- [Announcer] Production funding for "Outside Beyond the Lens" provided by... Visit Fresno County, home to unique attractions, California's fifth largest city, and easy access to three nearby national parks.

By Advance Beverage Company, serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- We are proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- [Announcer] By Hodges Electric Inc. Over five decades of delivering innovative solutions for residential, agricultural, and battery storage systems.

By the Penstar Group, promoting opportunity and growth for the future.

By Central California's Valley Children's Healthcare.

Futures worth fighting for.

By A-Plus Signs, we never stop innovating for you.

And by Valley Air Conditioning and Repair.

Family owned and trusted for over 50 years.

Proud to support public television and the wonders of travel.

(ethereal music) (whining engine) - [Jeff] In the southern Sierra Nevada of California and into the neighboring Mojave Desert, a discovery is made.

A mixing of wild, rugged landscapes with power and flight.

A rare combination where two unlikely worlds of photography meet.

(whining jet engine) (tense music) It's a waiting game where hours of anticipation pass.

Hoping for a distant roar that signals the approach of a chance to capture the perfect shot.

(radio chatter) - [Radio] About 500 feet, 500 knots.

Sidewinder.

(whooshing jet engine) (radio chatter) - [Radio] Flight of two F-15s.

500 feet, 500 knots.

Point delta.

- [Photographer] Low, low, low!

- Way low, got him!

(whooshing jet engines) - [Radio] Two F15s, 500 feet, 500 knots, Point Charlie.

(dramatic music) (light music) - [Jeff] The desert can reveal secrets, if you know how to look.

And this time led us to a place where jets fly in the wild.

(whooshing jet engine) When you travel, the world becomes a smaller place.

When explore with friends like mine, who share a love of photography, destinations come to life.

- Ha, ha, ha.

- [Jeff] We tell the stories of travel with our cameras, capturing the wonders of this world in every frame.

- Day one of filming on the island and it's like crazy.

- [Jeff] But on every trip, the unplanned moments we film are the ones we remember the most.

Jordan, good to meet you, brother.

- [Jordan] Good to meet you too, man.

- [Jeff] Now, join David Boomer, Zack Allen, Jon Neely, and me, Jeff Aiello as we set out on a new journey to discover the people, places, and food that all make travel life's never ending adventure.

This is "Outside Beyond the Lens."

(funky music) (ethereal music) Something I've noticed after years of traveling around some of this world is that certain destinations explored are somehow instantly familiar.

(ethereal music) Your time in these places doesn't resonate with being a visitor or a tourist.

There are landscapes that call you back.

And when you return, fill you with the comfort that you belong there.

(ethereal music) For me, this familiar connection is felt when I explore the deserts of the American West.

With a specific fondness for the Mojave Desert of California.

This morning, Zack Allen and I are up before sunrise in the Trona Pinnacles.

A national, natural landmark known for its large tufa towers that stand watch over the Searales Dry Lake Basin.

All right, Zack and I are in the midst of the Pinnacles.

And we got here just about, well, just as daybreak was kinda coming on here.

And got the camera setup.

Zack's got a time lapse going on behind me.

And I'm just playing around with some shots here with the 7200.

There it is.

And yeah, think the sunrise is gonna be over there.

We've got some clouds that are gonna kinda mess with that or make it awesome.

One of the two things will happen.

Early morning sunlight and desert rock typically make photographic magic together.

In the wild expanse of settings like this.

But this morning we are blessed with something special.

Shadows come to life as the Trona Pinnacles put on a springtime symphony of color, contrasts, and compositions.

(light music) The joys of landscape photography captured in a setting sculpted by time.

But recently, we've discovered a different way to experience the wonders of California's rugged deserts and nearby southern Sierra Nevada.

A practice of image making that combines these quiet, scenic backdrops with photographic subjects that literally roar into frame.

(whooshing jet engine) (funky music) Meet Ryan Watamura.

He's a super talented photographer and camera expert at our local camera shop in Fresno, California, Horn Photo.

I've gotten to know Ryan over the last few years as he's helped the outside crew with our camera packages, lens, and new gear.

