Jim Wark goes wherever his photo and the weather take him.
For more than 20 years, Wark has flown low in his single-engine plane, finger on the camera shutter release and his eye focused through the view finder.
“When I leave for a trip, I generally know which direction I’m going, … but then it depends on where the weather takes me,” said Wark.
Five of his aerial photographs will appear in the U.S. Postal Service’s Earthscapes stamp set, to be issued in October 2012. The set, which will be issued in October 2012, includes 15 stamps showcasing a variety of American landscapes taken from aircraft and satellites.
The postal service contacted the 80-year-oldphotographer about the stamps in 2007.The retired geologist and mining engineer, who owns Airphoto photography in Pueblo, said the five photos selected were taken between 1990 and 2007, and include industrial and natural landscapes from across the country.
Wark, 80, learned to fly in the Navy in the 1950s.
Wark has shot aerial photographs photos in every state and Canadian province, Mexico, the Caribbean and Costa Rica. His photography has appeared in The Denver Post.
Wark said some of his favorite trips were to the Alaskan wilderness, where he would spend weeks camping in his plane.
“One thing I’ve always been driven to do is to get the pictures the other guy doesn’t have,” Wark said. “Every place has good pictures, but if you are just flying from A to B you won’t see them.”
Wark said he isn’t worried about his images disappearing into dusty stamp collections or on discarded envelopes.
“I’ll always have my photographs,” Wark said. “I’ll buy lots of stamps and they will last forever.”
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
