Capturing Aviation: Laird Co. Photography
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Photographer Laird Kay’s “happy place” is the spot where aviation and architecture converge. Though relatively new to the professional photography scene, Kay is a life-long aviation enthusiast with a special affinity for the built form.
Three years ago Kay left behind a successful career designing wine-cellars and converted the basement of his Toronto home into a full studio for shooting and editing. Since then, he has been making waves as a photographer of architecture, interiors, far-away places, aircraft and airports.
- Laird Kay, founder, The Laird Co
“Of all the things I’m passionate about photographing, planes give me the biggest charge,” says Kay. “That’s where I want to focus my energies – and my website laird.aero allows me to showcase my work for clients (airports, airlines and publishers) in an environment dedicated to that subject matter.”
Kay tells APEX that attention to balance and space is critical when he’s composing a shot or finishing an image. Applied to his photos of aircraft in flight, this technique often creates a perception of the subject as being frozen in space and time – though of course it’s moving very quickly.
His passion for presenting a unique perspective means that Kay’s work often illuminates parts of an aircraft that are strikingly beautiful, yet wholly under-appreciated. “Things like the hinges on the doors, the landing gear open as seen from below, the way the residue collects and creates patterns on a white fuselage. These are things that you can never really get close enough to see,” he explains. “I love bringing out my 400x zoom lens and really getting into the details.”
When it comes to shooting airports, Kay’s years spent as a student of urban and environmental design really show. He prefers to work in empty terminals, as buildings devoid of people tend to more readily divulge their intimate design secrets. “We so rarely get to see them for what they are,” he says. “Beautifully and often sculptural works of architecture.”
Collectors and aviation buffs have started to take real notice of Kay’s work, which he sells through his own website, at Etsy.com and at exhibitions. Airports and airlines also contract the photographer and designer. His images have been used in promotional materials, ad campaigns and editorial supplements by clients like Delta Air Linesand Winnipeg International Airport (YWG).