BY NATALIE STOREY,
Chronicle Staff Writer
If Lewis and Clark had Ron Lowery as a scout they could
have taken a few short cuts.
The pilot-photographer said as he retraces and photographs the historic route by air he can see many alternative routes, which would have shortened the length of the expedition considerably.
Unfortunately, Lewis and Clark didn't have the bird's-eye perspective on the landscape that Lowery and his partner, Mary Walker, have.
"We're seeing textures from above that most people taking a trip down the river don't see," Lowery said. "It's a very unique perspective."
The pair, along with Lowery's son and his wife, have been traveling across the country in a homemade, lightweight plane and in a motorhome, taking aerial pictures of the route Lewis and Clark traveled, which they plan to compile in a book.
They have traveled about 5,000 miles since June, when they began their trip near St. Louis, Mo. The team was in the area Wednesday to shoot pictures of the Gallatin and Yellowstone rivers.
Lowery and his son built the plane, named Cloud Chaser, about two years ago.
The aircraft has an open cockpit, and takes off in 80 to 100 feet, climbs rapidly and flies slowly -- making it ideal for shooting aerial photography.
The team gets up at 4 a.m. and gets the plane ready to go before dawn. Lowery, who flies the plane and shoots pictures, likes to shoot at sunrise and sunset because of the way the light illuminates the landscape.
Lowery and Walker said Montana is arguably the most scenic part of the route.
"I absolutely love it," Walker said. "It's almost overwhelming, the number of beautiful spots.
Walker will be writing the narrative that describes the team's experiences on the trip.
"The adventure of retracing America's greatest epic exploration was the inspiration for doing this," she said.
And the trip has been an adventure. Just riding in the plane alone is adventurous, Walker said.
"Flying over the Rocky Mountains in an open cockpit is quite an adventure in itself," she said.
Near Glasgow, the team was miles away from an airport, but a rancher allowed them to land on his property. They ended up staying on the ranch with the rancher and his family.
Walker said connecting with the people who live in the areas Lowery is photographing is important for the narrative of the book.
From here, the team is headed to the Billings area. (BACK)