PetaPixel

A New Year's Day Tradition

Every New Year's Day since 2009, I get up early to take aerial photos of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game. The hardest part of both flights is trying to get a picture of the flyover, since I have to be in the right place at the right time and I only have a second or two to get my shots. Everything has to come together just right. This year's flyover picture is one of my favorites and everything came together perfectly. The B-2 Spirit (aka the Stealth Bomber) flew over right where he needed to be, the band on the field had a nice big American flag unfurled and I was in the exact position I wanted to be in to capture the moment.

I can't take full credit for this photo, however. It was a collaborative effort. My co-pilot on the controls, my son in the back as a spotter, the B-2 pilots and the band on the field all did an amazing job to bring everything together for this image.

Even though The Atlantic reported that I was "nearly hanging out the window of [my] plane," I was fully inside the cockpit and seat belted in, with an experienced co-pilot at the controls and an extra spotter in the back seat. Safety first!

See the original article here.