Pan Am Pilot Photography Project — Don Rees in Three Roles
- Bill Travis
- Aug 7
- 2 min read
PAN AM Series — Pan Am Pilot Photography Project: Capturing Character
This Pan Am pilot photography project began in the late 1970s, when I was flying for Pan Am and studying photography in depth. I had recently purchased a 4x5 camera and began experimenting with it — mostly on buildings, interiors, and portraits. But I wanted to push further, capturing more than a smile and instead showing the character of the person in front of the lens.
Recruiting My Pan Am Friends
To explore this idea, I invited some of my Pan Am pilot friends to sit for portraits. In exchange, I gave each of them three 16x24 mounted prints of different poses. The plan was to create a series of images that revealed different aspects of their personalities and lives outside the cockpit.
About the Photos
Some of the images I’m sharing here are scanned from the original proofs — quick prints used to decide which photos to work on in the darkroom. The finished 16x24 prints had careful burning and dodging to remove small flaws and enhance contrast. The proofs may look a bit flat, but they capture the essence of the idea.
Meet Don Rees
The three portraits here are all of Pan Am pilot Don Rees, a man with diverse talents and interests:
Musician — An accomplished clarinet player who performed with Dixieland bands in Northern California.
Farmer — Owner of an almond farm near Stockton, California.
Aviator — A professional Pan Am Flight Engineer/Pilot.
My goal was to show how differently people can look when they are engaged in their various life roles. When I displayed twelve photos — three each of four different pilots — at a class exhibit, viewers didn’t realize that each set of three was of the same person. They thought they were looking at twelve entirely different people.
Closing Note
This was the first in a four-part Pan Am pilot photography project series. In another post, I’ll share the story and images of “The Karate Black Belt Pilot.”
My goal is to preserve as many of these memories as possible and give future generations an authentic glimpse into Pan Am — once the greatest airline in the world.
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