October 2015

Our judges: Steve Burke, Tom Hedlund, Mike Murawski, Eric Rosen, and Ivan Voukadinov

October’s Fence Check Photos of the Month are:
- At top Vance Walton’s MV-22 Osprey – it only looks like B&W! [Forum Link]

- Next, a set of clean and sharp fast movers (although not always moving fast): Glenn Bloore’s F/A-18E [Forum Link], Steve Valinski’s head-on F-35B [Forum Link], Ross Forsyth’s head-on Supermarine Seafire [Forum Link], and Andrzej Rogucki’s Polish Air Force MiG-29 [Forum Link]

- Four in a row from Kedar Kamakar: a Marine F/A-18D at the MCAS Miramar airshow [Forum Link] and a trio of colorful heavies from the California International Airshow [Forum Link]

September 2015

Our judges: Joe Copalman, David Franks, Tom Hedlund, Duane Kuhlow, and Keith Snyder

September’s Fence Check Photos of the Month are:
- Kicking it off at bottom right, a P-2 fire bomber at full power from Jim Mumaw. [Forum Link]

- Another from Jim, of Thunderbird 5 sneaking past an airshow crowd. [Forum Link]

- Sean D Tucker as seen and captured by Ken Koller. [Forum Link]

- Steve Serdikoff’s vapor-laden shot of VFA-106’s Super Hornet demo. [Forum Link]

- An A-10 photos pass from ... Jim Mumaw. [Forum Link]

- Nick Thomas’s night shot of a Marine EA-6B. [Forum Link]

- A NATO E-3A approaching the tanker and Marco de Groot’s lens [Forum Link]

- A NASA Super Guppy approach by Dan Stijovich [Forum Link]

- Kedar Kamarkar’s air-to-air of an Me.262 and it’s enemy-turned-wingman [Forum Link]

- Ken Middleton’s frame-filling C-5 touchdown[Forum Link]

- And lastly, one more Jim Mumaw image: Virgin Galactic’s VMS mothership, [Forum Link]

We also admired one B-17 shot from Andrew Huxman that [you’ll have to check out the threads to see].

Thanks to everyone who nominated photos in September. Please keep it up!

August 2015

Our judges: Zane Adams, Mark Haupt, Tom Hedlund, Duane Kuhlow, and Eric Rosen.

Fence Check’s August Photos of the Month, the favorite images of forum members and our judges alike, are:
- Starting at bottom left, Kevin Joyce’s shot of an F6F Hellcat at sunset [Forum Link]

- Next, and back at the top, a row of rotor photos, starting with an HMX-1 MV-22 from Jonathan Derden [Forum Link]

- Two CalFire B205 images from Mike Murawski [Forum Link]

- Antonio More’s UH-60s in triplicate [Forum Link]

- Chris Robert’s lightning-lit C-123 Provider [Forum Link]

- And a QF-4E sunset takeoff from Dariusz Jezewski [Forum Link]

July 2015

Our judges: Tom Hedlund, Chris Roberts, Eric Rosen, Keith Snyder, and Ivan Voukadinov

Fence Check’s Photos of the Month for July are:

- EA-6B Prowler from Jim Mumaw [Forum Link]

- QF-4 Phantom at sunset by Dariusz Jezewski [Forum Link]

- A smokin’ Czech Mi-24 by Bozzathemog(!)[Forum Link]

- Two DHC-2s on skis, captured by Jonathan Derden [Forum Link]

- Spitfire takeoff, from Liza Eckardt [Forum Link]

- CF-18 Hornet departure break by Joseph Ahmad [Forum Link]

- T-38 hose-down by Bill Fauth [Forum Link]

- MH-60S SAR helo by Mark Munzel [Forum Link]

- A 747 freighter dwarfed by the Alaska sky, by Ken Koller [Forum Link]

June 2015

Our judges: Zane Adams, Tom Hedlund, Mark Houpt, Mike Murawski and Eric Rosen

Starting from the top, here are June’s Fence Check Photos of the Month, with some words from our members and judges on why these images were chosen:

- Jonathan Derden’s P-51 Mustang: "My favorite! Perfect exposure and composition. Everything you want is in this shot." [Forum Link]

- Antonio More’s pair of CASA HC-144s. "Love the dark clouds in the background with nice light on the subject. The water on the ground with the planes tied down shows a calm and state of readiness in case the weather gets worse and these guys are needed." [Forum Link]

- Chris Parypa’s F-22A Raptor: "A now common vapor / Raptor shot - but it is still cool and sharp." [Forum Link]

