NIGHT SHOOT AT MAAM’s WORLD WAR II WEEKEND
by A. Kevin Grantham
The Mid Atlantic Air Museum’s annual World War II Weekend (WWIIW) event in Reading, Pennsylvania has always been a target-rich environment for photographers. Recently, however, the museum has upped their game by offering amateur and professional photographers an exceptional opportunity to photograph some of the visiting aircraft at night.
In 2021, well-known aviation photographer David Brown and his lovely wife Cristina took over the press duties for WWIIW. They approached Russ Strine, the museum’s co-founder and president, with a plan for a nighttime photography session. Brown’s proposal consisted of displaying three aircraft on a dormant taxiway coupled with subtle lightning and a wet pavement to give the scene a more cinematic effect. This year’s event featured the Commemorative Air Force’s P-51D and FG-1D alongside the American Airpower Museum’s P-40M and Larry Kelley’s magnificent B-25J Panchito!
About 50 photographers took advantage of this unique opportunity in 2021 and 2022. The organizers would love to know what you think about this small sampling of images captured during these night photo sessions. Anyone interested in participating during the 2023 event should contact the museum to find out more details closer to the date.
BEAUTIFUL!😍