Between Flights: Photographing Airports with a Lensbaby

Airports are usually places we pass through rather than places we really see. There’s a flight to catch, a gate to find, and eventually a boarding announcement that gets everyone moving. I knew before the trip that I would have time in several airports, so I decided to use it for a little photographic project of my own. I always carry several Lensbaby lenses in my camera bag, but for the airports I decided to work with the Sol 45 and see what I could do with the spaces between flights.

I had no intention to document the airports. I wanted to experiment with how using the Sol 45 might change the way I saw those familiar spaces. Some scenes called for a straightforward approach, letting the lens’s distinctive style change an otherwise ordinary subject. Others seemed ripe for a slower shutter speed, silhouettes, or intentional camera movement. I wasn’t looking for one particular style. I just wanted to see how many different ways I could photograph a familiar environment when I gave myself room to experiment.

Start with what’s there

Airports don’t exactly lack photographic subjects. There are airplanes, architecture, signs, windows, reflections, travelers, luggage, and plenty of interesting light. The question was how I wanted to photograph it.

The airplane waiting outside the terminal at National was an obvious place to start. With the Sol 45, I could keep the aircraft recognizable while allowing the surrounding terminal and tarmac to fall into a soft blur. The subject was familiar, but the lens gave the photograph a different character.

That’s one of the things I enjoy about using Lensbaby lenses and optics. I don’t necessarily need an unusual subject to make an unusual photograph. A familiar scene can become interesting simply by changing the way it’s rendered.

Inside the terminal, even something as ordinary as an American flag became an interesting subject. The center of the frame remains relatively defined while the surrounding areas gradually lose clarity. The photograph still tells me where I was, but the Sol 45 keeps it from feeling like a straightforward record of the place.

At O’Hare, I found myself doing much the same thing with the terminal’s architecture and hanging flags. There was plenty going on in the scene, but the Sol 45 helped isolate part of it and turn all that activity into something more manageable.

Look for movement

The airports also gave me something I couldn’t have recreated elsewhere quite as easily: constant movement.

People were walking toward gates, pulling luggage, checking signs, meeting traveling companions, and moving through the terminals. Rather than always trying to freeze that activity, I started experimenting with shutter speed and letting movement become part of the photograph.

With a slower shutter speed, people who might normally be incidental elements became streaks, shapes, and suggestions of movement. The resulting photographs weren’t necessarily about the individuals. They were about the energy of the environment.

One advantage of having the project in mind before the trip was that I wasn’t simply looking for a few obvious airport photographs. I had already decided that these stretches of time were opportunities to experiment, so I could try something, look at the result, and try something else.

There was no pressure for every frame to work.

Not everything needs to be recognizable

This silhouette at Salt Lake City International Airport is quite different from the earlier photographs. The people are still there, but their individual details aren’t important. The bright windows, dark figures, and surrounding reflections become the photograph.

The airport is still identifiable, but the photo isn’t really trying to document it. It’s doing something different with the scene.

The architecture and blue light in this photograph create another opportunity to move away from straightforward documentation. The repeating lines and small figures provide enough information to establish the setting, while the Sol 45’s rendering gives the scene a softer, more abstract quality.

By this point, I was less concerned with making sure the airport was recognizable. I was more interested in seeing what I could do with the light, movement, and shapes in front of me.

Pushing the experiment

That eventually led me further into abstract and intentional camera movement (ICM).

In the abstract, showing just parts of the whole, for example. Trying to capture an image that, while not complete, allows the viewer to complete the image in their mind. As for ICM, it isn’t particularly predictable, which is part of what makes it fun. Changing the shutter speed or the direction and speed of the camera movement can completely change the result. A scene that looks ordinary while standing in front of it can change completely once the exposure begins.

Here, the airport’s recognizable details begin to give way to movement, color, and shape. The photograph isn’t really asking the viewer to identify the terminal or figure out exactly what’s happening. It’s more about the experience of observing and moving through the space. I also flipped the image 180 degrees and processed it using Nik software, which pushed it even further away from a straightforward representation of the scene. Sometimes a Lensbaby image is simply the starting point for a more creative process.

This image takes the idea even further. With ICM, the airport becomes almost secondary. I’m really photographing the light, color, reflections, movement, and shapes.

That’s one of the reasons I enjoy experimenting with Lensbaby lenses and optics. They encourage me to see a scene differently. Add movement, a slower shutter speed, or post-processing, and there are even more possibilities.

Making the time part of the project

What I liked about this project was that it didn’t require a separate photo outing.

The airports were already part of the trip. I knew I would be there, knew there would be time between flights, and deliberately decided to use that time to photograph. The project gave me another reason to explore the spaces I was already passing through.

Sometimes I made a straightforward photograph. Other times I experimented with movement or silhouettes. Some frames worked better than others. That’s part of the process.

And because I wasn’t trying to produce a technically perfect record of each airport, I could take chances.

This final image brings me back to something much more recognizable: a traveler moving through the terminal. There’s still blur and movement, but the scene is easier to place. Someone is on the way somewhere, just as I was.

By the end of the trip, I had a collection of airport photographs that ranged from fairly straightforward to almost completely abstract. Not every experiment worked, but enough of them did to make the time worthwhile.

I had planned to photograph in the airports before I left home. Having the Sol 45 with me gave me a reason to look at those spaces differently and a good way to spend the time between flights.

To read more about my use of Lensbaby and view a gallery of images, visit my Lensbaby page.

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