One Night, One Plane, and Four Men Who Flew It

Through my work with the Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and photograph over 150 veterans from every branch of the military.  I’ve photographed men and women who have fought in every corner of the globe from Midway to Iraq and everywhere in between.  I love hearing their stories and learning about every aspect of the war they fought.  To me, every veteran’s story, whether it’s a combat experience or about the work they did as a cook, is part of our history and needs to be shared with everyone.  However, there is one group of veterans that is very special to me: Airmen.

Ever since I was in grade school I have been fascinated with anything that can fly.  I used to stare out my window and watch planes as they approached Pittsburgh International Airport, I’ve listened to live ATC streams for hours, accumulated more hours than I can count in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and on more than one occasion, called my friend when a cool plane flew overhead.  Simply put, I’m an aviation nerd.

To me, nothing is cooler than a military plane.  Today’s $100+ million fighters are nice, but they will never beat the sight of a World War II-era piston-driven aircraft like the P-51 or B-17.  Actually, I want to retract my previous statement…To me, nothing is cooler than a military plane, EXCEPT the men who flew aboard them.  When I meet a veteran who flew during their service, I want to drop whatever I’m doing and just listen to their stories.  I could sit there all day just listening.

The story behind this post began a few weeks ago with a simple “tweet”…

Warbirds

This past Sunday, I was fortunate enough to have time to travel to the Westmoreland County Air Show at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, PA.  For people living in Southwestern Pennsylvania, this is one of the only airshows around since the future of the 911th Air Lift Wing (which held an annual air show for years) in Pittsburgh, PA is unknown and there are no other air shows closer than an hour drive.

This air show wasn’t nearly as large as others I’ve attended but big things can come in small packages.  The show was filled with acts such as the AeroShell Aerobatic Team, Sean Tucker with his custom Oracle biplane, and the US Navy Blue Angels, but one of the best flights of the day was a fully restored P-51 Mustang and a B-25 Mitchell.  Seeing those two planes flying overhead was an absolutely incredible sight.  Just seeing one plane was amazing, so trying to imagine hundreds flying in formation like they did in WW2 was mind-boggling.

Under Armour Project – Part 1 – Planning / Testing

I just officially wrapped up my life as a college student last Saturday when I graduated from Pitt-Johnstown with a degree in marketing.  My four years in college were some of the best so far and I took away a lot of lessons and experiences to apply in the “Real World.”  I typed a lot of papers and worked with a lot of groups but the largest project I worked on was also my favorite by far.

During my last semester at UPJ, I, along with several other group members, was tasked with planning and designing an entire ad campaign for a brand of our choice.  We ended up deciding on athletic apparel company Under Armour which was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank in his grandmother’s basement.  The company’s unique moisture-wicking shirts caught on quickly and Under Armour now rubs shoulders against industry heavyweights like Adidas, Nike, and Reebok.

Veterans Project Update

I just wanted to give a brief update on my veterans portrait project.  I finally uploaded all of the portraits I’ve shot up to this point along with a brief bio of each veteran.  Seeing all of the images next to each other really helps to give me a good look at the direction of the project and where I can make a few changes as well.  When you get a chance, spend a few minutes browsing the images and learning about a few World War II veterans.

All of the images can be seen here:

http://marchesephotography.photoshelter.com/gallery/Veterans-Breakfast-Portraits/G0000NYk2ROb4Iaw/

More variety in my posts to come! (I promise)

What It Means To Be An American

Over the last month I’ve met veterans from WWII, Vietnam, and more recent wars.  A question I like to ask them is how they become involved in the military.  Every one of them has their own personal reasons but they all shared a common theme; it was their duty as a citizen of the United States to do so.  While some enlisted, others were drafted but they all performed the duties assigned to them in combat and peace with pride.

New Personal Project, Three Years In The Making

I’m extremely happy to announce that I am finally beginning work on a new personal project I have been planning for several years now.  The project will be a portrait series of today’s military veterans and will be combined with both audio and video elements to form an entirely interactive and educational experience.