Happy end

'Happy End' is a photo-book about miracles in aviation history - 15 airplanes that had forced landings but ALL on board survived and were rescued from the remote locations. The planes remain abandoned in nowhere since 10-70 years. This series is for me more than wrecks not worth to recover: it's surreal - beautiful airplanes in vast landscapes with wonderful stories. 'happy end' is about - heroes - the pilots who turned desasters into miracles, - destiny - to survive a crash landing and get found in nowhere, - time - they crashed in seconds and then remained untouched for decades, - space - even majestic airplanes can look lost in vast nature, - 'the end' - while most planes get scrapped in junk yards - these found a place to 'rest in peace'. It started with my interest in the visual disruption of nostalgic technology in endless landscapes - but soon i got hooked to these planes/stories and spent almost 3 years researching and documenting them. Aviation miracles are rare and the planes remaining out there are very remote - but the challenge was motivation and it was like a pilgrimage to get to these 'wonders' on 4 continents from Papua New Guinea to the Arctic Circle. My photography is not about documenting the planes condition & details but how they are embedded in grand nature after so many years. I try to capture the surreal beauty of these settings using high viewpoints or shooting through layers. Inspired by the shipwreck painters of the romantic period i look for dramatic skies, late light or fall colors to 'glorify' these wonderful planes. The book was self-published with the help of crowdfunding. For more information please check http://igg. me/p/340928