Saturday, May 12^th, the Utah Back Country Pilots Association (UBCP), and the Westminster College Aviation Department organized a clean-up project at the Mineral Canyon airstrip on the Green River. This airstrip is one of the best Utah back country runways, and offers camping, hiking, river access, and just plain relaxing in a spectacular setting. Although we had other aerial photo commitments on Saturday around noon, we thought it would be nice to fly down and meet everyone. The students were all licensed pilots, but had to drive down as college aircraft are not to be operated on and off of dirt strips. Brian and I left Spanish Fork airport just before 6:00pm and arrived over the Mineral Canyon air strip just after 7:00pm. It was a bumpy trip in the afternoon up and down drafts, but as we dropped below the 1000 foot canyon walls the air was calm and cool, which made for a pleasant, although curvy, approach through the canyon to a smooth touchdown. On arrival we found Steve Dirtschi (UBCP President) and his wife, Cathy, along with 10 Westminster Students sitting around the fire. Steve and Cathy's pristine red and white Cessna 185 was tied down just a few yards away. Dinner was being eaten, and although we had come prepared with food, they had plenty left and treated us to a spaghetti dinner with strawberry shortcake for dessert. At dusk we settled down to some fine flying stories around the campfire. It was a beautiful night with many stars and planets to be viewed.

Morning came with a repeat of the calm winds and clear skies. After an early flight to Upheaval Dome, a nearby meteor crater, and some air-to-air photography of Steve and Cathy's 185, we touched down again at Mineral Canyon. Our timing was perfect; breakfast was ready, and just like the previous evening, there was plenty of extra food. We graciously accepted the offer to reduce the excess bacon, eggs, and hash browns.

We were just lamenting the lack of other planes and clean-up personnel, when the radio crackled with a call from an approaching aircraft. A great looking blue and white Cessna 170 rounded the corner and rolled down the runway. It wasn't long before a group of 3 Huskys touched down, and then Maule, and a couple of Super Cubs. It became quite a group of people and planes. With all that help, Brian and I didn't feel too bad about having to depart for a Salt Lake City aerial shoot of the South Town Mall. I think we got the best part of the whole deal - the weather, the camping, the food, the camaraderie, and the morning and evening sunlight on some of the most amazing scenery, and none of the work! Oh well, we'll have to make up for that next time. I have to say that the South Town Mall was quite a let down from the red rock canyons of South Eastern Utah.

Just another weekend in the Utah skies.

It was dark and cold when the wheels left the runway early Friday morning. We had to get up early to pack the airplane with snacks, maps and cameras and depart Spanish Fork with enough time to fly to the Mineral Canyon airstrip on the Green river while the sun was still low on the horizon. We had a great assignment planned - Air-to-Air photography over the red rocks of South Eastern Utah of the one and only WilgaBeast.

The WilgaBeast is a PZL-104 Wilga, a Polish designed and built, short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) Civil Aviation utility aircraft manufactured by PZL. In military service, the Wilga 35P was used as liaison, recovery and light observation platforms between 1973 and 1993. This particular plane, WilgaBeast, belongs to Cory Robin and has been modified and fitted with a much more powerful Russian M-14P radial engine. Based out of the South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan, Utah, it's quite the site to see, the wings are over eight feet in the air when it's sitting on the ground!

We had arranged to meet Cory, his buddy Paris and the WilgaBeast at the airstrip early in the morning. We would have liked to camp out with them over night, but we had a prior engagement with the Utah Backcountry Pilots Association Friday night that made it impossible. As the rising sun slowly started to lighten the morning sky, we flew over airstrip and checked the wind sock for any movement. There was none. The air was as smooth as glass as we dropped below the 1,000 foot canyon walls surrounding the Green river, and flew downstream. Remaining hidden from view until you turn short final, the Mineral Canyon airstrip is 2,000 feet long runs North-South right along the river in the bottom of the canyon. We landed and taxied over the the WilgaBeast and shut off the engine. It was absolutely quiet. Cory said we were the only people they had seen since the arrived the day before at 2:00pm. A herd of Big Horn Sheep had wandered through camp the night before, and during the night something had ripped off the rain fly from Paris' tent. We decided it was either the Big Horn sheep, a mule deer or a pretty desperate coyote. We'll never know for sure.

