GALLERY
NIGHT
;e art of the nocturnal photographer
TEX T BY BUDD DAVISSON PHOTOS BY PHIL HIGH
As a longtime volunteer photographer for the Experimental Aircraft Association at their annual orgy-of-all-things- aerial in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Phil High will regularly be seen lying on the ground, getting dramatic angles of an airplane.
Or homing-in on the details that make that particular airplane di;erent.
His photos are often featured in the pages of EAA publications. However,
what few of the hundreds of thousands of attendees ever see is High’s
elaborate dances with a flashlight in the dead of night, which result in
aircraft photos of unexpected beauty and drama.
High’s photography is so unusual and so well suited to the Flight
Journal audience, that we thought it to be time that we familiarize you
with Phil and his work.
High, of Marion, Iowa, didn’t start out as an aviation photographer.
He says, “I got a used Argus C- 3 35mm when I was 14 and just started
shooting pictures. I loved the journalism/art aspects of photography
in high school and shot a lot of photos for the yearbook and the local
newspaper, but I wasn’t into airplanes yet. “
After graduating, he drifted into jewelry design and manufacturing,
