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JOHN CRAWFORD
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AERIAL NUDES
Copyright © John Crawford / All rights reserved
John Crawford is a New Zealand-based
photographer who did a lot of commercial work back then. He spent much of his
time in helicopters and light aeroplanes, and became fascinated with looking at
the world from a bird’s eye perspective. In 1984, between shoots, he had an idea
for a personal project called Aerial Nudes. The
project lasted for three years, from 1984 to 1987, when Crawford dedicated his
spare time to meticulously planning and executing each shot, dreaming up ever
more surreal scenarios. The model in all of the pictures is his ex-wife,
Carina, who was “very happy” to take
part, and whom he describes as still a close friend.
He says: “Each
image in the series was meticulously planned and crafted prior to shooting. I
would hire a small fixed wing aircraft for an hour and hunt for abstract
details in the landscape where I could strategically place a nude. I would
shoot reference images of each location, which I would have 6x4" prints
run off. On these, with a black ink pen I would sketch little stick figures and
add the various props I would need. On each selected shoot day we would deliver
Carina to the location in the helicopter, carefully positioning her, then
flying to 600 feet
and capturing the image, which would take no more than 10 minutes. Because of
logistics involved in each shot, I only ever attempted one per day. All were
shot in soft overcast light, as direct sun gave distracting shadows. This
series was shot on 35mm colour negative film, using a Nikon F3 camera with
180mm tele lens. I hand printed the first reference prints. No photoshop
manipulation has been used.”
Website : johncrawford.co.nz
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Private Eye 