- Ray Rivard’s look at a departing Royal Air Force Chinook: "Great light and action...cool!" [Forum Link]

- Marco De Groot’s view of a gaggle of Dutch F-16AMs: "This takes me back to the ‘Cold War’ days when Norwegian and Dutch F-16's were intercepting Soviet birds over the North Sea. These guys seem to be up to that challenge." [Forum Link]

- Bruce Smith’s Arizona ANG F-16 recovering at Nellis AFB: "Interesting frame, I like the action with the 15's in the background." [Forum Link]

- John Willhoff’s last look at one of the USAF’s last QF-4s: "Unique. Compelling. Creative. Thought provoking. Bittersweet: great photo, but probably a pharewell tour. Great lighting. I have a bias for good night shots." [Forum Link]

- Mike Murawski’s P2V Neptune: "I like the desert backdrop. These guys are hard workers and it shows with the red retardant on the belly bay." [Forum Link]

- Rodney Bastow capture of a pair of Marine Helos arriving in Amarillo, TX: "Nice mix of light and shadow." [Forum Link]

- Ken Middleton’s CF-18 Hornet: "Beautiful jet captured at that perfect moment which exudes speed, power, and grace." [Forum Link]

- And Chris Parypa’s take on the Blue Angels. "A nice close up of the two captured at the perfect moment - with vapor! [Forum Link]

June’s POTMs are dedicated to the late Mike "The Vols Fan" Webb, who in addition to being a lively forum participant was quick to nominate photos he enjoyed from other members. Fence Check will not be quite the same without him.

May 2015

Our judges: Duane Kuhlow, Matthew Rigdon, Mark Houpt, Steve Burke, and Eric Rosen

Be careful not to step on any broken molds! Lots of Fence Check members posted images different from the norm last month, and the judges responded favorably. May’s Photos of the Month, together with comments from the judges and the people who nominated them, are:

- Below, we start with Dan Stijovich’s capture of Ace Maker II sneaking up on the crowd at the Chino Airshow. [Forum Link]

- Two holiday snaps from Steve Serdikoff, as he continues his road trip with Rob Holland’s support team. The second in particular drew the judges’ attention: "I can feel the wind whipping by." "This shot makes you sense every foot between that plane and the ground." "Since when can you just reach out and touch the wing of an aircraft in flight above the cloud deck?" [Forum Link] [Forum Link]

- Liza Eckardt’s panning shot of Jerry Yagen’s P-40 "An iconic nose with a perfectly blurred background. I can feel that prop pulling that plane through the air." [Forum Link]

- Steve Burke’s black and white treatment of a C-5 at work. "It has remarkable detail and is also an artistic photo of a kind that I have not seen." [Forum Link]

- Mark Carlisle’s photo of a PBY resting before the Arsenal of Democracy flyover in Washington, DC. "Not the usual profile photo, instead using the light and the odd angles of the plane." "It looks like he's turned the aircraft into a studio subject, not a massive warbird on an airport ramp." [Forum Link]

- Two images contrasting aircraft with enormity: a C-17 framed by a midwest thunderstorm by Jeff Stoermer ("One of man's great machines is dwarfed by Nature's power and beauty. Hard to think of two cooler subjects."), and Bill Fauth’s twilight capture of a QRF-4C awaiting its final launch on Tyndall AFB’s Death Row ("Such a masterful use of light. I want to run out and try to reproduce this shot, just to see if I can do it."). [Forum Link] [Forum Link]

- And finally, Jon Houghtaling’s view of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Snowbirds during a visit to Winston-Salem, NC. "An excellent shot that provides a unique perspective and a creative (and unusual) angle." [Forum Link]

April 2015

Our judges: David Franks, Mark Houpt, Chris Roberts, and Ivan Voukadinov

This month’s Photos of the Month, and some of the reasons why the judges and voting public liked them, are:

- First, a Westland Apache at low level in Wales, from Lloyd Horgan. "No explanation needed. Fantastic shot." [Forum Link] (It's at bottom right. We had to move it once its turn atop the article was done.)

