Missouri: Whiteman Air Force Base

Rose and I have, at long last, kicked off our week long anniversary trip across the mid-west. For our first stop we spent the weekend with some good friends and 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base east of Kansas City.

One of the special privileges I got to enjoy while getting to hang out with America's finest, was to go behind the scenes to photograph a supermodel - the stunning B-2 Spirit, Stealth Bomber.

Developed as a cornerstone of our nuclear arsenal during the cold war, the Spirit can slip past enemy radar to deliver its lethal payload with pinpoint accuracy. If you talk to the folks in the squadron they will tell you that their first mission is deterrence. But when the bad guys don't cooperate then the B-2's deliver "Warheads on Foreheads, at the time and place of our choosing."

Here's a teaser shot of the "Spirit of Pennsylvania as she (these planes aren't just machines, they are family members to the crews of the 509th) taxis down the runway for a sortie.

More to come.

UVA Alumni Magazine

Just wanted to post a short welcome to fellow alumni from my alma mater who have emailed and/or are stopping by after seeing my short column in this quarter's UVA Alumni Magazine on the basics of "making people look good in photos". One of the editors approached me back in the early summer to contribute to the regular feature "How To: Helpful Advice from Alumni Experts" and I was honored to participate.  

For any potential clients who happen to be Virginia Tech Hokies, please don't hold it against us when making your decision. :-)

If you didn't see the article, and want to, you can check out the digital version of the article in the UVA Alumni Magazine.

Thanks again for stopping by, and GO WAHOOS!

World War II Shoot - Fundraiser

Back in June, you'll remember we had the opportunity to head down to Virginia Beach and the Military Aviation Museum for a fun World War II themed photo shoot. We were pleased with the resulting shot from the day and we've decided to turn our efforts into a way to benefit a fallen hero and his family.

Nikon D3, 24-70mm (at 32mm)  f/9.0, 1/320s, ISO 100, Post: Photoshop CS5, onOne Plug-In Suite 5

Our model, Sarah Galler, felt a special meaning for what we tried to capture in our photographs that morning while we were out on the runway. She understood first hand what it means to sacrifice for our nation. 

Back in February, Sarah's cousin, Lance Cpl. Noah Pier, was killed in action while serving in an ongoing combat offensive in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Sarah and Noah were close and while working on this project, I couldn't help but feel a desire to help this family in some way.

I pulled Sarah aside one afternoon and ran the idea of selling a limited edition print of the shot to the general public and donating the profits from the fundraiser to a charity of the family's choice. I thought I understood the depth of the story, I had only scratched the surface.

Noah has a little brother, Luke, who back in 2007 was diagnosed with a bulging dilated aortic root. It a life-threatening heart condition that the family, with God's strength and the support of their family and friends, has been successfully managing. With the hope of helping Luke, and others like him, the family formed the Luke Pier Foundation back in 2007. These folks are the kind of people that have made this country worth fighting for - I'm sure Noah agrees. 

Here's their mission statement:

The Luke Pier Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to provide funding for life-saving scientific research focusing on, but not limited to, connective tissue disorders.  We are also committed to help provide funding and encouragement to individuals for medical treatment they may not otherwise receive due to limited resources or lack of health insurance.

Now back to Luke's older brother, Noah. Noah had already served one tour of duty in Iraq, when he was given orders to head to Afghanistan the end of last year. From what the family has shared with me, Noah felt his mission was just and that he was fighting for our freedom, but at the same time recognized there was always a risk. With that in mind, before he left, he asked that if anything were to happen to him, that donations be made to his little brother's charity. I'm planning on doing just that.

To that end, we're going to be offering a limited edition run of 100 prints of "A Salute for the Boys" our World War II inspired photo. Each print is 16x20, in a black wood frame, and comes with a numbered certificate showing which number it is in the series as well as the signatures of the entire crew who worked on the project. The prints will be on sale for $149, with the profits going to the Luke Pier Foundation.

They are available for purchase at our gallery site, right here.

If you'd like to donate, but don't want to buy the print, you can do so by visiting their donation site directly.

Thank you in advance for your support and helping us raise some money for a great cause. I also ask that you keep this family and all of our military in your prayers - we owe them all a debt that is too great to comprehend, but that they have never asked us to repay. Thanks, and God Bless.

Breaking News: Photo Walk T-Shirt Bonus for SOH

This weekend only (though June 27th at midnight EDT) Towner Jones Photography will be donating an additional $10 per item purchased from the Official Worldwide Photo Walk Apparel Store to the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya. Please take advantage of this opportunity to grab a great piece of WWPW swag, and help the kids!!

World War II Model Shoot - Part 1

A few months ago, we started scheming with our hair-stylist/make-up artist buddy, Allison Phillips, about what we could do with our good friend and neighbor, Sarah. You see, after having done family portrait shoot with Sarah, we immediately recognized how well she did in front of the camera and knew that we had to photograph her in some special project.

Fast forward a little bit. While getting my haircut (one of the fantastic benefits of having a friend who's a talented hairstylist!) Allison and I decided that Sarah had the perfect look to be costumed as a 1940's bombshell and serve as the model for a World War II themed shoot.

We called Sarah over and informed her of our decision - she gratiously accepted our offer.

The original plan was to shoot her in the studio, and then using post processing add in some background consistent with the era. We were thinking that our final product would be a photo along the lines of the old "Buy War Bonds!" or "Let's Do It For the Boys" shots we've all seen in the history books.

However, for those of you that know me, I'm never ok with leaving well enough alone. Since it's not often enough that we get to do photo shoots purely for fun, I decided that I'd start making some phone calls and see if we could take this to the next level.

A phone call to David Hunt, Director of the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA supplied us with everything we could have dreamed to take the shoot to the "next level" - namely a fully restored P-51 Mustang fighter plane. Mr. Hunt not only agreed to let us take pictures with her, but gratiously agreed to have his staff move the plane out to the center of the museum's runway for our shoot. Things were now really starting to come together.

Moving outdoors away from the comfort and control of the studio, and realizing that the complexity of the shoot was growing quickly, I shot off an email to my buddy and fellow photographer, Chris Breedlove. Chris and his wive, Kristen, agreed to meet us in Virginia Beach and serve as assistants.

We're going to spend a few days this week on the blog taking about all the details of this shoot - I hope you'll come back to visit to hear the rest of the story but as for the shot...

Without further ado, after hours of prep, costume selection, hair and makeup design, lighting design, set management and setup, here's our shot of the day. Nice work and thank you, team Towner Jones Photography!

Nikon D3, 24-70mm (at 32mm)  f/9.0, 1/320s, ISO 100, Post: Photoshop CS5, onOne Plug-In Suite 5

And here's one of the crew, thanks Kristen for taking the shot!

Nikon D3, 24-70mm (at 35mm)  f/7.1, 1/500s, ISO 100, Post: Photoshop CS5