The war plane in this shot is is the famous Curtis C-46 "China Doll" Commando WWll combat aircraft. It is totally restored and kept flying by the many volunteers of the "CAF" (Commemorative Air Force).
The “CAF” is a patriotic organization dedicated to the preservation of the world’s greatest combat aircraft.
The gentleman in the shot is Mr. Al Smith. Al is one of the volunteers at the CAF. I met Al for the first time this afternoon. He had on one of the blue official volunteer shirts and he was nice enough to allow me to photograph him for this entry.
On January 30th, 2007 The C-46 "China Doll" was featured in a music video filmed at the Channel Islands Aviation’s hangar. New custom painted nose art was temporarily attached to the plane for the shoot. Christina Aguilera was the star of the video. She played the part of the 2nd banana.
One of the last photographs I have of my father he was standing in front of this plane over 10 years ago. I think about him whenever I'm around the people and Air Force artifacts of his generation. He loved to fly. He could tell me every detail about the intricate parts of these old planes but like most of us old folks, he couldn't remember what he had for breakfast. I sure miss him.
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Place: 8 out of 244 Avg (all users): 6.8145 Avg (commenters): 8.2105 Avg (participants): 6.7755 Avg (non-participants): 6.8455 Views since voting: 4110 Views during voting: 356 Votes: 221 Comments: 30 Favorites: 3 (view)
i love this! it tells such a great story. you've told me a lot about your dad but you've never mentioned that he flew. he was a special man and i know you miss him. *hugs*
Congrats on your Top 10 for a Top Gun! (I bet your father would give you a hug and whisper in your ear how proud he is to have such a truly gifted son!)
I applaud the creativity on this, especially with the very wide angle perspective on the cockpit shot and the angle of the plane in the bottom portion. A triptych is such a powerful means to tell a story, and this composition does very well at doing exactly that.
I sincerely hope a copy of this makes it into Al Smith's hands as well as his relatives, as this is a very powerful keepsake.
Now thats a set that works well together. very nice and great punchy contrast in your black and whites with a really interesting set of pics. Well done 9
The framing has defintley let this shot down.. that being said, I like the idea of almost telling a story within the shots, which is what a triptych is supposed to be I guess. 7 from me.. well done!
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