in Flight Photography?
Joe McNally discusses his not-so-ideal first experience in flight photography
Getting started in flight photography is not always easy, and Joe McNally found that out the hard way. Here he explains how the physical aspect of shooting photographs in-flight isn't always sunshine and rainbows.
All the Wrong Reasons
Joe McNally: My first experience in flight photography was a memorable one, and for all the wrong reasons. I was covering the Air Force Thunderbirds, which is the aerobatic team for the US Air Force. They fly F-16s -- very high-powered machines. I was determined to fly with them.
Sports Illustrated was running a story about the athletic abilities and requirements of a fighter pilot. The physical demands on those pilots are tremendous. I was a contract photographer with Sports Illustrated at the time, so I went out and shot for the story.
I flew with a great guy named Burt Nelson. I'm still in touch with him. We still exchange Christmas cards. I got legendarily sick in the back of that F-16. It became the stuff that they spin stories about -- how bad it was, how awful it was, and how desperate things had become in the back seat of that F-16. I continued to work though.
That's one of the things you have to do as a photographer. I won't get particularly graphic about what I was needing to do in order to keep shooting. It was a film story, back in the '80s. It was a rough introduction to tactical aircraft, that's for sure.
In Closing
The job of a professional photographer isn't always glamorous. As Joe McNally explains, his first experience in flight photography wasn't ideal, but it was an experience to remember nonetheless.
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