After Years Of Dreaming About It, A Photographer's Experience Of A Lifetime Shooting The Airshow

Robbie Culver

Each year, the photos that appear in the media, online, or in advertising that are shot at Oshkosh showcase aviation. It is easy to see these photos and not realize some of the difficulty and equipment involved in capturing them. For years I had admired the photographers that worked so hard to capture these incredible photos, and tried to learn what they did to capture them.

Robbie Culver In "The Ditch"

I confessed long ago that I am a true camera geek. And  coming to Oshkosh, any photographer will tell you, is like a photographic addiction. If you are into airplanes and photography, AirVenture is a place you simply have to be. There is at Oshkosh a unique opportunity for those fortunate enough to earn it. For years, I had watched as the EAA photo staff and their invited guests would shoot the airshow from beyond the flight line, in an area nicknamed "the ditch." That's how they get those incredible airshow photos.

The ditch is a drainage area between taxiway Papa and Runway 18-36. It is deemed a safe area for photography, and offers an unobstructed view of the show from almost directly underneath. To say the least, it is an opportunity that most photographers dream of.

The Ditch

Besides the permission from EAA, shooting photos there also requires the correct camera and lens. I had traded up to a Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR last fall, and was excited to learn that I was able to borrow some of Canon's larger lenses on site.

So on Wednesday, July 27th, I was pinching myself as I sat in the EAA Media Center briefing room, preparing to go out in the ditch to shoot the airshow. As long as I'd dreamt of doing this, here it was and I was having a hard time believing it. Canon Camera had been gracious enough to loan me a very large (and very heavy) 500mm F4 telephoto lens, so I was well-prepared for the opportunity.

Looking Back At The Flight Line

The safety briefing is complete and sobering. It reminds one of the environment and the hazards that surround it. During AirVenture especially, being out near the runway while the airshow is going on can be extremely hazardous. Colored safety vests identify the EAA photographers and guests, and a pre-defined area is assigned with clearly set boundaries.

In the years since I first shot photos at Oshkosh with an old manual camera loaned to me by my father, I had long since progressed to much better cameras and learned from my mistakes. I loved coming to Oshkosh at every opportunity, and shooting photos - but never like this. So out we went - past the crowd, beyond the taxiway, and down into the ditch. Walking out there was unreal - I paused and looked back, still not quite certain it was really happening. But there I was - in the ditch.

Airshow From "The Ditch"

The view from the ditch is priceless. I was standing there with a completely unobstructed view of the entire runway, at an event I had been going to since I was a little kid to take photos. Behind me, the crowd was endless behind the taxiway. I looked up and down the flightline, then pulled up the big lens and began to shoot a few photos looking back intop the crowd in front of a DC-3 (see above).

I was out here to shoot the airshow and first up was an F-4 Phantom. The Phantom squealed behind me at the end of the runway, and I turned and raised my camera. The airshow was about to begin, and I was ready to shoot it from the ditch.

FMI: www.eaa.org