Madras Air2Air Experience – Day 1

As we have promised for the past few months, WarbirdsNews would be present at the Madras Air2Air Experience, the aviation photography workshop being organized by the extraordinarily talented Lyle Jansma and Scott Slocum in Madras, Oregon. Thursday marked the workshop’s first day, and the dozen or so student’s arrived at the Erickson Aircraft Collection’s hangar, where the classes are held, over the course of the late morning and afternoon. The students came from across three continents: Europe, Asia and of course, North America. Each of them has varying backgrounds with air-to-air photography, verging from zero to the very experienced, but all were eager to learn from the likes of Scott Slocum and the legendary Paul Bowen, who conducted some of today’s program. Class topics included everything from safety (of paramount importance) to the technical details of how to work with aircraft in the air. As Madras is also preparing for its air show this weekend, there was a flurry of activity across the field, some of which made for great photography. The field is also home to a fleet of aerial fire-fighting aircraft, most of which were out in the field plying their trade. The forest fires are raging at the moment all along the western coast, and Oregon is no exception. The taste of smoke is in the air, blown in from nearly a hundred miles away. But it didn’t dampen the mood in Madras, nor the excitement about Friday’s shoot, which should include air-to-air photo sessions with the Erickson Aircraft Collection’s P-38 Lightning, Ki-43 Oscar, PBY Catalina and the Commemorative Air Force’s Mitsubishi A6M Zero. WarbirdsNews will be on some of these flights, and we hope to bring you some of the action tomorrow. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the following images from this days adventures in Madras!