Martin Mars © Ken Seals 2010
As I mentioned last month, I am curating a photography exhibition that will open this saturday night in Fallbrook. The show is called Local Color and celebrates the work of 13 talented photographers that I have selected, all with a unique style and vision. May even throw a few of my own shots in. The show is being held at Pinnell Gallery and will run through November. Reception 5 to 8 on Saturday evening and then over to my gallery for afterparty. Hope to see you there.
Exhibiting photographers:
N. Dixon Fish
Leven Jester
Kenneth Seals
Retha Evans
Lena Leichtling
Jon Harwood
Louis Nidorf
Robert Feuerstein
Mike Reardon
Robert Sommers
Grant Brittain
Brett Stokes
Taylor Buck
Thomas Sauerwein
7 comments:
wow-what a gorgeous shot! Hope that isn't a result of vaporized oil droplets in the Gulf. Good luck with the show.
Stan
The plane is a Martin Mars. Here is an explanation from the photographer, Ken Seals:
The photo of the Martin Mars at sunrise on Lake Elsinore was taken on the morning of October 31, 2007. The plane is US built, by Martin Aircraft, but is now Canadian registered. It was contracted to drop water on the fires that broke out over Southern California at that time. The Rice fire occurred during that time and came within a half mile of our home on the East side of Fallbrook.
I took the photograph from my Cessna 172, a four seat light airplane that I used for many years to commute from Fallbrook to Burbank. I have worked there for fifteen years as flight operations manager for Avjet Corporation, a private jet charter company. I was on the way home from Burbank to Fallbrook just before sunset on the day before the photograph was taken when I saw the Mars parked for the night on Lake Elsinore. I decided then that I had to plan to take a photograph of it the next morning. I looked up the time of sunrise and departed the Fallbrook airport in time to be over Lake Elsinore and the Mars at fifteen minutes past sunrise. I brought my best telephoto lens and circled over the Mars at 1100 feet above the lake. My aerial photography technique is to open the window on the left side of the airplane next to the pilot seat, fly the plane with my left hand and operate the camera with my right.
As I circled the first time, approaching from the South, I noticed that the crew was starting those four gigantic radial engines, producing big blue clouds of smoke as they did. As soon as I saw that, I started to get excited about getting some action in the picture, knowing that once the engines were started and the tether line was cast off, the Mars would start to taxi on the surface of the lake.
Once I started to circle overhead in the Cessna, I could see the Lake start to sparkle from the rising sun in the East as the Mars stirred up the water. I continued to circle overhead with growing excitement and expectation at the possibility of creating a really beautiful picture. On the third time around, the intensity of the sun reflecting on the water peaked and I was thrilled to have what I thought would be a great picture on my memory card. The resulting photograph was only cropped and adjusted for exposure. The colors have not been enhanced in any way. I feel like the photograph is certainly one of the milestones in photography career.
And a bio on Ken Seals:
Ken Seals is a 17 year resident of Fallbrook and a passionate photographer.
His interest in photography began in high school and continued through the
University of Missouri where he earned a degree in journalism, majoring in
photojournalism.
A stint in the US Army as a photography instructor and photographer
followed, culminating in Ken's assignment to the US Army headquarters
photography unit in Seoul, Korea for thirteen months.
Following his Army service, Ken was the chief photographer for the Lawrence,
KS Journal World for five years. He is now a fine art and documentary
photographer having rededicated himself to photography following his second
career as a pilot and manager in corporate aviation.
Great photo!! Love it!!!
Hello. And Bye.
Should we come to the show in Halloween attire?
g.
Entirely your call, G.
very nice show, i'm glad i went; loved the gas station photo of yours in the window; also Mike Reardon's stuff; and Grant's; and Jennifer had some tasty munchies; thanks to all; i'm going back soon for a closer look, when it's less crowded.
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