Gallery: 2025 Aviation Week Photo Contest Early Entries

An Erickson Aero Tanker MD-87 dropped fire retardant along Mandeville Canyon Road in Los Angeles during the Palisades Fire in January. Marty Wolin says that photographing in the canyon, with only one road in and out, was difficult because of how narrow the road was with houses, trees and mountains on both sides. Using a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens allowed Wolin to get part of one house in the frame as the retardant fell.

A United Express Embraer 175 operated by SkyWest Airlines flairs before landing on Runway 12R at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport with a Lufthansa Airbus A380 serving as a background on an adjacent taxiway.

Vicky Benzing prepares to take off in her 1940 Boeing Stearman for an aerobatic performance at Apple Valley, California. Note the aerobatic show diagram affixed to her instrument panel.

A U.S. Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier streaks by at low altitude as the photographer shoots down from a hill in perfect morning light conditions.

Goodyear Blimps buzz the tower as they arrive at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025. Goodyear brought two of its semi-rigid airships to the world’s busiest air show to mark the company’s centennial in lighter-than-air flying. Although both are the latest generation of Goodyear’s iconic airship, one is wrapped in the original blimp livery from 1925.

KelbyOne Inner Circle members point their cameras skyward at Sun ‘n Fun to capture the flying display. KelbyOne provides training at multiple levels for photographers.

In the golden grasp of a Texas sunset on March 6, SpaceX’s Integrated Flight Test 8 erupted from Starbase at 5:30 p.m. Super Heavy Booster 15, powered by 33 Raptor engines, clawed skyward above the billowing flames and smoke.

Mike Wiskus flies Lucas Oil’s Pitts S-1-11B, dubbed the “Super Stinker,” low over Lake Ontario at the Canadian International Air Show in Toronto.