Catalina. (Enlarge).

An observation plane plane of the American Air Force. During WW2 a similar plane discovered the Japanese fleet in the Pacific Ocean. The movie Tora tora tora' documents this very well. Is seen here with it's floats half open.

I used a relatively slow shutter speed to blur the propellers.

Best regards, Dimitraki!

Petraki

Superb shot of this old flying boat... Mike

I saw & loved the movie.  Watched it again on TV & will again if I see it playing.   I was with my wife who hated it.  But let's face it, it was a 'guy's' movie. :-)  This is a fine shot, especially when viewed 'Larger'.  My bet is that the guys flying this machine who spotted the Japanese fleet were wishing they were in a plane capable of more speed.  Must have felt pretty vulnerable.  Best, Len. 

500mm, 1/200 sec and hand held!!!!!!

You must have a very steady grip Dimitri because the photo is crystal clear.

When i was a kid i used to read comic books about WWII and i can tell you, i found myself in the cockpit of this plane (while daydreaming) many times.

Thanks for sharing.

As always thank you very much for your visit!.

Best regards.

With a range of 2.520 miles it was the only observation plane to be effective in the Pacific and with a top speed of nearly 200 MPH and a ceiling of 15000 feet, the 10 crew thought they were flying the dogs b...... I think that they were so excited having spotted the Jap. fleet that they had no time to wish for anything better..:-).

I watched the movie too in the cinema on the big screen with stereo sound....WOW. I

I walked out of the theater in a daze...

But coming back to the picture. To hear in reality those Prat and Whitney engines and seeing that old and legendary bird flying, it was as though a time portal opened, transporting me back to the Pacific...-:)

All the Best Len and thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Oops..I spotted a typo again...:-). It should be 'Legend' not 'Legent'..

I don't usually leave the original metadata in the details but I want you to look at the next one that I am going to post (just for you) which I was n't going to post it as I chose this one but

as the singer Al-Jolson used to say...you ain't seen nothing yet...:-) :-).

But seriously It is all a matter of technique, hold your breath.relax the muscles and squeeze the shutter, don't press it. Otherwise you will get camera shake. This works most of the time -:).

As far as day dreaming is concerned...same here..:-) I have in my loft two big boxes with countless novels mostly about flying in WWI and WWII.

Thanks for taking the time Mihali. I appreciate it.

Beautiful shot of this plane against that cloudy sky. I just watched that movie the night before last! It's great you mentioned the movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!"; one of many favorite (war) movies of mine. I understand for the movie they had to build zero's from AT6's because part of the agreement in the peace treaty was for Japan to surrender and destroy all airplanes. The producer bought a whole bunch of old AT6's and had them modified and painted to be exact replicas of the zero's. Painstaking work in the production of that movie to achieve historical accuracy and I think it paid off well. Anyway, great shot; love the blur of the propellers. Very well done. Thank you for sharing. :)

Thank you my dear for sharing all that information about the movie . Is not only a guys movie after all...-:). Suffice to say also that the film received an academy award!!!.

And Trisha thank you for sharing your thoughts !.

Oh no, you do not have to be a "guy" to enjoy military movies! I grew up sitting with my dad watching the old WWII documentaries on tv every weekend! Very fond memories of those days with my dad and I have a deep admiration and respect for people who make sacrifices for the welfare of others. I find history very interesting, especially military history and it carries over to my interest in war movies. I have quite a collection of history books on WWII, Civil War, Revolutionary War, Gulf War and Vietnam War. Some were my father's, who served in the navy in Okinawa as a dentist before starting his private practice in California. I'm just about as girlie as a girl gets so it's just an assumption these movies are only for the "guy's".  :) Keep bringing us these beauties! Thanks again for sharing. :)