The Photographer: The Window to the Civic Engagement
Civic Engagement today is sorely lacking, and in some cases is almost looked down upon. A classic example of this is the battle between local residents of (insert generic American city here) and Aviation Photographers. At airports all across America, viewing decks are being closed, causing photographers to have to move to roads outside the airport. Some airports have even been closed outright to photography. Airports once very friendly to photographers, such as Denver International Airport, have without notice changed the rules and threatened to arrest photographers onsite. Some people blame this on the terrorist events of 9/11, But photography of aircraft and airports has been going on since the flight of the Wright brothers in 1903. There are stories of Locals harassing photographers at airports, these people have no understanding of the hobby. The polarization between airport authorities and aviation photographers is but a microchosm of the state of Civic Engagement in America today.
Aviation photographers today have to remain almost silent about their hobby unless they are talking with only people they can trust. In the post 9-11 world, if a person even mentions that they take pictures of airplanes, the main response is one of negative curiosity; Their facial expressions take on that of concern, and the emotion drops from their voice. There is real tension today between local police departments and photographers of aircraft. One of my friends, Jason Thacher, states that “The second officer proceded to give Ryan and myself a stern warning for being in a "Restricted Area" outside the operational area of the airport.[…]While reasearching some of the laws that govern property rights; I came to the sad conclusions of the state does own the rights to the areas surrounding the airport and that the state has the right to regulate this land however they wish[…]but I do feel that people have been robbed of the beauty of a loud, large, widebody jet lumbering only a few hundred feet off the ground.” (Thacher). With the growing resentment toward the hobby, many people like to use the so-called “9/11 excuse” when telling photographers to vacate. Nothing can be more degrading, more humiliating as an American citizen and a person, to be put on the same level as the “people” who flew the planes into the Pentagon and WTC. It is this feeling of humiliation, the photographers sentiment, versus the feeling of insecurity, the general populous’s sentiments, that causes a big rift between the two sides. This is a good litmus indicator for the state of Civic Engagement in society today, because what many people don’t understand, they come to resent and fear. This is what Don Eberly calls this phenomenon the “Paradox of Progress.” He states that “The Paradox of American Progress: the dismaying fact that the United States is the world’s undisputed military, economic, and technological leader, yet also leads the world in many categories of social pathology.”(Eberly 353). Because we have so much technology, we can enclose ourselves inside a fiberoptic cocoon and not come out of our suburban homes, while at the same time not feeling like shut-in recluses because we have something to keep us entertained, and hey, it’s easier to be lazy than it is to make friends. The fear of the unknown causes the general population to fear the person standing on the side of the road at the airport who is doing no harm, and this is but a small hint of the state of civic engagement today.
“Why do you do it?” That question has been asked too many times. And really, Why would a person want to stand on an embankment overlooking a runway in the evening just looking at plane after plane land? Some people would get bored out of their mind after about 5 minutes of that. So I asked a few photographers why they did it. Bruice Liebowitz has this to say: “I love it when I can capture something special or unique around an airport. Everything from those heavy freighters & C5 Galaxy at HSV to a crop duster.” (Liewbowitz). To him, and many others, seeing something rare at an airport is what it’s all about. What many other people see as “Just another airplane,” even just an equipment sub, can be something of interest, so it can be said that aviation photographers are very easily entertained people. While still being a hobby, it is also possible to make money. Airline employees have been known to surf online databases, where photographers upload their images, to find pictures for marketing campaigns, safety cards, magazines, and any other use they can find for them. One photographer who has made money, Mitch Cholerton, says: “I do it because I love it. The money is alright too. Nothing like getting something on film that makes you or someone else go "Wow, that's amazing."(Chorleton). He shows that even though you can make money, it is really only a hobby. Some people even do it for Nostalgia. Royal King: “I enjoy taking pictures of airplanes because it reminds me of my childhood, and spending quality time with my dad. I also just dig airplanes.”(King). In the early years of aviation, it wasn’t viewed as an everyday norm, but instead something of fascination to the general public. On a Saturday afternoon, you could go to a viewing deck near and airport and sit with many other people and just watch planes all day. At places like Chicago O’Hare and Denver Stapleton there were even viewing decks either inside the airport itself or just outside the fence. There is even at least one still open in America, at Albuquerque International Sunport. Because the photographer is actively participating in a hobby, out in the open air, and does show concern for the state of the airport, they are benefiting the Civic Engagement.
The rift between Aviation Photographers and the General Public is representative of what is happening in America today. Because people are living in a more enclosed nature and not bothering as much to care about other people, they have very biased perceptions about everything around them. Contrary to what Fox News has stated, photography is not an unusual or suspicious occurance around airports. This rift is a mirror to a bigger rift in America today: Democrats vs Republicans. This rift is dangerous, and if it isn’t patched immediately, there will be problems. Don Eberly states that “The Council on Civil Society also issued a clarion call for civic renewal, but it concluded that America’s civic crisis is primarily philosophical and moral.”(Eberly 354). Civic renewal will get the people back together, back to working things out the way they should have. Civic renewal will patch the rift in America today.
Photographers do it for one reason and one reason alone. Jason Thacher states this:
-What intrigues me about photography is the fact it entails much more than the simple push of a button. Lighting conditions, shutter speeds, aperture setup, lens filters, angles, white balance, and some luck ensure that effort one puts into proper setup reflects the final product: the print. Photography allows the photographer to be creative, or as sloppy, as he desires. Yet satisfaction, or disappointment, stems from the fact that when I close my shutter to expose the film I've done the best I can.-
That statement covers why the photographer does what he does. Also, Photographers do not share the sentiments that the general public feels when they see someone standing on the side of the road with a camera pointed toward an airplane. Ryan Richter says “Well, I am OK with people approaching me about what I am doing. Infact, I prefer it. I would rather have them know what I am doing, rather than making assumptions. In other words, I do not want a cop holding me at gun point because someone called in saying I was pointing a missle at the planes, rather than a camera.”(Richter). Photographers contribute to the civic engagement. To put it into terms more understandable to the general public, When you are at a sporting event inside the stadium, do you want the stadium to be clean and comfortable, or do you want the stadium to be dirty, dank, and an unpleasant experience when visiting? Aviation photographers and enthusiasts feel this way about airports. They will do everything in their power to make an airport as clean and pleasant as possible, including picking up trash by the side of the road when they are out taking pictures. By assisting airport authorities in places like England and Amsterdam in identifying possible threats to the airport’s security, they are making the airport as safe as it possibly can be. Photographers aren’t here to annoy, they are here to help, and that is how photographers contribute to the civic engagement, and how they seek to improve it in society today.
