John Slemp Photography
July 7, 2021
COM·MU·NI·QUÉ Exhibitions | Book Project | New Work Awards Having always been somewhat skeptical when it comes to awards, I’ve nonetheless been selected recently for several industry honors…
New Clients We are pleased to announce that Warbird Digest magazine, Titan Aviation Fuels, and Hill Aircraft, a locally owned FBO are new clients. Race Cars for Rent also fell under our lens…
Summer Update… To say that we’ve been busy would be an understatement. As we celebrate Independence Day, and come out of a viral scourge, many of us, including me, are more than ready to tackle what lies ahead
Automobiles Too… Those who know my past history know that I have had a life-long affair with beautiful automobiles, and have owned several. To that end, during the pandemic I couldn’t really get close to aviation, so I thought I’d try my hand at automobile photography. While I haven’t been able to get into the studio yet with a classic shape/design, I’m working on it. In the interim, enjoy what I’ve been able to access so far…
Using Time Wisely During the Pandemi Never a big fan of Photoshop, I made it a personal mission to learn more about the ubiquitous software of our time…at least for photographers. Not having grown up with it like so many of my younger colleagues, and not one who can retain that kind of information unless I use it a lot, I’ve never had a great a nity for it. To that end, great strides have been made…at least for me!
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John Slemp Photography
July 4, 2021
Day at the Track… There was something poetic about being on the track at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on what is normally tax day…15 April. Why poetic? Because it was a great excuse for a few gents to get their jollies on a world-class race track while spending a few bucks…and not worry about the nancial rami cations. But in reality, I think it was more than just an excuse to tear around a track in someone else’s car.
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John Slemp Photography
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2006 Porsche Cayman S, photographed in Turn 7 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.
A driver suits up prior to jumping into a car during a Race Cars for Rent track day.
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John Slemp Photography
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A ’79 Porsche 930 Turbo, in Gulf-Blue. It is a “one of a kind” in that it is the only one of this color in existence, and is a daily-driver. The current owner has enjoyed it for over 30 years He mentioned that he’s been o ered an insane amount of money to part with it, but he has too much fun driving…and talking…about the car to part with it This Porsche 930 Turbo, the 928, and the 993 that follow were all photographed for the Peachstate Chapter of the Porsche Club of America’s magazine Presse.
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Paddy’s Grill, at the Chateau Elan resort in Braselton, Georgia.
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John Slemp Photography
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’87 Porsche 928 S4 When you see this car in person, it’s hard to believe that it has been driven almost 200,000 miles. If memory serves, at the time this car was produced, it was the top-of-the-line o ering from Porsche. While touring the factory in the early ’80’s, we were taken to the area where the upholstery for this model car was produced. There were large, rolling, 6 foot high A-frame carts, piled high with heaps of multi-colored leather hides…and they were absolutely awless. If you’ve ever felt the paws of your family cat…that’s how soft they were. Many “Porsche les” couldn’t quite wrap their heads around this radical design, but it was then and remains one of the most comfortable road cars that Porsche has ever made. It was quite speedy too. This owner does his own maintenance, and a peek under the car reveals what for all purposes looks like a brand new suspension. It was a great pleasure working with the owner, and many Thanks to the national Porsche club coordinator, Mark Harston, for securing permission to photograph this car at the North American Porsche headquarters here in Atlanta.
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July 4, 2021
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July 4, 2021
After having been away from the automotive scene for a number of years, it came as a bit of a surprise to nd that the usually set-in-their-ways Germans had actually decided to alter the basic design of the iconic 911, and introduce water-cooled engines. Furthermore, they’ve o ered newer transmissions that I still haven’t come to grips with yet, and well, let’s just say that the nomenclature no longer makes any sort of linear sense to me. It probably does to someone more knowledgable, but it’s a big ball of confusion, at least for me. One thing I do know for sure is that the 1996 993 model was the last of the “air-cooled” Porsches. This particular convertible model had 29,000 miles on it when photographed, and looked brand-new. I jokingly asked the owner if his two young daughters had ever ridden in the back seat with shoes on, and he just laughed. As the second owner, he sought out a convertible speci cally, and after searching for a number of months, nally had the chance at this one, which he quickly secured. Again another long term owner, we initially photographed it on a lovely December day at Big Canoe, Georgia, a private community in the north Georgia mountains. Additional images were created at the owner’s home in Marietta, Georgia.
