Once in a Lifetime

David Byrne once said in the Talking Heads song titled Once in a Lifetime…”How did I get here”? I’m sure it wasn’t aviation photography he was talking about, but yeah, I can relate.

You know, it’s weird. I never thought I’d be an aviation photographer. No, it’s not that I didn’t think I had the “moxy” so to speak. I just never thought about it. I’m a music lover studying to become a dog trainer and working small commercial photograph gigs on the side, but to everyone that knows me when asked “what does Taylor Greenwood do”? the answer is always “well, he takes’s pictures of private jets”. Yeah! It’s what I do! But really? Aviation photographers are real??? Before September of 2009 I had only been to an airport once or twice for non commercial travel reasons. Never to take pictures. Now I’m finding my self at airfields all over the country with opportunities everywhere even out side of the country. How did I get here?

It’s a strange sort of luck. Having never been into aviation but becoming a photographer of aviation subjects. Professionally at that. It’s a dream job that a lot of aviation enthusiasts would love to have. For that I’m grateful. I feel that my love for the planes as pieces of artwork and engineering allow me to better compose a photograph, and to best represent the in’s and out of the beauty of the plane without getting caught up in the technical aspects of things like the performance of a certain plane. For example; I’ve got a pilot friend who assisted me on a shoot in Westfield, MA. He loves aviation and is studying at UND (University of North Dakota) for his commercial pilots license. Mind you, he’s a great friend and I love him dearly but that guy was just SO distracted by everything aviation around him, and respectfully so. However I certainly wouldn’t be able to move forward with work on a regular basis as quickly as I do if my crew and I were always trying to find out how fast the plane goes or what type of GPS it has installed.

My work may not appeal to all aviation enthusiasts of all types. I would understand that completely. Not everyone is in love with Challengers, Hawkers, Falcons. I don’t have an aviation portfolio with the size and gusto of Jim Koepnick, Chad Slattery or John Slemp…but I’m working on it.  Those guys have a few years on me anyhow. My love for aviation is continuously growing. I look forward to learning more and more about the subjects and growing with the industry itself. It’s sure to be an exciting adventure.

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