Josef Hoflehner Airplane Art
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After certain world events, no one really wants to see jumbo jets up close and personal unless they happen to be on a runway – sitting. Perhaps an art exhibit may be a safe bet too, unless it’s this one….
Photographer Josef Hoflehner features an exhibit this month at the AD-Galerie in Switzerland displaying his take on a series of jumbo jets that may make you cringe.
Originally released in a silk-bound hardcover book with wide-angle shots entitled, Jet Airliners Hoflehner has captured low-flying jets that pull you in and actually have you ducking, as well as blocking your ears.
The scenes are of Boeing 747s flying directly overhead of what looks to be unsuspecting and in some cases, frightened vacationers.
The majority of prints come from the runways of St. Martin’s Princess Juliana International Airport in the Caribbean, whose runways are compromised in length and overall space due to the proximity of the beach. The shortage of space equates to a nail-biting, toe curling moment each and every time a plane either takes off or lands – dangerously close to those on land or sand in this case.
Because the runways in St. Martin are so short, pilots are required to approach the airport at just 10 to 20 meters — or 30 to 60 feet — above the beach and this is made very clear in Hoflehner’s work.
Could you imagine frolicking around in the sea, enjoying some well deserved R&R, when all of a sudden you’re forced to run for cover from a gigantic plane about to touch down on you – literally?
The massive roar of the jet engines alone is enough to have you drop and roll and Hoflehner is genius at capturing the emotions of those actually in the photographs, as well as his viewers.
This type of action Austrian photographer Josef Hoflehner has frozen in time, but not before dousing it with fear with his use of high contrasting black and white photography.
Photos courtesy of My Modern Met.
