I finally finished the rest of the images from the Air Zoo from last week. Here's a few more samples. The first two are different treatment of essentially the same image.

The stinger on a B-17.

And on a B-24

Firing up the Merlin!

Again, two ways to process similar images.

Exhaust burn.

Brooks Field in Marshall. This old twin has been going to rack and ruin there for years.

OK, way too many images of the pilot, but it was cool to have a model with the plane. Fun way to spend a morning!

The Collings Foundation stopped by the Air Zoo for a couple of days to show off three of their planes: B-17, B-24, P-51. I went over after breakfast to take a look. Here's a quick peek at a few of the pictures I processed.

Two views of the chin turret and bombardier station in the nose of a B-17G

Ball turret (and selfie)

P-51 going wheels up on takeoff

An Air Zoo volunteer dressed as a waist gunner

I used a Nik Color Efex  Pro4 filter on several of these

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Ball turret inside the plane. This is the hatch where the gunner entered the turret

Stearman Bi-plane. This was the primary trainer for many WWII pilots.

The Fighter Pilot

The cockpit of the Sopwith Camel in the East Campus

Drove through Marshall on the way home. This fountain was beautifully back-lit

Wildflowers

FBC downtown

I still have a ton of pictures to process. Just had to get a few under my belt.

Sunday was our last day on the trip. We began with an attempt to capture the smoky ridges for which the mountains get their name. We were here Saturday morning also, along with a half-dozen Porches being photographed for a new dealership. I wasn't pleased with my efforts.

Then we went on a search for anything we could find, driving around until something caught our eye.

Two views of his old barn

An old cemetery churchyard still in use.

For a while we were driving in the clouds.

We eventually made our way back to Gatlinburg for a fine country breakfast. Sunday afternoon we went out again. This time it was all about the streams.

So what do you think? Color or black and white?

After a final dinner in Townsend we said our good-byes and got ready to head home. This trip was especially challenging for me. I learned lots but always felt like I was two steps behind everyone else. I got pushed hard but it was worth it.