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 Bob Lawson served in the US Navy on four aircraft carriers, eight naval air stations, and a guided missile group. Additionally, he was battalion photographer in Vietnam in 1968. After retirement, Lawson created The Hook (The Journal of Carrier Aviation) where he acted as editor-in-chief from 1977 to 1991. His photo duties have allowed him to fly in more than eighty types of military aircraft with all five US services and two foreign countries. During his Vietnam tour, he earned two strike-flight air medals. Lawson has logged about 4,500 hours in more than forty-two consecutive years of flying in tactical aircraft and has flown with more than 150 Navy and Marine units.
"On one photo mission with Topgun, I was to photograph an F-16N in the planform while in a vertical climb. The standard procedure for making this shot is for the subject aircraft and photo plane to begin the maneuver in parallel straight-and-level flight. Both pilots then commence a four-g pull-up to vertical flight. The subject pilot then rolls ninety degrees to his right, resulting in both aircraft still in vertical flight giving the photographer a view of the top of the subject aircraft.
"Without exception, every time I have attempted this shot, the subject pilot will unconsciously apply slight back pressure on the stick while looking over his shoulder, causing his plane to close into the photo plane. (Kind of like when you are driving and look to one side of the road, then find yourself moving toward that side.) This tendency often creates an interesting situation. A close look at the resulting photo reveals the shadow of the photo F-16 on the left wing of the subject. I took this shot with a Nikon F2 using a 35-135mm zoom lens retracted to the wide angle setting. Yes, we got a little close."
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