Vought FG-1D Corsair NZ5648 - Whanganui Airport
Vought FG-1D Corsair NZ5648 ZK-COR after refueling at Whanganui Airport
“Photography isn’t just about pixels and shutter speeds. It’s about chasing wonder, dancing with chance, and capturing magic. And when the universe whispers, “Hey, wanna see something cool?”—you say yes, every time..”
Photography, is like chasing fireflies on a moonlit night. It leads you down winding paths you never planned to explore. Sometimes, it’s a pit stop for a warbird refueling—a serendipitous encounter that leaves you grinning like a kid. Other times, it’s stumbling upon a new organization, that presents some interesting collaboration opportunities.
There is always a balance that needs to be found, a balance between sticking to the plan and being ready to trust your gut. Planning can help us get off the couch or out of bed, but Planning will only take you so far. Yeah, it’s essential. We scribble notes, set alarms, and pretend we’ve got it all figured out. But here’s the joke we all wind up being part of when we hold on too tight. We’re mere mortals, not omniscient beings. We plan based on the ‘facts’ we can see. But those facts can change at a moments notice. They’re elusive, we see, we hope, but they all too often lie to us.
Pieter and I, had a great lesson in this on the weekend. Our plan was to photograph the North American P-51D Mustang (NZ2423) as it gracefully came into land at it’s home at Ohakea Air Base. We time our dance with fate, and voilà, we catch that Mustang mid-flight. It’s a start we both think.
But wait, the plot thickens. The Mosquito is en route to Whanganui Airport? Should we risk it? Our gut says, “Hell yeah!” So, off we go, fueled by adrenaline and a dash of madness. Will we make it? Drumroll, please… Nope. The Mosquito slips through our fingers like stardust. That all too common scenario of nearly but not quite. Have we just wasted an hour?
We have all heard the saying “luck is when opportunity meets preparation”. Well we had done the prep… then out of the autumn blue sky, descends the Vought FG-1D Corsair. Surprise! No hints, no insider info—just plain luck. That gull-winged beauty struts its stuff, as it lands on the runway. This is it—a shot that’s been on my bucket-list for a while. No ropes, no crowds, just me, the Corsair, and that boundless blue canvas. If we had known we would miss the Mosquito would we have still gone… no. But because we risked it, trusted our guts, in the end we got something better,
So, my friend, here’s the secret: Photography isn’t just about pixels and shutter speeds. It’s about chasing wonder, dancing with chance, and capturing magic. And when the universe whispers, “Hey, wanna see something cool?”—you say yes, every time. Thanks Pieter, that’s one I owe you.
