"I've had an interest in aviation since I can remember. My Grandfather was a B-24 pilot in the Pacific and TWA Captain, so as a kid I spent a lot of time at airports and playing with model airplanes. As a teen, I moved onto building models, flight simulators, and borrowing my parent's film camera for airport day trips. Somewhere along the way airliners started to lose my interest and low-level military flying became the ultimate shoot for me.

Star Wars Canyon was a great place for that, but with the closure, a few others and I were forced to search elsewhere. I love spending time in the backcountry and hiking, so hunting jets out there is a fun addition to those trips.

...

Gone are the days of driving your car to a paved parking lot at Star Wars Canyon and getting quality shots. Hiking an hour or more in the mountains or desert with 50 pounds of cameras, water, radios, and a map is now the norm. I spent a lot of nights looking at maps, searching for spots that I think a jet could fly, then I try to plan a day to go and see for myself.

I always check the weather beforehand and make plans based on that—sunny and calm winds are what I'm looking for. These trips typically involve a lot of hiking and bushwhacking through brush, so the danger of snakes and ticks are always on my mind. I've encountered a few rattlers, came home with a tick, and even saw a black bear once.

Once I'm at my destination I rely on several scanner radios that I bring, each scanning a few specific frequencies, but my ears are the best tool I've got. The sound difference between a jet up high and down low is very recognizable, so I often sit in silence, just listening and waiting."