This was the first time I had seen the WilgaBeast up close - it's bigger than I expected. The russian radial engine is imposing, and the prop blades are huge! Everything is over-built for strength, the sign of a military plane. There is no conventional starter, the big radial initially turns over with compressed air from a tank in the back. The deep throaty growl of the engine is impressive and sounds like the old warbird engines from the past. The WilgaBeast was designed to fly low and slow for observation, and that's how Cory likes it.

After going over our flight plan and discussing safety procedures, we started up our plane and departed to the South. The plan was to circle back over the airstrip and get photos of the WilgaBeast departing then flying over the river. These were shot through our vertical camera port in the belly of the plane. When Cory started the take-off roll, which is pretty short in a Wilga, we shot pictures of the cloud of dust behind. We then flew above him and shot images as he flew a few feet above the river, co-ordinating our positions over the radio. When we had shot enough images straight down, we pulled off to the left, slowed down and waited for him to climb up to our altitude and match our speed. We kept fairly low for this flight, about 1,000ft above ground because we wanted to emphasize the red rocks and the river in the background.

Cory is an excellent pilot, and Formation and Safety Team (FAST) certified. Flying close and in formation takes considerable skill to do safely, and for many of the shots we take it's necessary for the plane being photographed to be very tight to the photo plane. The WilgaBeast was close enough to share snacks between airplanes for a few of the shots. The air was so smooth and Cory was a solid pilot so the morning was perfect for flying formation. We flew along the river, occasionally making wide circles to get the lighting and background just right. Southern Utah is perfect for air-to-air work because the river and the red rocks make incredible images.

After we finished, we both landed at Canyonlands Airport North of Moab and took the courtesy van into town for breakfast. It was a gorgeous day and a perfect morning for shooting, and the WilgaBeast made for a unique and interesting subject to shoot!

Saturday morning dawned clear, cool, and crisp as we prepared for our flight to one of Utah's most unique backcountry airstrips. Located about nine miles south of Moab on the Colorado River, Caveman Ranch is nothing short of amazing. The ranch is owned by the Tangren family, and its claim to fame is that there are nine individual rooms (caves) blasted out of the red rock cliffs, where guests may spend the night. Other amenities include: a baseball diamond, basketball and volleyball courts, a trap shooting range, and a two story lodge built out of the rock extracted from the "caves". Oh, one other thing, there is a 2500 foot private airstrip that runs right next to the river. Yes, you can drive to the ranch, but not easily; it's much more accessible by air, and that makes it a fantastic pilot getaway.

The purpose of our trip was to get a little video footage of Allen and his wife, Noreen, for a little project on airplane camping that we are getting involved in. Of course we took Chuck the Dog, because everyone likes to see cute little dogs going on adventures. Chuck is not quite sure about airplane travel, but he is a good sport about it, and always loves to explore new places. I'd really like to know what goes through a dog's mind when we jump in the plane at one location, and jump out at some place totally different in about an hour's time. Chuck slept part of the time, and spent the other time looking out the window and shivering a bit . . . Mostly from the view at 11,000 feet, although it's hard to be sure. There's not a lot of communication between Chuck the Dog and we humans. Our trip to Caveman took us from Spanish Fork Airport , up Spanish Fork Canyon, and across some pretty desolate looking country between Price and Green River, and then into Utah's red rock canyon country. The ride was smooth until we dropped into the Colorado River basin, where the morning sun was warming the landscape and causing a few updrafts. Things smoothed out nicely over the river, and our landing at Caveman Ranch uneventful in a mild breeze.

