LOVELAND, Colo. — A Greeley-based photographer captured an incredible image of a military plane creating a rare, high-velocity phenomenon at the Great Colorado Air Show – and the amazing snap has a wholesome father-son story behind it.
Shawn Mason, an Air Force veteran and a nearly lifelong photographer, made the trip to Loveland last month to photograph the air show with his 17-year-old son, Wyatt.
Shawn said he snapped north of 9,000 photos over the weekend. Digging through the collection he found one – like a “needle in a haystack,” he described – that was too good not to share.
The photo, which he posted in Denver7’s Discover Colorado | Through Your Photos group on Facebook, appears to show a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet creating what’s known as a vapor cone – a visible cloud caused by a drop in pressure when a plane is flying at near transonic speeds.
It’s a special capture, particularly in Colorado’s drier, high-altitude air. Less moisture in the air means less likelihood of such a cloud developing.
This writer was compelled to reach out and talk to Shawn about the photo.
“I’m like, holy cow – not the exact words I said, but family friendly – and yes, I nerded out and I fist pumped the air,” he said.
His proudest moment, though, came as he kept digging through Wyatt’s photos – some 4,000 more, he said.
As it turned out, Wyatt, who was standing right next to his dad as the pair photographed the event, captured a near-identical image of the same phenomenon.
“It’s hard to describe the pride and happiness that I felt, because I knew he’d be jealous [of my photo],” Shawn Mason said. “But now he doesn’t have to be jealous and [I can] share that pride and that happiness with him.”
Wyatt joined a video call to talk with Denver7 about the moment.
“When you get something just as special as that, it's almost like a one-in-a-million shot,” he said.
A father-son backstory
Shawn Mason doesn’t just love the air show because of his 26 years protecting Air Force and Air National Guard bases as a security officer or because he’s a self-described “airplane nerd.”
It’s also the perfect training ground for Wyatt, who’s “hooked” on air shows of late and is following in his father’s footsteps in his love for photography. The pair started taking photos together when Wyatt was about 10 years old and shooting on a small Canon camera.
“It’s really amazing, because it brings us closer,” Wyatt said. “I feel like a lot of kids my age do not hang out with their parents anymore and bond.”
That’s a dream come true for Shawn, whose proud-dad smile crept in whenever he talked about Wyatt on our video call. The moments the two chase can’t always be captured through the lens.
“These are memory-makers,” he said. “When I’m old, and [have just a] couple marbles rolling around, those memories will be there for him.”
