Blue Water Ops by Erik Hildebrandt

Aviation Photographer and Author of 8 books including FLY NAVY: Celebrating the First Century of Naval AviationErik Hildebrandt is one of the nation's premier aviation photographers who continues to pioneer new technologies and revolutionary techniques to capture innovative aerial images. His 20-year career has earned him more than 200 hours in military jet aircraft ranging from civilian air shows to military tactical jets.
For the past two years, Hildebrandt has traveled the globe documenting the rapid evolving aviation universe of unmanned aircraft. This book is a grand overview of the latest technologies being deployed in the War on Terror as well as earth science studies and climate change.
Hildebrandt was born and raised on Long Island, not far from where Grumman built the F-14 Tomcat. He describes his photography as an extension and expression of his life, from documenting his childhood exploits to creating fashion portfolios for models before ultimately realizing his dreams of aviation photography. For more than 15 years, Hildebrandt has lived in a self-described state of total immersion in the world of aviation and aviation photography. He is a multi-engine rated private pilot and flies a 1968 Cessna O-2A Skymaster that was formerly in service with the U.S. Air Force as a forward air control aircraft. Hildebrandt graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton with a Bachelor of Arts in American History in 1989. He lives with his wife, Christine, and their two young boys in the rural countryside east of Minneapolis, Minn.