Portland Press Herald Glass Negative Collection

The equipment used to capture aerial images included a large format camera, like the one pictured here. This camera was created by Fairchild Aviation Corporation, also known as Fairchild Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Their Pegasus logo and initials ‘FA’ can be seen on the side of the camera. Fairchild Aviation secured a government contract in 1935 to track soil erosion using aerial photography. The photographer is dressed the part, complete with an aviation jacket, helmet and goggles.

The condition of this glass negative demonstrates the fragility of the format. It also speaks to the complexity of capturing images on glass while in an airplane. Initially, Gannett’s photographers used photographic plates as their medium of choice. Also known as glass negatives or glass plate negatives, the medium was falling out-of-favor by the Guy Gannett-era. Plastic film was widely available, less fragile and less expensive by the 1920s, but Gannett photographers continued to shoot on glass. While less-portable, and more cumbersome, the photographic quality of the glass plate is superior, resulting in crisp, sharper images.