One day, after asking Ryan about his aviation prints that decorate the walls of Horn Photo, and the shots I had been seeing on his Instagram feed, I was fascinated to learn about an entire subculture of aviation photography enthusiasts that venture to the southern Sierra and parts of California's Mojave Desert to post up on a relatively unknown military aviation low level training route called the Sidewinder.

An entire section of airspace over this part of California is known as the 2508 Complex.

Exclusively used by mostly military fighter jets to train in all kinds of scenarios at various altitudes.

Within the 2508 Complex, the Sidewinder twists through 280 miles of mixed terrain to provide standardized, low flying training for the Department of Defense.

(rushing jet engine) Most of the land the Sidewinder passes over is open to the public on either forest service, national park, or BLM lands.

Making it a great way for aviation photography hobbyists to capture jets in the wild.

(funky music) Kernville, California is a quiet, off the beaten path town in the foothills of the Sierra.

About an hour drive from Bakersfield.

This is where the Kern River spills into Lake Isabella and where aviation photographers pass on their way to the Sidewinder.

Boomer and I have come here a day earlier than Zack and Ryan who will arrive tomorrow morning bright and early for our first full experience of hiking and shooting on the Sidewinder.

- They are right on top of us.

I'd say four to 500 feet above us.

Oh, got one.

- Here we go.

(whooshing jet) That is intense, man.

Oh my god!

- He was down on the deck.

Listen.

The vortices coming off the wings are ripping up there!

- [Boomer] That is intense, man.

That doesn't get old.

- No.

(funky music) - The last couple years really has kinda peaked my interest.

Being in Fresno, we have our air guard base there.

Lemoore has a lot of Navy jets that fly around, so it's kinda easy to catch just jets flying around.

Hi, yeah, uh, could you send a couple of Raptors through here, low level?

Thank you.

(funky music) (camera shutter snapping) - Good morning.

- Morning!

- What's up?

- [Jeff] Hey, what's up, Zachariah?

- Oo, I'll tell ya what.

My chorizo burrito is what's up.

(chuckling) - [Jeff] You really are gonna eat a chorizo burrito?

- Heck yeah, dude!

- [Jeff] Before you hike up a giant-- - I got it.

I got it.

- [Jeff] Of course you are.

(chuckling) - [Boomer] Morning, guys.

- Morning, Boomer.

- [Jeff] It's about 7:00 in the morning and mid April temps are still a little chilly on the Kern.

The jet traffic on the Sidewinder typically begins around 9:00.

So by the time we eat a quick breakfast and slog up this short, but ridiculously steep climb, we should be in position and ready to go.

- Our little burritos we put in the fridge last night, the fridge worked a little too well.

So the lettuce has got ice crystals on it.

And the cheese I mighta chipped a tooth on.

But we're warming 'em up the old fashioned way.

(funky music) - [Jeff] As newbies on the Sidewinder, we're definitely packing too much stuff up this hill.

And into our mouths, before we climb.

Two things we're about to pay dearly for.

No tripod.

We're gonna use the sitting sacks for sticks today.

And uh... Food and water's on board.

We got the scanner, FX6, A7, Mark 5.

What am I forgetting, Dave?

- [Dave] I think we got everything, man.

- Man.

It feels like we have everything.

- [Dave] It does.

- [Jeff] Down is usually harder on my knees.

- Yeah.

- [Jeff] This is the one.

Slow and steady.

- Yup.

- [Jeff] Go ahead.

Go ahead, Zack.

You're next.

Yeah.

- Nice rocks.

(funky music) - [Jeff] The climb hits pretty hard, pretty quick and is much steeper than it looks from the comfort of our cars and breakfast burritos.

- Ugh, I'm glad I didn't eat that whole burrito.

- I know.

- Yeah, I'm glad I didn't eat the whole thing.

- Down low, right here!

- Got 'em.

- Two of 'em, coming in.

- Got 'em.

- T-38s.

(whooshing jets) Oh man, I got that one overtaking the other one.

- Oh, sweet, dude.

I can't wait to see that one.