- At top left below, one of the USAF’s last F-15C Aggressors at night, from Isaac Lebowitz. "Maybe it's just me, but this is a wonderful photograph. I love it." [Forum Link]

- Another night shot, this time an MV-22B by Antonio More, "For the awesome night effects." [Forum Link]

- Steve Serdikov’s shot of Mike Goulian above MCAS Beaufort with a few friends. "It is crisp, it uses the rule of thirds and the tilt gives you the feel you are in the back of some photo ship with them. Besides, I am just plain (or is that plane) jealous that Steve got to be up and shooting that shot." [Forum Link, "]

- Dan Stijovich’s capture of VMFA(AW)-225’s "color" jet departing NAF El Centro. "A unique bird with a perfect angle. Can't ask for better!" [Forum Link]

- Three from Kedar Kamarkar, of a UPS MD-11 ("You can see the middle of the sky is bright and slowly gets darker as the radius from the middle increases. This makes for a subtle focus on the aircraft, with great background too.") [Forum Link], B-25 ("I see the artistry. In fact some of it looks like a painting to me.") [Forum Link], and Dutch AH-64 Apache ("Hard to beat flares."). [Forum Link]

- Another Lloyd Horgan photo from Wales, this time of an F-15E ("Dang!"). [Forum Link]

- And lastly (but only because, in portrait format, it didn’t fit in with the others), Steve Burke’s shot of a C-130 crew chief at work. "It takes me back to my days at RAF Mildenhall and makes me feel like I am in the English countryside. I like the B+W and how the photographer was able to make the distinction between the grays: gray tarmac, gray airplane, gray sky. I like the rain drops. I feel for the Plane Captain standing there, who must have been saying, "Ok, let’s get this going. It’s starting to rain." [Forum Link]

March 2015

Our judges: Zane Adams, Steve Burke, Tom Hedlund, Duane Kuhlow, and Eric Rosen

March’s Photos of the Month show what happens when you let a bunch of judges who really like aircraft photos loose on a great collection of images. In no particular order, the 12 images chosen this month are:

- From Jim Mumaw, an HMX-1 V-22 on the roll at Burbank airport [Forum Link]

- Steve Valinski’s shot of a pair of AH-1Y Cobra Venoms making a fuel stop during February’s NAF El Centro photocall [Forum Link]

- Two views of Luke AFB-based F-16s at twilight, from Jeff Welker [Forum Link #1] [Forum Link #2]

- A nicely symmetric Blue Angels crossover at the El Centro airshow, captured by Dwayne Andrejczuk [Forum Link]

- Michael Darcy’s image from the Los Angeles County Airshow of a Harrier at sunrise [Forum Link]

- Not one, not two, but three photos from Steve Serdikoff of Rob Holland at work. (Hey, you try choosing just one of them!) [Forum Link #1] [Forum Link #2]

- Back at El Centro, Joe Copalman’s long exposure of one of the USMC’s last CH-4Es [Forum Link]

- Ken Koller’s photo of the Alaska Airlines "Salmon thirty salmon" heading upstream in front of spectacular clouds [Forum Link]

- And finally, Dan Stijovich’s air-to-air of the Planes of Fame P-38 over a corduroy field. [Forum Link]

February 2015

Our judges: Tom Hedlund, Matthew Rigdon, Eric Rosen, and Keith Snyder

February’s Photos of the Month are:

- Matt Ellis’s photo (bottom left) of a T-38 at Alexandria IAP, LA at sunset [Forum Link]

- An unusual view of a B-2 turning finals after a Red Flag 15-1 mission, from Steve Valinski [Forum Link]

- Jim Mumaw’s shot of VX-31’s prettiest Super Hornet [Forum Link]

- The Blue Angels’s delta against an unusual cloud backdrop, by Glenn Bloore [Forum Link]

- Nick Thomas’s catch of the month: an OV-10G+ Combat Dragon making a night stop in Fort Smith, AR [Forum Link]

- And last, a second Steve Valinski image of a Dutch F-16AM using its braking parachute after returning to the ground at Tucson, AZ [Forum Link]

January 2015

Our judges: Joe Copalman, Duane Kuhlow, Mike Murawski, and Chris Roberts

This month’s Photo of the Month selections are:

- At bottom left, a Thunderbirds F-16D in eye-catching end-of-day light, from Louis Depaemelaere [Forum Link]

- A NASA ER-2 on short finals at Palmdale, by Jim Mumaw [Forum Link]

- Steve Valinski’s moody treatment of a Moody A-10 [Forum Link]

- A NATO E-3A hanging beneath the tanker, and beneath Mike Green’s camera [Forum Link]

- Cristian Schrik’s air-to-air view of two F-15s on a Baltic Air Policing mission [Forum Link]

- And, at bottom right, Nick Thomas’s burner shot of a VFA-106 F/A-18E departing Fort Smith, AR [Forum Link]

Thanks to everyone who shared their photos with us in December, and to everyone who took the time to nominate their favorites.