LEGENDARY AVIATION PHOTOGRAPHER JIM KOEPNICK'S PORTRAITS OF FLIGHT

摘要

IT was just a short while back when my longtime friend and fellow photographer and aviation nut Jim Koepnick was presenting his webinar on taking photos at aviation events that a thought occurred to me. It was, in short, that Jim has taken a lot of great photographs of people who fly, people in Ryans and Cessnas and Cubs, in hangars, poking their heads out of the cockpits of Stearmans and Wacos, swinging wrenches and talking flying-you know, photographs of people being who they really are. And the life in their faces! It was a revelation. The very next day, I asked Jim how many portraits of pilots he had; you know, would there be enough for a gallery in Plane & Pilot? And if so, could we do it in the next issue! Jim is one of the best aviation photographers in the world, and all you need to do is look at his work here and on the covers and feature stories in hundreds of aviation magazines, including Plane & Pilot. We've been lucky enough to have Jim shoot numerous covers for us. He's got an eye for composition and light and motion that can be discussed but not really taught. It's a gift. In his nearly 30 years as a photographer for EAA, and in his decade since of freelance work for titles around the world, Jim has had the opportunity to photograph hundreds of airplanes that are treasures and to capture them in ways that bring them to life.