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One look at the fan of this engine, and you know that it belongs to the Porsche 911 family.
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John Slemp Photography
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As we emerge from this latest scourge, I expected that many businesses would be anxious to put this time behind us…and so far this has proved to be the case. Besides working on my Photoshop skills during the pandemic, time was also devoted to improving my writing skills. To that end, I had my rst article published as a writer in Warbird Digest. Our images were also recently featured in an AeroCrew News article, written by an Air Force ROTC student at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Garrett Anderson.Other new clients include Titan Aviation Fuels, Hill Aircraft, and Race Cars for Rent.
Created as advertising for Titan Aviation Fuels at Epps Aviation, Dekalb Peachtree Airport (KPDK) in Atlanta, Georgia.
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John Slemp Photography
July 4, 2021
Created recently for Hill Aircraft, a family-owned FBO at Fulton County Airport, Atlanta.
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Exhibitions… One of our goals has always been to exhibit our work in a public setting. Not only is it an a rmation of the work, but it’s always a real pleasure when viewers o er the gift of unsolicited feedback. Most of the time it’s positive, but the critical comments might almost be more valuable…depending on their visual acumen…and of course, their ability to communicate their views To that end, we are pleased to announce that the National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater, Texas licensed a set of 18 images this spring for an exhibition in their new hangar. By the time you read this, it should be installed. We are both pleased and honored to work with this wonderful group, and look forward to seeing the nished result. Stop by when you are in central Texas We are also pleased to announce that the Art Institute of Atlanta will mount an exhibition of our “Bomber Jacket” series this fall. It was supposed to have been shown last year, but of course Covid 19 changed plans for many people and events. I’m indebted to Taylor Bareford, the Photography Program chair, for agreeing to re-visit the exhibit. Details will be announced as they become known In March 2018, I photographed 33 jackets at the 390th Memorial Museum, a subset of the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. Earlier this year, many of the images were used in their “Adopt a Jacket” fund raising campaign to build new exhibit cases, and to begin the conservation process. For my money, they have the best overall artistically beautiful collection of jackets in the country.
Shutsy Reynolds was photographed during the annual AirVenture aviation gathering in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as part of a Commemorative Air Force event.
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John Slemp Photography
July 4, 2021
A jacket from the 390th Memorial Museum collection in Tucson, Arizona. This type A-2 ight jacket belonged to Calvin E. McCart, a tail gunner attached to the 570th squadron of the 390th Bomb Group. On the front left of the jacket is the 570th squadron insignia patch, a joker with 4 aces behind it. The name “Mac” is painted on the front right of the jacket, a man parachuting is painted below the name. McCart ew 35 successful missions over Europe, this is signi ed by the 35 bombs painted on the sleeves of his jacket. The artwork on the back of the jacket is a B-17 bomber ying through the clouds with the 8th Air Force logo behind the plane. Throughout the course of his 35 missions McCart survived 3 emergency landings.
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John Slemp Photography
July 4, 2021
Speaking of bomber jackets, work on the book project has ramped up signi cantly this spring, and a team of very talented people has been brought together. On board is Daren Guillory of Fournir Design in Houston, Texas, who will be responsible for the overall design of the book. Laura McLaws Helms is a fashion historian in New York, and will research a chapter on how these jackets in uenced fashion worldwide. Lee Anne Patterson is my Partnership Strategist and is a crackerjack connector of dots. She will be instrumental in raising the funds needed to complete the project. By the way, we are also creating a non-pro t, so that the history of this era can be passed on to current and future generations. The book proposal was given a treatment by Daren so that it resembles how the book will look, and I think it’s fantastic! We hope you like it as much as we do.
Speaking Engagements… The annual AirVenture aviation gathering is right around the corner in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This will be my 13th trip, which I’m really looking forward to, especially since it didn’t happen last year. While there, I’ll be speaking several times about the book project Currently, this is the schedule Wednesday, 28 July: 0830 in the Warbird Area, just after Morning Brie n Thursday, 29 July: 1300 - 1415 in the Skyscape Theater of the EAA Museum Friday, 30 July : 1130 interview on EAA Radi Come hear and see our presentations at Oshkosh.
