Aperture Foundation. Strong and emotive use of shadows in black and white photos. This collection primarily consists of images of man's structures or effects on the landscape, subtly interspersed with natural landscape aerial shots. Ms. Bridges' previous works explored the marks left by ancient civilizations and in this book she almost seems to say that our present markings on the ground should be read with the outcome of ancient civilizations in mind. The pictures are an interesting play of land and man, light and shadow. A well done example of the message-delivering capability of the aerial photography art form.
University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Introduced by Martha A. Sandweiss. Artistic B&W photos of sand dunes, shores, fields, and bodies of water. Images are surprisingly like fractal geometry and may be perceived as abstractions although they are real objects. Excellent composing and lighting. Each image stands alone without needing thematic support from the others. One of the few aviation photographers actually emphasizing the design within their subject. A favorite is a 1974, Paso Robles, CA print of "Two Trees on Hill with Shadows" which intriguingly shows two simultaneous views of the same objects. William Garnett has produced this collection over a 50 year period flying in his 1956 Cessna 170B.
Rizzoli, NY, NY. Dramatic color photos. Alex MacLean is a Boston based aerial photographer, self piloting his C182 and Canon 35mm cameras for over 20 years. With a background in architecture, he uniquely captures man's interplay with the natural world with highly geometric views of urban communities, agricultural and industrial developments, and environmental phenomena. Between the essays by McKibben and the subjects photographed by MacLean, the result lies somewhere between Garnett's graphical style and Bridge's environmental moodiness. The photographs are not abstract, but their composition is exquisite. This is another great example of fine art with environmental overtones.
Abberville Press, NY,NY. Aerial design photography. Very graphic color photos of geographic and manmade features accompanied by interesting notes about each image. Often makes the usual seem very unusual and interesting. This Swiss photographer certainly exhibits a personal style and he talks about it a bit. The introduction interestingly discusses some of his techniques which are worth noting. For example he generally rents small Cessnas with a pilot so that he can hang out over the side of the plane and concentrate on the photography. This is like Marilyn Bridges. (William Garnett flys and shoots alone, feeling he can't possibly direct a pilot efficiently enough to get the shots he wants.) Gerster is unique in shooting only straight down (verticals only) to emphasize the plane's perspective as opposed to an oblique perspective that might otherwise be obtained from say a church steeple. Author gets a little into the metaphysical reasons for specializing in aerial photography and its usefulness to the art and society and makes a convincing case. Very interesting photos.
(Focal Press) Butterworth & Co, Ltd., London & Boston. This is a well detailed text on the science, technology and technique of aerial photography. Book starts with an interesting account of the history of aerial photos, prior to the airplane, covers some of the important geometric considerations, and reviews current equipment and applications. Good discussions on flying techniques. The history and coverage is decidedly Anglo/Euro-centric with little mention of American developments. Emphasis is on multimillion dollar aircraft and camera systems, but worthwhile consideration is given to oblique photography from single engine GA platforms. There are some references and a chapter about the promising possibilities of aerial photography using ultralights with a Quicksilver MXII as an example. Excellent reference.
Little, Brown and Company, Boston. Introduction by Ansel Adams. Garnett's first book and done exclusively in color. Book includes nicely detailed and annotated maps of where the pictures were taken. Exquisite geography and designs. A statement from Garnett best describes this work; "Water in a river or pond may be muddy brown, but by choosing a camera angle that reflects the blue sky, I can mix a color palette as surely as does a painter. A field of freshly plowed earth can be seen as brown (its "real" color) in direct sun, or it may take on a russet hue at sunrise or sunset. Facets of dirt clods can, from a certain angle, reflect the blue sky and become purple. Spring grass may appear yellow-green with front lighting or blue-green with back lighting."
Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA. Written for the weekend pilot/photographer. Basic introduction to 35mm photography and some insight into the art of taking photos while flying. Discusses angle of view of various standard F.L. lenses and effect on land coverage and perspective of altitude. Generally recommends the 50MM lens with its 46 degree angle of view and coverage of 450 x 700 feet on the ground from an altitude of 1000 feet. Chapters 10, 11, 12 are the most relevant sections of the book. Also gives good advice about air to air shooting and formation flying...definitely harder and more dangerous than it looks considering the skills of average pilots.
Hastings House, Publishers, Inc. Interesting outline of the technology and history of aerial photography. Interesting plates from a variety of sources, including William Garnett. Nice beginner's intro to the subject. Interesting to learn that aerial photogrpahy started from ballooning which was a very popular sport in the end of the 19th century. A photographer in Paris, Nadar, made the first crude photograph in 1858. The next and first acceptable photograph was made in Boston in 1860 by a Mr. Black. A copy negative made from one of the prints still exists at the American Museum of Photography in Philadelphia. Boston can be said to be the birthplace of aerial photography!
Please do not hesitate to submit information about other works you consider especially insightful or helpful.
Copyrighted 1998 SkyEye Corporation
BACK to SkyEye Corporation
BACK to Information List