PLANES, 1989-1993
This body of work began in August 1989 and was inspired by the early aviation photographs by the French photographers Andre Kertezé and Henri Lartigue. My pursuit was to chase down the landings and takeoffs of "heavy’s", contemporary commercial aircraft as they lofted their massive bodies into and out of the sky. L-1011's, DC-10's, A-300's, 747's . And finally, the Concorde. My obsession began at JFK international Airport and included La Guardia, Newark, Miami, Ronald Regan National Airport, Washington DC, Charles de Gaulle, Paris, and Kloten, Zurich. Early reflection from traveling on highways and remembering low flying jets flying noisily near EWR / Newark Airport on road trips to New York City with my family-made mental note which inspired me to do this series of personal photographic series. Later on, immersed in the project I pondered on realizing machines were flying all the time over my head.... In wonderment to know the mysteries of what was going on inside these fuselage bodies?
Frank Schramm
The Concorde after takeoff three miles from JFK International Airport New York, April 26, 1993
Boeing 727 on takeoff from Ronald Reagan National Airport, Washington D.C., December 2, 1992
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation L-1011 Tristar approaching J.F.K. International Airport, New York, October 22, 1990
Boeing 707-400 on takeoff from Roissy Charles de Gaulle, France, October 8, 1989
Airbus Industries A-300 B on takeoff from Roissy Charles de Gaulle, France, October 7, 1989
Airbus Industries A-300 B on takeoff from National Airport, Washington D.C., December 2, 1992
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation L-1011 Tristar before landing at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, October 11, 1989
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 on takeoff from J.F.K. International Airport, June 24, 1989
Boeing 757 landing at J.F.K. International Airport, New York, April 11, 1993
Boeing 757 landing at Zurich International Airport, Klöten, August 25, 1994
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation L-1011 Tristar before landing at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, France, October 11, 1989
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation L-1011 Tristar before landing at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, France, October 11, 1989
Planespotting
by Robin Muir, September 5, 1997
“No one has created [a series] quite like Schramm’s and really great aeroplane photographs are rare… His obsessive behavior-and his patience, dedication and technical skill shows how much we’ve been missing since Lartique and Zissou.”
-Robin Muir, The Independent
PHOTOGRAPHY VIEW; Peering Into Places That Mere Eyes Cannot See
by Vicki Goldberg, February 21, 1993
“Mr. Schramm's pictures isolate the experience of looking up and finding the world above our heads populated with machines — imagine what the satellite swath of sky must look like by now — and they speak of motion caught, so to speak, on the wing.”
-Vicki Goldberg, The New York Times