Amherst from the air

Tom Parker posted this aerial photo on Facebook of the Amherst Schools as they appeared in 1971. His accompanying caption gave more background as he wrote, “In the days before drones … I was in college working on earning a degree in Photography. This image was created for a class assignment of creating a photo story using aerial photography. I had an acquaintance who had a small plane so we flew around Amherst taking photographs to fulfill my assignment.”

In addition to the school, the photo also shows the houses on School Street where Parker grew up. He added, “Five of those homes are gone after being swallowed up by the school. I have lots of great memories growing up with the Clinton, Suitheimer, Parker, Harvey, and Lepak kids. I spent a lot of time playing in the open area by the Episcopal Church and the rocks behind the Lepak house.

“For the photographers out there, this image was created with a 35mm Canon A-1 SLR because I was concerned that the wind from removing the window/door on the passenger side of the plane might damage the bellows on my Mamyia C330 6x6 camera.”

Thank you, Tom, for allowing the Spirit to reprint your photo.