The Women in Aviation International group shot, created in Aeroshell Square during Airventure 2010. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. ©2010 John Slemp
One of the toughest things any photographer can be called upon to do is to create an image of a large group of people. I’m not talking about five or six people, but of several hundred people…the ultimate group shot.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve created the annual group shot of the Women in Aviation International gathering during Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Last year was no exception, and based upon the previous year’s experience, I had a solid plan in place to improve the image, or so I thought. Little did I know…
In the above image you can see that it’s a pretty large group, usually upwards of 700 to 800 ladies. Of course, no one really expects to be able to recognize the people in the back row, and usually that’s why those people are back there anyway…but I digress. As a professional, I tend to evaluate my images based upon what I’ve learned over the years, and hopefully progress as time goes on.
Take the above image for instance. While perfectly acceptable, I wish I could have moved more people closer on the wings of the image, as otherwise it’s wasted space (visually speaking), and would have moved more people into the recognizable area of the image. That was the plan, but it didn’t work out that way.
Knowing this was something I wanted to change from the previous year, I had already planned on using a bullhorn, and had placed out orange cones outlining the desired boundaries, after some cajoling of the young Civil Air Patrol crowd control officers, who were of course unaware of what was just about to happen. Thinking all was in order, I went to Aeroshell Square about thirty minutes ahead of time, to get the lift in place. I was calm and ready.
As the time crept closer and closer to 10:30, the lift still hadn’t showed up, and while I had an alternate plan in place (I was going to use the top of the steps leading into the restored Eastern Airlines DC-7B, which was parked nearby), several frantic phone calls were made to the EAA Gods, seeking information regarding the whereabouts of the lift. The authorities said that it was on the way, but that it might be delayed because of the heavy crowds. No sweat…
Of course, controlling any large crowd is always a challenge. By now, the bullhorn had migrated to the hands of a WAI officer, who began gathering the crowd in the middle of the square, oblivious of the orange cones. While I tried to direct her attention to the orange cones, the lift suddenly showed up, precisely at 10:30, and stopped…right in the middle of Aeroshell Square. Immediately, the video crew jumped into the basket and the surrounding onlookers crowded around the lift, thereby preventing any further movement. Out of time, it was a “fait accompli” at that point, and the Photo Gods had spoken. This was the spot where the group shot would be taken.
So I too jumped into the basket, we went skyward, and the shot was made.
Back on the ground, the WAI magazine editor, Amy Laboda, knowing “the plan” had been totally blown out of the water, remarked (with very large tongue in cheek) “Well, you handled that with your usual aplomb!” We then had a good laugh over the whole thing…
Part of being a professional is being able to adjust on the fly. While I personally am not a big control freak, there is a certain amount of control required when creating images in a commercial sense. But having worked with several skilled photographers during my apprentice years, it becomes easy to discern when a situation is being too tightly controlled, to the point of stifling spontaneity. Thus my preference for “controlled chaos”. I think it makes for the best images, in that things often occur that would never have happened otherwise.
So the next time you are faced with controlling a photographic situation, don’t grip the situation too tightly, lest the life be choked from it. Perhaps that was the most important lesson to be learned from this day…
Having seen pictures of him in the past, I knew who he was, but had never met him. He and his wife sat at the head table, and enjoyed a quiet breakfast with Dr. Peggy Chabrian, Patty Wagstaff, and a few other notables.
