Montage Art, books, diverse creations

54 Off the Shelf 56 Design in Layers 56 Chapter and Verse 57 Open Book

that flies to business meetings over a city skyline, or place an older aircraft like an open-cockpit biplane above sand dunes. Ambats (www.jessicaambats.com) is a trained pilot herself, with instrument, multi-engine, and seaplane ratings. As Styled Blue Yonder a 12-year-old, she flew in a private plane with a family friend, and “during the Jessica Ambats’s spectacular air-to-air photographs flight, she let me make left and right turns with the yoke,” Ambats recalls. “It was by craig lambert my first exposure to the idea that regu- lar people can fly airplanes—I’d thought he images have so much air in maneuvering the planes. “Every detail is it was only for the military.” After col- them: high above the ground, planned,” she says. “Usually we end up fly- lege, she went up with a flight-instructor planes cavort in open space, ing in circles for the whole hour.” friend, spending the afternoon hopping T seemingly at play. They fly aston- What’s tricky about such pictures is around small airports in the New York and ishingly close to the viewer, at times only that both camera and subject are in mo- New Jersey area and discovering “general 20 feet away from the camera lens. Back- tion (typical airspeeds are around 150 aviation,” the term for non-commercial drops—bridges, cities, deserts, rivers, for- knots, or about 172 miles per hour), so civilian flying. (Plane & Pilot is one of the ests—fall away majestically, far below. This there’s not much wiggle room on timing three biggest general-aviation magazines.) is air-to-air photography, pictures that only the shutter release. Another element is Ambats began flying lessons at Andover someone flying in another plane could take. the setting. “I work very hard on back- Flight Academy in Andover, New Jersey, Many have appeared in Plane & Pilot maga- grounds,” Ambats explains. “I’m choosy— and finished in California, having moved zine; its editor, Jessica Ambats ’95, belongs I want clean, uncluttered backgrounds, no to Los Angeles in 2004 to work for Pilot to the small cadre of those who make such roads or telephone poles.” She also tries to Getaways magazine, where she took up air- pictures. Her airborne shoots typically last match a background with the featured to-air photography. Today she likes to fly about an hour, with specially trained pilots aircraft: she might position a private jet a Cirrus single-engine propeller plane for

52 March - April 2014 Photographs by Jessica Ambats Reprinted from Harvard Magazine. For more information, contact Harvard Magazine, Inc. at 617-495-5746 MONTAGE

Left to right: An Aero L-39 Albatros (foreground) and Dassault Falcon 2000 over the Golden Gate Bridge; a World War II-era North American P-51 Mustang over New York City; an Oracle Challenger (red) and Wolfpitts (yellow); Ambats shooting from a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza photoship H BY DAVID FARR DAVID BY H P pilots,” specialists trained to fly feet higher.” Even such a small change can

in close formation with other drastically alter the composition. PHOTOGRA planes: some are former Blue An- Ambats usually works from a Beech- gels or Thunderbirds. With ex- craft Bonanza with the rear doors re- posures from ranges as close as 20 moved. (She does not shoot through to 150 feet, this kind of expertise glass.) A harness holds her securely in is essential or it’s “too risky,” she place. Working with a handheld high-end says. “It takes finesse to move an digital camera, she exposes several hun- pleasure. (She rents these craft, which cost airplane exactly 10 feet.” During the shoot, dred images per flight. Lenses with image around $480,000 each; private jets fall in she constantly feeds both pilots directions stabilization can help, and at times she the $3-million to $10-million range.) to line up the planes properly with each deploys a gyroscopic camera stabilizer, “if For shoots, she hires only “formation other and the background: “Biplane, 15 it’s a bumpy flight.” Midlife Leading Man Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris, a prime-time stalwart

ean norris ’85 is headed home on a Stephen King science by limousine after finishing a fiction novel, was anchored photo shoot with—he kids— by Norris as “Big Jim” Ren- D “a few underlings from the net- nie, a power-hungry lo- work”: CBS Entertainment president Nina cal politician in a town Tassler and CBS Television Studios presi- suddenly cut of from the dent David Stapf. The 50-year-old actor world by an invisible bar- LA COYOTE/AMC LA

seems to be taking the media attention he’s rier. Season two will begin U

receiving in stride. production in March. URS “Under the Dome turned out to be a huge But Norris is perhaps best known for Dean Norris, at right, in the television summer success,” he explains matter-of- playing Drug Enforcement Administra- series Breaking Bad with Bryan Cranston factly. “And it was profitable from day one, tion agent Hank Schrader on AMC’s cable In an industry often criticized for em- so it was a big game changer from a busi- series Breaking Bad, which won 10 Emmy phasizing youth and good looks over tal- ness standpoint.” A rare summer triumph Awards during its seven-year run, includ- ent, Norris’s leap to leading man in middle for network television, CBS’s Dome, based ing Outstanding Drama Series in 2013. age sounds improbable. Yet his stardom

Harvard Magazine 53 Reprinted from Harvard Magazine. For more information, contact Harvard Magazine, Inc. at 617-495-5746