Originally published in Palos Verdes Pulse, December 6, 2025.

I was thrilled to learn that one of my photo entries to Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine’s Annual Photo Contest won First Place in the Space category. 

This and other winning images are online now at https://aviationweek.com/.../aviation-week-2025-photo..., and will appear in print in the December 8-21 issue of the magazine. After a few years of trying, this is my first win, although I’ve previously had two photos published in Aviation Week in 2023 and 2024. 

Those earlier selections were Editor’s Picks (a sort of Honorable Mention) in the new Photo Illustration category, which allows for heavy digital post-processing. One photo illustrates the operation of an F-22 fighter plane’s weapons bay, while I manipulated the other to create a high-contrast black-and-white image of two men talking on the wing of a WWII P-38J fighter plane.

I’ve learned over the years that in any photo contest, gaining recognition is somewhat random. Of course, one’s talent and execution in making the photograph count. But assuming one has followed the contest rules, getting selected for an award then depends on what’s trending in photography at the moment, the quantity and quality of other entrants’ work, and the judges’ artistic preferences (and maybe even how they feel the day the work is judged!). But one tries, and half the fun is just getting your work out there. 

Here are a few of the other images I submitted but were not selected for Aviation Week’s contest this year.

Sometimes I like to take a colorful photo and digitally manipulate it in post-processing to create a digital art piece with a more painterly or even nostalgic aesthetic.

Aviation Week editors posted a video shedding a little light on this year’s contest. There were more entries this year than they’ve had in a while. Here’s my summary of what they said the judges were looking for and what appealed to them about the selected entries:

o   A degree of professionalism, sharp photos, and varied subject matter.

o   Not photographs of just an airplane in a blank sky, or an unexciting side view.

o   Some kind of landscape in the photo, something happening, something of interest, something that tells a story. 

o   Things they haven’t seen before. Not surprisingly, they get lots of imitations of previous years’ winners, so…do something different!

o   Good caption information is beneficial to the judges. Aviation Week’s readers are, after all, deeply interested in the technical details of aircraft, spacecraft, and their technology and operations. 

In short, judges are looking for originality, creativity, and technical proficiency from the photographer. But that’s what judges are looking for in any contest, gallery, or publication. To win, be invited, or get published, all you need is proficiency, practice, and persistence…and a bit of luck. 

Although you won’t find them in Aviation Week, I’m occasionally out there photographing birds. The magic of flight is not just about airplanes and rockets.