We were greeted by a couple of other flyers from Colorado, and Paula T., one of the owners. There was much discussion about the joy of backcountry flying, the privilege of seeing some amazing country from a lofty perspective, and, of course, airplanes. Photographs were taken of the planes, the people, and the surroundings. We had a great tour of the ranch, and spent some time with Paula in her quite unusual home. Apart from the guest caves, Paula and Rod have a substantial multi-roomed house hollowed out of the rock. The home is nicely furnished, with hot & cold running water, electricity, and a great deck, with an outdoor circular staircase the leads up to the observation deck on the top of the red rock cliff. Across the property is a fruit orchard and garden. Like I said, it is an amazing place.

We would have been quite comfortable staying for a much longer time, but alas the pull of other responsibilities required our heading home by early afternoon. We were back on the ground in Spanish Fork a little after three, having completed a trip to a very secluded spot that would have taken days by car. An airplane is a wonderful thing.

Every ten years, the Professional Aerial Photographers Association (PAPA) holds their annual convention on a cruise ship. This was the year, and the cruise, although a short four day, three night affair, was a great learning experience and a lot of fun, too. This year Stan and I brought our wives along because there would actually be things for them to do on the cruise, and spending a few days with my wife away from work is a rare occasion. We left Salt Lake in between winter storms, and after a short layover in Atlanta, we arrived in balmy, 85 degree Miami, Florida. We tracked down the bus to South Beach and half an hour later we checked into our hotel a block from the beach. On the bus we were surprised to meet Yves Tremblay of PhotoHelico, a Montreal, Canada based aerial photographer and friend. He was also staying in South Beach with another aerial photographer, Jesper Larsen from Denmark. One of the great benefits of PAPA is the camaraderie of fellow photographers from around the world.

The next morning we went for a swim in the ocean. The water was great, but the waves were too small for any serious body surfing. We cruised the beachfront stores then flagged down a taxi and headed to our ship, the Carnival Destiny. I had never been on a cruise before and the sheer size of the ship amazed me. The power it takes to move the ship at 20 knots and the number of crew members (over 1,000) is simply astounding. We found our room, walked around the ship and settled on the deck with a couple of ice cream cones. As the ship disembarked, a local PAPA member who was not able to attend the conference flew over in his helicopter and shot pictures of our group on the deck of the ship. We then reconvened in one of the lounges and kicked off the 2012 PAPA conference.

We had aerial photographers from all around the country, and quite a few from around the world too. Canada, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand were all represented. Stan is on the Board of Directors as the Western Regional Director, and I am the Image Competition Chairman, so we had some business to take care of. This year, for the first time, the Image Competition was all digital. In the past, aerial photographers from around the world would print, mount and ship their best work to the conference. With the limited space and logistical concerns a cruise setting brings, a print competition was out of the question this year. I orchestrated the new rules, the new online Peoples Choice judging system, and hand-picked and supervised the five Image Competition Judges and the new methods of judging an all digital contest. Everything went perfectly and the competition was a great success. But more on that later.

That night, after the official start of the conference, Noreen and I walked around the boat and spent some time on the upper deck enjoying the warm weather, the cool breeze and the beautiful night sky. In the morning, we docked at Key West, Florida. We boarded the shuttle bus into town and rented a couple of bicycles. Noreen and I cruised around to a few museums and tropical gardens and found a local beach with a very, um, interesting group of locals. We didn't stay there long. We found the Key Lime Pie Factory and shared a piece of delicious Key Lime Pie, which was not as green as I expected, but was very good. The owner of the shop directed us to a local hair salon because I was in desperate need of a hair cut. After that, we biked around a bit more, did some shopping and headed back to the cruise ship.

The afternoon conference sessions included a discussion on marketing techniques, a presentation from Hasselblad, and an interesting discussion from the photographer who co-ordinated and photographed Swiss Rocket Man Yves Rossy's rocket powered flight over the Grand Canyon. If you don't know who Yves Rossy is, check out his web site - http://www.jetman.com. He straps a rocket-powered wing to his back and jumps out of helicopters and flies around using his body to manipulate his flight path. It's pretty incredible to watch.

