AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - 64

FAVORITESCHRIS ROSE

"Honor Flight," September 2019 AOPA Pilot: Every so often I get to participate in
an event that not only combines excitement and historical significance but has a
personal and emotional significance as well. As I photographed the people, places,
aircraft, and veterans the week of the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day, I was
reminded of the many hours spent hunting, fishing, and camping with my grandfather, and his stories of combat on the beaches and towns that I was now visiting. As an
accomplished photographer himself, he inspired me greatly and even gave me my first
35mm camera. After crossing the channel the prior day aboard the C-47 Miss Virginia,
I found myself walking the beach, camera in hand, on the evening of June 6 when I
received a text from my mom that simply said, "Dad would be so proud that you were
there for this." I will always be proud and grateful that I witnessed and photographed
such a meaningful event.

SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER CHRIS ROSE

"Cuba: Visitors Welcome," March 2017 AOPA Pilot: Cuba had long been a bucketlist destination for me. Several attempts to legally travel there in the past had
resulted in last-minute red tape that forced cancelation. Finally, in early 2017,
AOPA Senior Content Producer Ian J. Twombly and I got the green light and flew
a Beechcraft Bonanza the 106 miles from Key West, Florida, to Havana, Cuba. It was
worth the wait. Havana is a well-worn city filled with friendly people, vibrant colors,
music, amazing food-and yes, lots of classic cars. For the photographer, the opportunities are limitless. As an American, being able to explore this beautiful country was a
unique privilege I won't soon forget.

"Chasing the Sun," November 2017 AOPA Pilot: Sometime in early 2017, AOPA
Pilot staff were brainstorming story ideas when someone said, "Wouldn't it be
cool to shoot an Eclipse jet during the upcoming solar eclipse?" This gave way
to a full-length feature that would send editors and photographers across the
country to capture aviation's role in the event on August 21 of that year. AOPA Editor at
Large Dave Hirschman and I would try to pull off the eclipse/Eclipse jet shoot. Thirty
minutes prior to the eclipse, Dave and I in a Beech Bonanza and pilot Eric Whyte in
One Aviation's Eclipse 550 circled the skies near Carbondale, Illinois. Because the brief
time of peak eclipse would have to align with both aircraft in formation, we would get
one opportunity lasting two to three seconds to get the shot; we did, and it remains one
of my favorite photographs to this day.

"A Pilot's Playground," February 2019 AOPA Pilot: Only a country as amazingly
beautiful as New Zealand could make you step off a 19-hour flight and say "yep,
totally worth it." If photographers (and pilots) somehow created a magical
land where every possible environment existed in a perfect form, that's New
Zealand. A 90-minute photo flight on the South Island takes you over dense forests,
snow-capped mountains, volcanos, white sand beaches, and bustling cities. It is spectacular and unmatched for a photo location.

SLIDESHOW

"Hope Has Wings," October 2016 AOPA Pilot: Ask any group of photographers
what their top photo destination would be, and the majority would likely have
Africa near the top of their list. For us, Uganda and the Congo were our specific
destinations. Senior Features Editor Julie Summers Walker and I traveled by
Cessna Caravan to remote jungle clinics, chaotic urban centers, and peaceful mountain villages. These countries are often characterized by the ever-present poverty and
political turmoil. But amid these hardships are friendly, resilient people and some of
the most breathtaking landscapes I have ever photographed.
EMAIL chris.rose@aopa.org

@cloudsandcamera
64 | AOPA PILOT September 2020

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020

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