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It was a little over three years ago while attending the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival in Alpena, Michigan, that we met Lynn E. Marvin for the first time.
His booth of beautiful aerial lighthouse photographs was set up directly in back of our Lighthouse Depot booth. We bought some of his framed photographs and he bought some of our lighthouse goodies.
Over the next few years, we became better acquainted with Lynn and always looked forward to our next meeting to enjoy not just his photography, but his wit and humor.
At each festival we looked in wonderment at his beautiful aerial photography. It was so good, that we figured he'd been doing professional photography all his life. Boy, were we surprised to find out that this was a fairly new vocation for him.
Marvin didn't get started with his aerial photography business until 1980, a business which he now runs out of his home. Prior to this, he was an educator with Midland, Michigan Public Schools from 1965 until 1988. He retired to devote full time toward his business.
Marvin, 64, has since flown all over the Michigan, Alaska, Maine, Canada, and Barbados, to photograph lighthouses. I even have one of his framed photographs of the Harrison Lighthouse in Barbados. He was in Maine just a few days before my writing this story, to bring us some of his framed photos for our retail store, and photograph more Maine lighthouses for his collection.
When he first started aerial photography, Lynn didn't have a plane, nor did he even know how to fly one. He taught himself aerial photography, then he bought a plane, and, lastly, he learned how to fly.
Today in his four-passenger plane, a Cessna Skyhawk built in 1975, he soars through the air with the greatest of ease, photographing lighthouses from every possible angle. "Lighthouses are picturesque because they have rugged scenery and territory. The mixture of the sky, rocks, and blue water is just beautiful," said Marvin.
As a pilot, Marvin learned that an airplane placed in a shallow bank will fly itself in that configuration. Using that principle, he took aerials as he piloted the plane himself. However, now that his wife and son also have learned to fly, he can concentrate more on the photography, while they do the flying. Whatever the case, his lighthouse photos are among the best we've ever seen.
The majority of his work is individually hand printed in his own darkroom, with archival photographic procedures, to assure that the finished photograph will last a lifetime. He also does his own matting and framing.
Although lighthouses are his favorite, he has photographed lots of other subjects, and won numerous awards for his work. His photographs have appeared on the covers of regional magazines, as well as in the pages of Lighthouse Digest.
Marvin maintains a wonderful page on the Internet which can be reached at http://www.GreatLakesLighthouses.com or you can contact him at Marvin Aerial Photography, 2150 Price Road, Midland, Michigan 48640 - Phone #517-687-2569. In the summer months, he can be reached at 00101-103 Magee Road, Boyne Falls, MI 49713.
So, if you're looking for some good aerial photographs to display in your home, contact Lynn Marvin. Not only is his work spectacular, he's a neat guy.
This story appeared in the December 1998 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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