Dinner that night was our Formal Night. Noreen looked fantastic in her evening gown, and I looked presentable in the tux I borrowed from a friend. I don't wear tuxes very often, but it was a lot of fun. We sat at the table with a new PAPA member from Australia, Noel Dawson and long time PAPA member John Mooney and his wife from Houston. I had the alligator appetizer and the Maine lobster dinner, with a delicious chocolate warming cake and ice cream for dessert.

The morning conference sessions were busy. First, John Mooney led the session on adding ground architectural photography to your portfolio, and I demonstrated a few techniques such as using a Perspective Control lens, HDR photography, Photoshop techniques needed for interior photography, and how to make good shots even better. Next, I led the Advanced Photoshop class and focused on non-destructive editing, advanced color control and changing, adding local contrast, blending modes, etc. We took a little longer that we had planned, but it worked out fine as the ship had encountered strong headwinds all the way from Key West to Cozumel and was late arriving in port.

Cozumel was amazing. We had arranged to go scuba diving through my brother-in-laws scuba shop, www.timpanogosscuba.com. Noreen and I, Stan and Corinne, Jesper and Lisbeth from Denmark, Yves and Lisa from Canada, and Noel Dawson from Australia all jumped in a taxi and headed to the pier where the great guys from Scuba Cancun were waiting for us. We were late getting there because of the ships late arrival, but Carlos and his crew were fantastic. We ended up only having time for a single dive, but it was well worth it. I put together a short video of the dive that you can see here: http://youtu.be/YhIl6d0EetI?hd=1

After the diving, we went back to the ship for dinner, then back to Cozumel to look around the shops. At one shop, a man was weaving custom bracelets with your name or anything else you wanted woven right into the bracelet. I was looking through his selection to see if he had a bracelet with Noreen on it, not very likely, when he asked me,

"What you looking for? I can make anything in four minutes. You wait."

"Oh, I'm just looking" I replied. The man smiled, reached into his display and handed me a bracelet that had "I'm just looking" woven into it. I think he's heard that before. We bought a few small things for keepsakes, Yves and Lisa had the guy make custom bracelets for their kids, and Jepser and Lisbeth bought hammocks for her parents summer home.

The following morning after breakfast was the annual business meeting and election of officers. Chuck Boyle from Charlotte North Carolina was elected President to take Pat Belanger from California's place. I hear a lot of other things were discussed, too. I slept in. Next, Susan Hedenberg let a great discussion titled "20 Hot Tips & Tricks for Aerial Photographers". Lots of great things were discussed, from shooting tips and equipment suggestions to which apps on the iPad are useful when flying.

After lunch, Julie Belanger let a discussion on aerial video, including what sells, which equipment is popular, stabilization techniques, etc. Steve Boyko then led a beginners Photoshop class. We also heard a brief experience someone had with a copyright infringement problem, that led to him getting the use of a huge sailboat and crew for the weekend! It was an interesting resolution to a legal issue.

After that, we had the print Critique. I briefly went over the rules of the Image Competition and what the judges look for in a quality image. Then I introduced our judges and they each had several images from the competition that they wanted to critique. They offered advice on composition, suggestions on what would make some images better, and also why some of the images were great pieces of art. It's a highlight of the convention because its a great time to learn what we can do to improve our imagery from those in the business with experience and experience.

Noreen had been doing her own thing, but was driven off the deck during a rain squall that had the ship tipping 20 degrees in the wind and rain. We dressed in our formal attire because the next session was very important - the Awards Ceremony. I donned my tuxedo and prepared the presentation of the awards. As the Image Competition Chairman, it is my privilege to announce the winners of the Judges Individual favorites, the Peoples Choice winners, and the Judges Choice winners of the competition. Here is a list of the winners:

Starting off with the Judges Personal Choice Awards:

Judge Yvonne Sanderson chose Little O's by Paul Cardel, Jr.
Judge Yves Tremblay chose Rain - Oxnard, CA by Marvin Derezin, MD
Judge Debbie Hooper chose Fibonocci by David Margolis
Judge Hunter Harris chose Elemental Fudge by Allen Macbean
Judge John Condreay chose Panorama by Twilight by Andrew Griffiths

The Peoples Choice Winners, picked by you online, are:

