“GlennView” Photos

GlennViews

“GlennView” photos (also known as “GlennViews”) are pictures that purposely include parts of the cockpit or wing so as to put the viewer in the pilot seat.

This technique is named in honor of Glenn A. Hopper. Glenn is a good friend of mine whom I met at Central Christian Church some years back. Employed at Spirit Aerosystems, he is a member of the illustrious group that has made Wichita, Kansas “The Air Capitol of the World”. Glenn has been on The Sky Surfer’s Mailing List for some time and comments frequently at Church when he sees something on The Flight Blog he likes.

Don’t Get Stuck In A Rut

I have been shooting movies and still photos for over thirty years. For the most part, when shooting from an airplane I have endeavored to shoot “around” any parts of the plane when featuring objects on the ground or when photographing another airplane “air to air”. “Rightly or wrongly” (in photography, a potentially lengthy discussion in itself) that has been my aesthetic principle.

On a flight to Sedan, Kansas I was blessed with that “rarity of rarities” – a tailwind in both directions of a round trip flight. Additionally, on the leg home, because of the combination of this tailwind and the enormous convection lift off the fields, I was able to fly with the lowest power setting I have yet seen. In order to document this I took a picture featuring the instrument panel at the bottom and a Flint Hills Panorama above.

Give Credit Where It Is Due

Glenn was very impressed with this particular shot because he said “it put him in the Pilot’s seat”. ZANG! At that moment my mind says “Sky Surfer – Why didn’t you think of that?” and because I didn’t, I dedicate these shots to Brother Glenn and have coined the term “GlennView” to denote them. Ever since, The Sky Surfer endeavors to insert a few in each trip to put viewers “in the seat” of my Quicksilver.