Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the Moon

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On a fine summer afternoon in 1998, I was at the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Virginia, taking pictures of the open-cockpit biplanes doing their aerial maneuvers. By late afternoon, a lovely full moon had appeared. I asked pilot Wayne Deer if, on his way back to the airport where he keeps his Stearman PT-17, he could make a few banked passes over the field in line with that big full moon. He made two or three passes, allowing me to frame his airplane and the moon. I appreciated his courtesy and waved what I intended as a "Thank you!"

To my good fortune, he misinterpreted my signal as a request for another pass. This time, he put that airplane right under that full moon!

The original photograph was taken on Ektachrome slide film with a
Canon EOS-1 using an Image-Stabilized 75-300 mm lens with a
2X tele-extender for an effective focal length of roughly 600 mm.

This image is available as a custom printed Photo Note Card and in matted and framed gallery prints.


©Steve Ember

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