In the Air to Air category: Are You OK? by Debbie Hooper
In the Artistic category: Alligator River by Noel Dawson
In the Commercial category: Panorama by Twilight by Andrew Griffiths
In the Construction Progress category: Teamwork by Jesper Larsen
In the Scenic Category: Rain - Oxnard, CA by Marvin Derezin, MD
And the Overall Peoples Choice is: Alligator River by Noel Dawson

And finally, the winners of the judged 2012 PAPA International Image Competition:

In the Air to Air category: Twin Turbo Legacy by Stan Macbean
In the Artistic category: Little O's by Paul Cardel, Jr.
In the Commercial category: Panorama by Twilight by Andrew Griffiths
In the Construction Progress category: Teamwork by Jesper Larsen
In the Scenic Category: Rattlesnake Summer by David Wyatt
And the Overall highest scoring print goes to: Panorama by Twilight by Andrew Griffiths

It was a great event. The only thing that would have made it better was if more of the winners were on the cruise with us. However, seeing the excitement on the faces of the winners as the came forward to accept their awards was priceless. For me, it was a special experience and a highlight of the trip.

The next morning we docked back in Miami and made our way to the airport. A short flight to Detroit and the on to Salt Lake City. The next day, we had a snow storm. Hmm, Key West looks like a nice place to live and fly...

Overall, the conference was great. I can't thank enough those who put it together and do so much for the PAPA organization behind the scenes. It's a great group of people, and there is always more to learn.

This was my first cruise, and I am looking forward to doing another, but I think it needs to be at least a week long. Maybe an Eastern Caribbean cruise next, or maybe Alaska in the summer. I'll start saving now.

They're finally here! Our 2012 Utah by Air scenic wall calendars have arrived and they look fantastic! 28 pages, full-color with a heavy weight glossy cover and smooth, bright stock on the inside featuring 13 of our scenic Utah aerial photographs. Each months photo was hand-picked and matched to the color of the calendar page for that month. At 9"x12" (18"x12" opened), this calendar is a perfect way to remind yourself and others of the natural beauty the State of Utah has to offer year round. They make perfect Christmas gifts for friends, family and business acquaintances. Order on for the home and office online on our website now!  Free shipping in the United States!

Fall is finally here in Utah, and the leaves are changing color. Last week would have been a great time to get out and shoot some great colors, but the weather was not co-operating for flying. So a few days ago Stan and I loaded up the plane and took off on a quest to find any left over color. We were surprised! While in some areas the aspen trees had already lost their leaves, in other places the trees were still green! It's another weird season in Utah. Actually, it would be weird if we had a normal season here.

We flew South over the Skyline Drive in Sanpete and Emory counties. There was a lot of snow in the higher elevations, and lots of green trees in the lower elevations. While we didn't find the colors we expected, we found lots of great fall scenes with the aspen leaves in many stages of color change. Check out our stock photo page here for all the images. Here are a few samples:



We followed the Skyline Drive South for while, then detoured off the east and flew over to the Hidden Splendor Airstrip. Hidden Splendor is an airstrip left over from the days of uranium mining in Southern Utah. It's a beautiful spot on a plateau with the Muddy River winding around a few hundred feet below. The approach to landing from the South goes through a winding canyon - not for the faint of heart! Check out the video here on our Facebook page.
After walking around for a while, we took off and headed for the airstrip at Mexican Mountain, and then on to Cedar Mountain.  All in all, it was a great day for flying and taking photos!

Our airport, Springville-Spanish Fork (U77), held it's annual open house this last Saturday, September 9th. It was a great success. Lots of people showed up for the breakfast and to view the static airplane displays, remote-control airplane show & get helicopter rides from one of the local FBO's.



After the breakfast and remote control airplane show, it was time for the good stuff - the flour bombing and spot landing contests. Flour bombing is great fun, and while we're more accustomed to dropping pumpkins and boxes of ice cream bars with a parachute attached, watching a small bag of flour explode on the runway leaving a big white cloud in the air is a lot of fun too.

