A Life through a Lens
I grew up spending time in the darkroom listening to classical music and watching my father develop photos during the ‘70s. My grandfather, Robert Dumigan, also enjoyed photography and when the R-100 made its one and only trip to St. Hubert in 1930, my grandfather took a photo of my aunt and father standing in front of the R-100. I’m sure this is where my father caught his love for aviation. This and many more photos are presented in the full story.
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My grandfather took the photo below of my aunt and father standing in front of the R-100. I’m sure this is where my father caught his love for aviation. |
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My father, Richard Dumigan, began taking photos in the mid 1940s and this is the first image he remembers turning out good with his Kodak Hawkeye camera: a postwar Lancaster landing at Dorval. From the ‘50s on, Richard actively photographed aircraft in the Montreal area. |
Living in Montreal North, Richard often visited Cartierville and has many wonderful images of Sabres, Tutors, Starfighters, CL-44s and pretty much anything else that was built at Canadair in the ‘50s and ‘60s. |
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Factory-fresh Starfighter 12847, lacking roundels, is seen landing at Cartierville. |
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The prototype swing-tail version of the Canadair CL-44, CF-MKP-X, is seen landing on a cold winter day at Cartierville. |
Dorval was another location my father spent a lot of time at watching aircraft. There was always a steady stream of international and domestic airliners coming and Montreal. |
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The first landing at Dorval airport of a de Havilland Comet-3, G-ANLO. This photo was publishedHere is the link to a online version of the photo and letter to the editor. You can see the article from the March 1956 edition of Flight magazine by clicking here. |
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A classic shot of a Trans-Canada Air Lines Constellation on the ramp at Dorval. |
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A heavily laden BOAC Stratocruiser departs Dorval. |
Richard frequented RCAF Station St. Hubert and along with CF-100 and Sabre images captured military visitors from the USAF and RAF. |
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Hiding in tall grass at the end of the runway, my father was surprised to see several RAF Canberras arrive one sunny afternoon at St. Hubert. |
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A trio of 423 Squadron Mark 3 Avro CF-100s depart St. Hubert during an Open House. |
One of my earliest photographic outings with my father was seeing the Erikson Skycrane building the antenna portion of the CN Tower. |
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The Erickson S-64 Skycrane is seen lifting one of the 36 pieces of the CN Tower‘s antenna. |
Often I would read articles in magazines about air shows and events I had been to and knew my photos were just as good as the ones in the magazine so in 1988 I submitted my first images to Flypast magazine of the very first take-off of the CWH Lancaster. Although they did not use the images I wanted they did print a taxi shot and I was hooked. Since that point my photography has been published in many aviation magazines around the world. It took another 20 years before I was able to shoot the CWH Lancaster in the air over Hamilton but it was well worth the wait. |
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The CWH Lancaster is seen from the tail of the museum’s B-25 Mitchell. |
I have had the privilege of working with most of the vintage aircraft groups in Ontario and was honored when asked to shoot the very first five-ship Battle of Britain Flight over Ottawa in 2008. The flight consisted of the CWH Lancaster, The Russell Group’s Spitfire and Hurricane and Vintage Wings of Canada’s Spitfire and Hurricane. A truly incredible sight to see in Canadian skies. |
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Three of Canada’s flying museums come together to form a unique sight in the skies over Ottawa. |
One of the rarest aircraft I have shot in the air is the Spence family’s Fairey Swordfish. Canadian Astronaut, Chris Hadfield, is seen sitting in the gunner’s position. The Swordfish has not flown in a few years but is now with Vintage Wings of Canada in Gatineau and slated to fly again this year for the 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Navy. |
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Pete Spence peaks over the top wing of the Swordfish to keep formation while Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield enjoys the view from the gunner’s position. |
Another great Canadian moment was shooting Chimo Air Service’s Noorduyn Norseman over Lake St. John. It was fresh from a restoration at Corporate Aircraft Restoration in Oshawa and on its way back to Red Lake. |
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The Chimo Air Service Noorduyn Norseman is seen diving in for a pass at the Orillia Lake St. John airport before departing for Red Lake. |
Being an aviation photographer has allowed me many wonderful opportunities and doing aerobatics with the Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team was amazing and pressed my skills to the limit. |
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Pete Spence is seen leading Dave Hewitt in Harvard Two through a loop while I ride with Kent Beckham in Harvard Three. |
For a kid who idolized the people on the other side of the air show fence it has been an amazing ride so far and I look forward to all the exciting sights, sounds and experiences with the same boyhood anticipation I have had all my life. |
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After a long day of barnstorming rides, the Edenvale Classic Aircraft Foundation’s Tiger Moth is seen silhouetted against a July evening sky. |
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