Welcome on Scorpion Aviation, the website of Dutch based military aviation photographer Ramon van Opdorp. This website is devoted to my two hobby's, "military" aviation and photography. What was once a casual past-time, is now a healthy, daily obsession. My hopes are such that these photographs will "take you away" for a brief moment... and in that moment, you'll catch a glimpse of the magic that I experienced that day. Main aim is sharing unique, self made photographs of the fast world of military aviation, and are aimed to fully express the essence of the subject at hand. I post-process them as far as possible while attempting to maintain the original integrity. The SA Photography website is launched in March of 2004 by Ramon van Opdorp, born in 1977 in Heerlen (The Netherlands). The interest for "military" aviation, was already there when I still had to make my first steps, due to the fact I lived near the NATO E-3A AWACS base Geilenkirchen, Germany. My military aviation photography interest started after I had visited the Open door days of the RNLAF at Eindhoven in 1993, with the first close encounter with a F-117A Nighthawk, a French Navy F-8E Crusader and a Hungarian Mig-23. Favorite aircraft for me is the F-14 Tomcat, just the rare beauty and raw power of this two engine beauty gives the goose bumps, it's stance even at rest suggests speed and power....and elegance and class. I have seen the Tomcat however only twice, but made quite a impression on me. Closely followed behind the F-14 Tomcat is the A-10A Thunderbolt II my other favorite aircraft, and the Mil-24 Hind my favorite rotor wing, they are the most beastie and ugly flying machines on this planet, but that makes them so beautiful to see. And last but not least do I like almost every historic warbird out there that flies, with the F4U-1D Corsair, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, B-24 Liberator, P-61 Black Widow and the P-38 Lightning as my favorites. With their raw shape and the lovely sound of smoking and kicking piston engines. Each year brings new challenges and chances for me to better my photographic skills and knowledge. I hope to grow from my experiences of the past years and eagerly await the unique opportunities I will have in the future. Constructive criticism is most welcome, as it helps me to evolve and progress as a photographer. I hope you enjoy your stay at Scorpion Aviation, and visit again soon for the latest updates. Main Objective I took a lot of photographs over the years, but the photographs did not turn out quite as good as I would have liked to. I decided to improve my photography and began educating myself by studying the work of established photographers and reading how-to articles. I'm of course still learning, and will do this for the rest of my life. But I try to give my own view to every photograph, and hereby fully express the essence of the subject at hand. By exploring and experimenting, I post-process the image as far as possible while attempting to maintain the original integrity of the shot. Each photograph gets his own identity and look by using different angles and the use of light. I'm always curious and very interested in the scene behind airshows and exercises. This is now expressed besides photographing by interviewing fighter pilots, and the pilots of the solo display and display teams. With the interviews I try to offer coverage of the contemporary military aviation scene, in a total different and exclusive perspective. Therefore is also a dedicated Journalism section on this website, where you find profiles on aircrafts and interviews with several fighter and display pilots. Why "Scorpion" The "Scorpion" Aviation Photography name is chosen due to several reasons. First of all is "scorpion" a catchy and strong name. Second of all stands the scorpion for intense, determined, persevering, in control and observing. And last but not least, they often ambush their prey, lying in wait for hours as they sense its approach. Which are the main qualities and the essence to make good "aviation" photographs. And of course was "the Scorpion" one of the first fighter jets after the second world war, in the shape of the Northrop F-89 Scorpion, a twin-engine, all-weather fighter-interceptor designed to locate, intercept, and destroy enemy aircraft by day or night under all types of weather conditions. The F-89 was one of the most heavily armed fighter aircraft, and the backbone of the USAF for more than 17 years. My Services Over the years I have worked now with the best and most experienced photographers around, and have learned from their work and shared information. And this experience is now provided and/or advised to our customers like: Silverjet LTD, Belgium AirForce, NATO base Geilenkirchen and the Spanish AirForce. For published work in magazines and other media, please visit my portfolio page for a overview. Scorpion Aviation is available for all your professional photography assignments both on the ground and in the air, in cooperation with the MAPSociety. We can provide the perfect photography for all your publicity, leaflets, calendars, brochures and any other publications. Results of the photo assignments can be provided in any requested format, like CD-rom, DVD, prints or any other requested media. Contact us via E-mail for more information, conditions, prices or a specific quote, references are available upon request.