Stan acted as pilot and I was bombardier. The flour bags where small, about the size of a 6-inch subway sandwich, wrapped in brown paper with orange plastic trailing tape about two feet long. The target this year was a 4x8 piece of plywood with a target painted on it, propped up to 45 degrees for easy spotting. On our first of four runs, I dropped the flour bomb much too early and was a good 100ft short of the target. A rookie mistake - we were only 50ft above ground, and I'm used to dropping pumpkins and ice cream from about 1,000ft. On our second and third runs I was much closer. The second drop was within 20 ft, and the third run missed the top of the target by inches and went on behind. On the fourth run we were dialed in. We were lined up perfectly, I dropped the flour and watched as it hit the ground just in front of the target and splattered the board with flour. A pretty decent shot! I thought we were in first place as I couldn't see any flour on the board before us. Alas, we came in third. Two of the planes following us hit the target dead on. Still a pretty good showing.

Next was the spot landing contest. Stan and I switched seats (I land better from the left side) and we were off. The "spot" was an imaginary line between the PAPI lights on the 12 end of the runway. On my first attempt, there was a about a 8mph headwind and I brought the plane in with just a bit of power and tried to hold it off the runway until the right time. The stall buzzer was buzzing, and about 20 feet before the line the wind died and I touched down too early. Oh well. On the second attempt, I did the same thing but added just a few feet of altitude in case the wind decided to drop again. It didn't. I put down just after the line and thought I was too long. One of the super cubs in the competition looked like he just about hit the line. After we got down, I found out that I had won! We have a taildragger and I three-pointed the landing. I thought I was long, but the tail wheel hit just a foot from the line giving me the win! Not too bad.

Next year I'd like to also do a short take-off and landing competition as well. We won't win against some of the super cub type planes, but maybe in the Cessna category.... We'll see. Thanks to the airport board of directors for a great event!

Clearly, I am not a web designer, nor am I fluent in html. I know enough to get some things done and get myself in trouble. Without the help forums for Dreamweaver, this website would never happen! That being said, what do you think of the new website? I know, I should stick to something I'm good at, like hanging out of airplanes taking pictures. Why didn't I hire someone to do it for me? For the same reason I fix my own cars, maintain my own bikes, and dis-assemble our cameras instead of sending them in to the shop. I like the control I have to be able to change or fix something without having to depend on someone else.I know it's not perfect, but it's mine!
Check out some of our new features like our Site Locator and 3D Imaging. Take some time to get to know Utah better by browsing through our stock images. Download our custom computer wallpaper and style up your workspace!
Any suggestions and thoughts are appreciated - as well as delicious snacks. They are always appreciated. Thanks!

On the weekend of May 6 & 7, I flew with my wife, Noreen, to a dry lake bed in the West desert of Utah called Ibex. The lake lies in the Tule valley which is about 40 miles long and 15 miles wide. The landing area on the dry lake itself is about 3 miles long and 1 mile wide.  Formerly part of Lake Bonneville, Ibex is a dry salt flat left behind when Bonneville dried up. Because of the salinity of the soil and the occasional flooding there is very little vegetation on the lake bottom. It's not as salty as the salt flats to the North near Wendover, in fact it looks and feels more like dried mud than salt. It's a great place to fly into as you can land just about anywhere.



The Utah Back Country Pilots had a fly-in scheduled for the previous week, but it was rained out. The following weekend was the un-official, re-scheduled fly-in. There were three planes there on Friday night, with four more flying in on Saturday morning. The weather was a great, although it was a little hazy for aerial photography. I did get some great texture images of the lake bottom and some of the volcanic rock on the island near the north end.

At the end of March, we flew across the Great Salt Lake to photograph the Spiral Jetty. This earthwork sculpture was created by Robert Smithson in 1970. It's 1500 feet long and 15 feet wide. When the lake is full, you can't see it. The lake is far from full now and the jetty really shows up against the pinkish algae-filled water of the North end of the lake.

The flight up was uneventful and smooth, but the air was a little bumpy when we got there. We circled several times at different altitudes and got some great shots of the jetty and the lakeshore.