Poster Palooza
Nancy Lynn photo by Lisa Helfert
How did you do that?
Who is that? Is that you?
Did you get sick?
I have been ask so many questions about this image that I thought I would answer them in a blog post. The image became a poster as part of Poster Palooza, a promotion created by The ASMP DC chapter to get the word out about DC fotoweek. Many thanks to Paul Fetters and Irene Owlsey for the idea and implementation.
I took this photo of Nancy Lynn, a stunt pilot while on assignment for Maryland Life Magazine several years ago. Nancy Lynn is navigating barrel rolls over the Chesapeake bay while I held on to my camera. We did this stunt five times to get this shot. There was no place to attach the camera, so I handheld the camera. Even after pre-focusing and framing it was hard to hold the camera steady with the force during the turns. The lighting was tricky because when she was completely upside down over the water she was in shadow. I think the best part of the photograph is that she looks happy. Her expression was the easiest part to capture, she looks happy in all the photos. She loved her job.
No, I did not get sick – just a little green. Nancy Lynn made me brave with her incredible spirit. She was strong, smart, brave and kind. She would have wanted everyone to be as empowered as she looks in the photograph. Between air shows she gave talks to young women and men about following their dreams. Sadly, Nancy Lynn died while performing a stunt during an air show in Culpeper Virginia. She was only one of a handful of women to perform as stunt pilots in aviation history.
For more information on Nancy Lynn
To see more Poster Palooza images
