Airplanes are life. Watching them is a hobby, designing them is a career, and photographing them is the most time consuming pastime. Eat, Sleep, Live – Airplanes.
Matt Shinavar, typically shortened to Shinny, is a different type of addition to the Photorecon; by far the youngest in the group. There was no film to digital heartache all he has ever known is digital, having taken up photography in 2006. There are no vivid memories of the F-4 or even F-14 demo, “the good old days” are airshows from the mid 2000’s, and his first airshow – ever – was in 1987 when his age was expressed in months, not years. Now-a-days he can be found making up for lack of years attending 15+ airshows a year, perfecting the craft.
Shinny is an aerospace engineer by training, specializing in composite materials and structures for Defense Department equipment; believing in the noble pursuit of serving the defense needs of the United States, deciding he could better serve using his mind than boots in the dirt. His passion for aircraft is nearly unrivaled by his other engineer colleagues, leaving a wake of destruction when it comes to aircraft identification. Knowing and understanding the technical details and complexities of these aircraft make every experience that much more special. Wonder what that part is used for on the aircraft; why the structure looks like that; how that thing even flies; or wish to have a spirited discussion on the merits of thermosetting composite materials laminated in a highly anisotropic configuration and their application to compression-critical primary aircraft structure? Ask him; but be prepared for a lengthy, fast-paced, and pedantic discussion filled with tons of the following Shinny-isms: “or something like that” as an attempt to simplify the already esoteric and overly pedantic discussion, sarcastic “because that makes sense” with obligatory eye roll, and the frequent rhetorical usage of “right?” to which he customarily does not actually seek a response or affirmation.
An amateur by some standards: He typically shoots under 100,000 images a year, only has spent three times the value of his car on camera equipment, and only spends 10 months out of the year shooting aircraft seriously. Every year the numbers increase, the knowledge expands, and the dedication deepens.
Also a firm believer that you have to be there to get the shot, Shinny spends a fair amount of time exercising, dabbling in CrossFit as well as road cycling and running. Sure the lens only weighs 7lbs; try holding it perfectly steady to get awesome prop blur. That one lens only weighs 7lbs, the rest of the backpack tips the scale at 40lbs. Lugging all that gear in the heat for up to miles at a time, he believes it takes a firm dedication to fitness to be on the top of your game. After all, Airplanes are life.
He may be contacted at matt.shinavar@gmail.com and looks forward to contributions he can make to Photorecon.