(funky music) - All right, we made it up here after our big hike this morning.

It wasn't that bad.

- It wasn't that bad.

- Yeah, I'm here with Ryan.

And yeah man, this is it.

It's the hurry up and wait game now.

- That got your adrenaline running this morning.

- It did, it did.

The jet made us, the jet passes made us forget about the just sheer pain and misery we were in hiking it.

It really wasn't that bad.

It's steep.

There are very little switchbacks.

- Yeah.

- It's a goat trail straight up, but you're here and we have a beautiful, clear California day here.

And we're just waiting for jets to come in now.

And we'll get a call on the radio and then it's about a minute to two minutes before they make it through here.

So, that's where we're at.

We aren't the only ones on the hill today taking pics of jets.

And that's what makes this such a fun practice of photography.

There is a relatively small community of photographers that absolutely love doing this and all share a strong bond and love for aviation.

So you're shooting a fixed 600.

- Yeah.

- [Jeff] What is that, a four all the way?

- Yeah, F4.

The thing with this is like, when it hits, it hits.

When it's not, it's like, eh, whatever, delete.

- [Jeff] And Ryan, what kind of camera are you shooting with and lens setup here?

- This is a Nikon Z9 and I've got a fixed 400 4.5 on it.

Little lighter weight lens.

Easier to hike up the hill.

Don't feel like being a donkey and carrying everything up here, so.

- [Jeff] You mean like me.

- Yeah, I just want to keep it light.

So, I don't know how you guys hauled all this gear up here.

(funky music) (birds chirping) - [Jeff] Since the T-38s buzzed by, it's been quiet this morning.

And we get a quick indoctrination into shooting on the Sidewinder.

Most of your time here will be waiting.

Hours of sitting with intermittent bursts of sheer thrill and excitement that lasts about 10 seconds and then it's back to more waiting.

(light music) But when that call does come in on the radio, hearts skip a collective beat and it's time to move fast.

- [Radio] 500 feet, 500 knots.

- Is your blood pumping, Jeff?

- It's pumping.

- Ha, ha, ha.

- Ah, it's pumping.

They sound like F-18s.

Way low, got him!

Tally ho.

(whooshing jet engine) Another one low!

(whooshing jet engine) That does not get old.

(chuckling) That does not get old!

Oh man.

The sound of freedom, baby.

Oh.

The morning was pretty good with eight solid passes of different jets.

My first go at it with the two to 600 millimeter lens resulted in a few good frames, especially for a rookie.

The scenery, the aircraft, and the photography all mix into something we're instantly addicted to.

(whooshing jet engines) But now, my wheels are turning about where the jets that fly the Sidewinder are coming from.

And how and why they use this route to train.

Answers I'm pretty sure I can find back in Fresno.

Home of the 194th Fighter Squadron of California's Air National Guard and the pilots and crew of the 144th Fighter Wing, The Griffins.

I've been watching these jets out of our home airport for years.

And now, I finally have a chance to see what's going on behind these walls.

(whooshing jet) (light music) (radio chatter) (upbeat rock music) - The history, if you look at the history of the wing, we really go back to after World War II.

Really, after the Air Force was setup as a separate service and after the Air National Guard was created.

And we started flying the P-51 and then later it was called the F-51.

This wing was stood up as an air defense wing really from the start.

And you look at the aircraft that we've flown from the P-51 to the F-86.

You know, we flew two versions of that.

We flew the F-102 and the F-106.

All along the way what you see are consistent awards and accolades and high standards of excellence and excellence in what we do.

- Yeah, the 144th, it's got a long heritage, but primarily what we provide to the combatant commander is offensive counter air, defensive counter air.

And homeland defense for here, primarily on the West Coast of the United States.

Yeah, the Sidewinder is, so it's a low level route that goes through one of our normal training air spaces, which is in our 2508.

And it's a low level route that really circumnavigates the entire air space.

It provides some really neat geography to fly through.

And it allows us to hone our skills in flying in a low level environment.

- The F-15, it goes very high, it goes very fast.

It's the world's greatest air superiority fighter.

