Flight

Alternative modes of flight in the form of dirigibles have always intrigued me. (frightened may be a more apt word in relationship to some of the images below). One summer while driving from Marfa to Houston, Texas I saw a shape on the horizon moving slowly toward the car. Gradually the Camry met up with the large Rolling Stones lips that adorned this yellow airship following I-10 from Houston to Los Angeles on their 2002 tour. It was a surreal experience as I suddenly recognized the popular culture icon attached to this mode of a century old transportation.



Image via.

In addition, "dirigible" is one of my favorite words in the English language - its definition is quite unlike its pronunciation.


Gimpel, Departure of Dirigible Zodiac III, 1909

I was always amazed by this photograph hanging in the Tillamook Cheese Factory (Oregon Historical Archive #37696). For the size of the exterior of the building, click here.




Alfred Hilderbrandt, French Airships, 1910


Ruth Thorne-Thomsen, Blimp, Mexico, 1980 (perhaps my favorite of the group because it's a collage photographed with a pinhole camera)


Atomic Bomb Stokes, 1957