Mike Kelley
Airportraits (Series)
DESCRIPTION
Airportraits is a visualization of air traffic around the world. Every day, tens of thousands of aircraft take to the sky, connecting cities, moving people, goods, and ideas, fueling globalization and trade. In a world where travel and shipping are considered mundane and even a nuisance, Airportraits seeks to visualize a linear and nearly invisible phenomenon that is often taken for granted.
The images contained in the project were created over the course of set time periods (e.g. eight hours of traffic at London Heathrow) at some of the world's busiest airports in order to show the volume and diversity of air traffic at these airports. By capturing every aircraft movement with a stationary camera and then layering them on top of a background image shot during the same time period, the images expand the decisive moment from a fraction of a second to many hours, and allow me to show not only the aircraft, but also the context and landscape surrounding each airport. This context adds to the story of each image and the impact that aviation has not only on a global scale, but also on a local scale.
AUTHOR
Mike Kelley is a Los Angeles based photographer specializing in Architecture, Interiors, Commercial Spaces, as well as Aerial and Aviation Photography.
Mike uses both natural and artificial light where appropriate to artistically capture indoor and outdoor spaces. Every single image is meticulously crafted with expert attention to detail. Mike strives to create fun, laid-back environments when shooting, whether photographing a small home or a high rise overlooking the ocean.
hen Mike isn’t photographing architecture and interiors, he is always working on exciting new projects — anything from photographing planes taking off from airports, documenting the architecture of Iceland, recreating a vintage Pan Am airline advertorial, or publishing a book of aerial images of Los Angeles.
Luerzer’s Archive 200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide 2016/17
Digital Camera World’s Best Images of 2014
American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter | Solo Exhibition, 12/2015
Assouline’s The Art of Travel
Gestalten’s PhotoViz Cover Image
Los Angeles A+D Museum: “Groundswell” 6/2014
Denver Art Musuem/CultureHaus: The
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