This jacket was owned by Lt. Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Robert W. Waltz, of the 390th Bomb Group. Each bomb represents a mission own and each swastika is an enemy aircraft shot down. The our sack and POW symbols are for Operation Chowhound and POW evacuation missions at the end of WWII A company in Japan makes a pretty faithful reproduction, although the swastikas have been changed to iron crosses.
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John Slemp Photography
July 4, 2021
Recent Awards… As a professional image maker, I’ve ofter had the thought that it’s professional suicide to believe your own press too much. While award competitions are nice, and I suppose, necessary, I’ve never really been much of a convert to the cycle of creating, entering, winning, and then publicizing the results. Creating images for a competition is not really in my mindset while actively photographing, either for a client or myself. To my mind, I should, by default, try to make the best images possible, in that moment. If I’ve done that, then I’ve done the best for my client, and for my business. If the results are recognized later, that’s a bonus. That way (hopefully!) I remain centered, and aware of my own potential fallacies Having said that, we’ve been recognized twice this year…in the annual 2020 Aviation Week photo contest, whose results were announced early this year, and the the 2021 Plane and Pilot photo contest. See the images below. Be well…and I hope to see you soon John
Originally created for Silver Airways in the spring of 2018 at their maintenance facility in Orlando, Florida. The brand new aircraft (an ATR 42-500) was still awaiting FAA approval to carry passengers in this country when photographed. This image is slightly di erent from the winning entry in that the clouds were added later…which I think improves it even more.
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John Slemp Photography
July 4, 2021
A Gwinnett County MD 500E police helicopter on the ramp at Briscoe Field (LZU) in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Photographed for my portfolio, the pilots were kind enough to start the engine, thereby allowing the arc of the spinning blades to be recorded. Several lights were used to create this image, including a battery powered strobe in the cockpit, which simulated the panel lighting. Created in 2012, I’d probably use an LED light source now, as the color and saturation can be changed with the push of a button For their cooperation, a large 20 x 24 inch print was gifted to the department, which they were thrilled with, and which still hangs in their lobb The following image is of a 1916 Gnome et Rhone rotary engine, widely used in ghters of the First World War. Completely restored, it has been mounted to a replica Fokker DR 1 “Driedecker” (the Red Baron’s plane…) and is now ying just south of Atlanta. The brass tubes are the intake manifolds, and if you look closely, you’ll see a number stamped below each cylinder mount. Each cylinder was matched to the casing and was not interchangeable. These engines were largely hand-made, which made them both expensive and slow to produce. They were quickly superseded after the war, with more powerful and advanced models. Nonetheless, they were quite beautiful when fully assembled. 21
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July 4, 2021
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Footnote… There have been two recent events that have touched my past, that I thought I’d share with you. One week ago the world record in the 400 meter hurdles was broken by a Norwegian runner, Karsten Warholm, in 46.70 seconds. While I haven’t really followed Track & Field events since high school (I threw the discus…badly), I did follow this record. Why? Because in 1996 I had the opportunity to photograph Kevin Young, who at the time just prior to the Olympic Games here in Atlanta was training locally, in an e ort to make the US team again. He set the world record of 46.78 in 1992 during the Olympic Games in Barcelona, winning the Gold medal in the process We have stayed in touch, and we swapped emails about it From me to Kevin Hey Kevin Just saw on YouTube that a young Norwegian fellow broke your record. Sorry to hear that...but I suppose all good things must come to an end. It was a grand run though...pun intended. Be Well…
Kevin replied this morning “De nitely, it was just a mater of time and he was more than capable of making it happen. I discussed the record with him years ago and he ful lled his personal dream just as I did… This exchange, though brief, just made my day, and illustrates one of the cooler aspects of my job…
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John Slemp Photography
July 4, 2021
The second thing that caught my attention last week was the announcement that Wally Funk will nally have the opportunity to y into space, with Elon Musk, on July 20th. At a Women in Aviation International conference several years ago, I was working in the temporary “press” o ce when she walked in to be prepped for an interview. While she was having a microphone run under her shirt, and generally being touched up, I had the opportunity to make a few images of her I had known of her past experiences with the Mercury astronaut test program, and even though she had taken all the same tests as the men (beating them all in the process!), she was denied entry to the program, because she was a woman I can only hope that one day the world (men) will wake up to discover that we can probably do a lot better as a species if we include the other 50% of the population. Just a thought…
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