It's not everyday something like this comes through our lab, and we had to learn more about this amazing project from Jonathan Kougl which commemorated the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing.
We caught up with Jonathan to get the inside scoop on this remarkable project, shot entirely on black and white film, which captures the essence of history in a way that digital just can't. We knew we had to learn more about the creative process and vision behind this incredible tribute.
Jonathan’s work commemorates the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, a momentous event that shaped our world. Through the timeless medium of film photography, he brings a unique, raw authenticity to these powerful images, reflecting the emotional depth and significance of this pivotal chapter in history.
Q: What motivated you to commemorate the D-Day landing in this way?
A: I grew up on a healthy diet of my grandfathers war stories and in awe of him and his whole generation. Jumping is a way for me to honour their memory, feed my need for adventure and be more connected with the history. I jump for him and wear his original cap badge on my beret, with a picture of him, as well as my Gran who herself lived in Belgium under occupation, in my chest pocket.
I do this with the Round Canopy Parachute Team (RCPT). Many of my fellow jumpers are former airborne who haven’t been able to kick the habit, but not all, many never jumped in the military or served. It’s open to anyone who shares our passion for the history and desire to depart a perfectly good aircraft mid-flight!
My inspiration for this project were the pictures and film footage captured by the Army Film and Picture Unit (AFPU) and American counterparts who jumped with airborne force in the Second World War to document their operations. One of them literally filmed his jump into Arnhem with a small cine camera.
This project had been working away in the back of my head for several years. This year being the 80th Anniversary of Operation Overlord was a very poignant time to put the plan into action. Plus it seemed crazy and I wanted to pull it off.
Q: Was there a lot of prep required for the day?
A: Yes, there were a limited number of chances to get this right, so thorough preparation was essential to making sure this came off right.
I spent a lot of time thinking through how to emulate the aesthetics of those great wartime shots based on their equipment at the time, as well as how to practically, and safely do this.
I'd jumped with a GoPro many times, but a bulky iron manual camera and motor drive was a slightly different kettle of fish. This included things like choosing a 35mm lens as it was among the widest available at the time, shutter speed and how much motion blur I wanted, deciding to manually set exposure prior to boarding the aircraft, to a lot of time working out how to mount the equipment and get familiar with the motor drive, which I had never used before on my F3.
The last things to think through were the shots themselves. Some jumps I focused on capturing the exit, others the flight or the landing.
Q: Favourite image(s) from the shoot and why?
A: I think my favourite images are the ones shot from just inside the door of the aircraft. They’re not the most aesthetically appealing but every time I look at them, I can hear the loud hum of the engines in my head, the command 'GO' and the sing of the static line hooks as they scrape along the wire to the door and the woosh as each jumper passes through into the slip stream.
It reminds me of the recording of Edward Murrow, a CBS correspondent who narrated from inside an aircraft as the US airborne jumped into Holland, and all that noise is in the background.
Q: Did everything go to plan on the day?
A: So the entire gallery is drawn from 6 rolls of Tri-X 400 35mm shot across 4 separate jumps and two on the ground.
There were a lot of moving parts involved and invariable with that room for error. Weather meant our first 3 jumps in the UK were scrubbed while mechanical issues reduced the aircraft available from 6 to 4.
With the equipment there was some trial and error as it was my first time using the motor drive and this particular shutter release cable. I shot almost the entire roll of film for the first jump by mistake while gearing up on the tarmac at Duxford.
Some of those shots were useful but it was not what I had intended – most of the shots were of my friend’s belly as he helped me put on my reserve. After that everything else went smoothly.
But mostly it was spray and pray during the jumps. With the exception of a few shots taken on the ground, all, even most on the ground, were shot with the camera mounted to my chest. So, composition was guesswork at best.
Q: Do you regularly shoot on film?
A: I first got into film, over digital, in about 2008 while living in Bangkok. There's a high saturation of documentary photographers living there, from the amateur, the aspiring, to the world-renowned and it was a really vibrant community to be immersed in at that point in my life.
A friend from Korea by way of encouragement, leant me a Nikon FM2n, Nikkor 24mm wide angle lens, and a couple rolls of Tri-X... none of which I had ever used before. It really pushed me up a steep but exiting learning curve and I was hooked. I still think that first roll I shot in the streets of Bangkok was one of my best.
Shooting a manual camera is a very tactile experience, and really forces you to engage with the process, and I love that. I ended up doing documentary and conflict photography for several years and idolized people like Tim Page. Almost all of the work was done in digital, but shooting rolls of black and white film through my old manual has always been my favourite medium.
The rolls used in this project were actually the first I had shot in around 12 years. The last being while deployed with the military in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2013. It was a very intense and exhilarating context, after which my photography, and many other things, took a dip as frankly I struggled with re-adjusting.
Jumping has definitely been an important part of working through that and I'm glad it brought me to this project which put me back in touch with my passion for photography in a fairly unique way. I’m looking forward to shooting a lot more film again going forwards.
A huge thank you to Jonathan for giving us his time and allowing us to share this incredible reenactment.
The meaning, medium, story and history behind this project is incredibly special, and we're so glad to have been involved in this in some small way back at the lab, with our feet firmly on the ground!
Check out the Round Canopy Parachuting Team GB for more incredible jumps and photos from their team, and if it's piqued your interest, as Jonathan shared, it’s open to anyone who shares a passion for the history and has a desire to depart a perfectly good aircraft mid-flight!
Comments