48 Nebraskaland • June 2022
fell in love with fl ying in small planes
when I was a little twerp, riding in the
back seat of one my dad was piloting.
My fi rst foray into aerial
photography came during an internship
at Chadron State College. That
assignment was a big one: Photograph
the entirety of the Oregon and California
trails from Missouri to the West Coast.
Wow.
So when I joined the staff at
Nebraskaland Magazine 21 years ago, I
quickly raised my hand when the editors
were looking for someone to capture
aerial photos of the Lewis and Clark Trail
along the Missouri River. Ever since, I've
spent hundreds of hours — I wish I had
kept track — with my camera pointed
out the window of a Cessna, capturing
images for anyone at Game and Parks
who asked.
Most fl ight plans have involved
documenting Aquatic Habitat Program
projects for our fi sheries division. But
there are always photo ops between the
lakes. Rivers, tree rows, crop fi elds and
highways contain or create interesting
patterns and lines on the landscape
below that beg to be photographed.
The perspective from 500 to a few
thousand feet is entirely diff erent than it
is from the ground. It's why some people
pay extra for a window seat when they
fl y. And why my mantra is "You buy,
I'll fl y."
N
Patterns
From
Above
Photos and story
by Eric Fowler
RIGHT: Light and dark lines in an alfalfa
field surround a wooded draw in Nance
County.
I
