THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

[BuckyD]

Well, it's Halloween again & all ghosts, goblins, & creatures of the night get to run amok hunting for all sorts of tricks & treats,

So, I thought it might be a fitting occasion to launch a new thread - inviting the photographers to post a few of their favorite 'night shots' from air race years past as a treat for all of us to enjoy. (You might even share a few photo 'tricks' too, if you don't mind.)

There's just one hitch - NO FLASH ALLOWED! - Only Available Light Photography (using hangar lighting, work lights, lamp posts, car lights, etc. - sunset or twilight background sky, or moonlight is OK).

Here's a couple of my- 'oldie-but-goldie' shots featuring Unlimited Race #77 Rare Bear at Reno '87 to start things off. The 'Man & The Moon' pic was taken Wed. 9/16/87 at the end of qualifying, and the engine test run photo was shot Sat. 9/19/87 in preparation for Sunday's Unlimited GOLD Championship Race finale. (Yes- that's Lyle standing at left covering his ears).

I've seen a few of these sweet & rare night photos posted every now and then. Here's a chance to show some more of them! DBD

BTW - I'd like to dedicate this thread to the real unsung heroes of air racing: all the maintenance support crews who work tirelessly day & night to keep their team's race aircraft in top form for competition.

[Bob]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

Pardue's bearcat late tuesday nite.

[T. Adams]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

[ebutner]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

T-Adams, Thats a great shot! Thanks for posting. I'm always out side the fence and can't get in to see the night shift. Someday I'd like to get in there.

[BuckyD]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

Hey Tim - That is a GREAT night shot of Dago running up, and glad to see some photogs still appreciate the special magic of B&W photography. I'm inspired to dig into my black & white negative archives for the first time in a long while to retrieve some good ones. There's a few of us oldtimers who can attest to always wearing two camera bodies - one for color and the other loaded with B&W film, as most of the magazines & tabloids did the bulk of their photo production work with the B&W, and color was for covers & a few interior page panels such as storyboard lead photos. Back then color scans/screens were outrageous ly expensive to have done. Anyway, thanks for sharing that with us.

Two more hours of Halloween 2007 left, so here's a couple shots of 'THE WITCH' cooking up a roaring pot of potent magic Gold brew formula! These were taken during the wee hours of Tue.-Wed. 9/13-14/88 at Reno, with Merlin Wizard- Doctor Dwight Thorn running the office.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

Here's three night shots taken late Sat. 3/19/94 at the innaugural Phoenix 500 Air Races. The intense, stormy race day ended with a final downpour of rain. The clean wet desert ramp full of resting warbirds glowed eerily with reflected light generated by an abundance of bright permanent night lamp post fixtures installed at this field. It was tripod & cable release shooting at it's best! The midnight Mustang (Race #39 The Healer) and the trio of big Hawker Sea Furies (#924 Argonaught, #8 Dreadnought & #16 Baby Gorilla) bracket the center photo which documents the forlorn empty pit stall of Race #1 Super Corsair. DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

We'll wrapup Halloween 2007 with some interesting photo perspectives of one greatest Unlimited Class GOLD racers of alltime - Race #18 TSUNAMI (N39JR), showcasing her expert team of crewmembers hard at work- burning the midnight oil to get her ready for competition.

The sunset photo was shot Fri. 9/11/87 following a storm's passing. The two- 'at-work' photos were taken Tue. 9/18/90 from one of my favorite shooting vantages (can you guess where?), and the last picture- captured on the evening of Sat. 9/14/91, shows #18 being prepared for her fastest (& final) race the following day.

I've shown you some of mine, so now let's see some more of your- 'Available Light Night Photos'! DBD

[T. Adams]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

Thanks for the kind words, but it's only B&W in digital. It's a color shot, and I converted the green channel only, of the RGB image.

[MRussell]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

The two- 'at-work' photos were taken Tue. 9/18/90 from one of my favorite shooting vantages (can you guess where?), and the last picture- captured on the evening of Sat. 9/14/91, shows #18 being prepared for her fastest (& final) race the following day.

That's JRS himself working on top of the motor, isn't it?

[Propellerhead]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

That's JRS himself working on top of the motor, isn't it?

Without being able to count his fingers, it could be Bill Moja.

[BuckyD]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

That's JRS himself working on top of the motor, isn't it?

Negative on that. Guy in blue shirt is indeed Bill, as Propellerhead noted. DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

Here's a series of shots taken in the wee hours of Wed. 9/13/89 documenting an all-niter engine change on Bill Rheinschild's P-51D Race #45 RISKY BUSINESS (N35FF). There's some air racing 'notables' visible working in & with this particular team roster - see if you can recognize & name them.

I used to really enjoy hangin' out all nite with my tripod setup photo-documenting the various Unlimited teams toiling away against the 'maintenance squawk clock' to meet the following day's qualif./race event. Made for a long next day for me, but it was well-worth the experience and garnered some precious & rare behind-the-scenes shots. Bucky

[hm66sk]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

Negative on that. Guy in blue shirt is indeed Bill, as Propellerhead noted. DBD

Sure looks like Bill. I'm sure that's Sam Torvik working on the front of the Merlin in the second shot.

[Stevo]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

OK, OK... I can't let you have all the fun. Here's a couple from 2006.

[BuckyD]

Re: THINGS THAT GO- 'BUMP!' IN THE NIGHT

OK, OK... I can't let you have all the fun. Here's a couple from 2006.

Stevo - BRAVO! Those two shots are really SWEET ('Size Large'!), and it made my day seeing them. So glad you posted them for us to enjoy! THANKS! "Encore...encore...encore...!!!!!!" BuckyD!