- [Radio] 500 feet, 500 knots.

- Getting a fighter out in the wild, what it actually looks like when they're really low and really fast you don't have to worry about being around a lot of people with a specific aerial demonstration.

You can get some really good shots on the jet and see what the jets out there actually do for the taxpayers.

Especially we're just in the realm of our own military training ground.

- With the technology and the photos that come out and the videos that come out, it's unbelievable how cool the finished product can actually be.

And I think that's an awesome recruiting tool.

- We like the Sidewinder.

It's got everything from very mountainous terrains to a lot of turns, to flat areas.

So it gives us the ability to basically assess the environment that we pretty much fly everywhere in the world and be able to do it at low altitude.

(dramatic music) - [Jeff] Having access to the men and women of the 144th over the course of several months of filming this episode we got to know a lot of these folks on a personal level.

And are proud to now call them friends.

- Rock and roll.

- [Jeff] Understanding their mission, their dedication to it, and seeing firsthand their love of aviation and service to our nation.

All makes the time we spent photographing these jets on the low level even more special.

(dramatic music) (whining jet engines) (tense music) Another trip to the desert.

Another early morning call to photograph military jets on the Sidewinder.

We're at checkpoint Delta now, a favorite spot for photographers that requires climbing a steep pile of rocks to get above the flight level of the jets.

A group of diehards are here before it heats up, ready to make the climb and wait.

- Morning, guys.

I'm Ryan.

- Nice to meet you, Ryan.

I've been into aviation photography for about 20 years, but I just started doing low level stuff here maybe about a year and a half ago.

- Yeah, it's addictive.

- It is.

It kinda kills airshows.

- It kills them!

- Airshows are still fun, but it's just not the same.

- It's not the same.

I tell 'em it's like going to the zoo to go get animal shots, you know.

- Oh yeah.

- Versus going out in the wild.

- It's completely different.

- 100%.

- [Jeff] This climb is more technical than the hill we tackled along the Kern.

A slow, steady pace is key to making it up safe.

And before too long, desert silence is broken by the crack of a call on the radio.

As jets begin to roar through the Sidewinder again.

(radio chatter) - [Radio] Flight of two F-15s.

500 feet, 500 knots, Point Delta.

- [Jeff] Two F-15C Eagles out of Fresno drop into Delta.

And as the day winds on, a parade of high performance aircraft pass on their low level training flights.

(whooshing jet engines) F-16s.

F-18 Hornets.

And the 5th generation F-35 Lightning II blasting by Point Delta.

On their way up the Sidewinder, passing more photographers on the way at checkpoints down the range.

(light music) (radio chatter) - They're coming.

- [Jeff] These landscapes have called to us for years.

And each time we've returned, we felt a familiar purpose.

To capture these images with a camera.

And share the beauty found here beyond the reach of these expansive views.

(whooshing jet engine) But now, I'm on a path to experience the desert in a new way.

A one in a million shot opportunity that will put me in a place I'm very unfamiliar with.

This is cool, it's just not as cool as Tom Cruise getting ready to fly Darkstar.

A backseat ride in the legendary F-15.

To see the Sidewinder like every aviation photographer dreams.

(roaring jet) - I got a fist bump.

- [Jeff] And one more trip to the most remote part of the Sidewinder, where desert sands and wind have created an otherworldly place to experience the beauty of California's deserts and to capture jets in the wild.

(whooshing jet engines) - [Announcer] Production funding for "Outside Beyond the Lens" provided by... Visit Fresno County, home to unique attractions, California's fifth largest city, and easy access to three nearby national parks.

By Advance Beverage Company, serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- We are proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- [Announcer] By Hodges Electric Inc, over five decades of delivering innovative solutions for residential, agricultural, and battery storage systems.

By the Penstar Group.

Promoting opportunity and growth for the future.

By Central California's Valley Children's Healthcare.

Futures worth fighting for.

By A-Plus Signs, we never stop innovating for you.

And by Valley Air Conditioning and Repair.

Family owned and trusted for over 50 years.

Proud to support public television, and the wonders of travel.

(bright music)