Leonardo da Vinci's ideas can be seen in the world all around you - from helicopters to hang gliders. For 6th Annual Amateur Photography Exhibition: Through da Vinci?s Eyes, presented by the Museum of Photographic Arts and the museum, we asked photographers to photograph the world of flight as if through da Vinci's eyes. Then in a few sentences to explain how their photo relates to one of da Vinci's flight related designs. Below are the winning photographs and their explinations.

Grand Prize Winner

1st Place

Modern Parasky by: Nicole Mehrer Description: My photo is related to Da Vinci's design because it would be, in my eyes, the cross between the glider and the parachute hence the name paraglider. Da Vinci's parachute and his glider would invent the paraglider for people to love and enjoy.

Adults

1st Place

Essence of Flight by: Martin Teachworth Description: Wandering the fields about his home observing the antics and flight of birds, the creative mind of da Vinci might have boiled the essence of flight to the composition of birds - light bones, strong muscles and the light of materials. Nestled in a hollow, captured by the wind in a mond of materials, da Vinci would have observed the vanes of a feather, the oar-like shape to capture and control air flow, the under layer of downy feathery fluff, the twisted cup shape of windblown leavers and the light airborne seeds moved by the gentlest of zephyrs. The materials would serve as the collage of knowledge and understanding for the basis of flying machines, cup-like surfaces for capturing and moving air, strength in ribbing and shape, lightness for leaping upward and escaping the bonds of gravity 2nd Place

Big Wing by: Manny Gutsche Description: The C-5 horizontal stabilizer alone is larger than most modern aircraft wings. Leonardo's wing designs were of small design for a person to fly a short design. The C-5 has a massive size wing to carry many people and machines distances longer than Leonardo's land based travels. 3rd Place

Original Ornithopter by: Bette Teachworth Description: Spending his youth in gardens around his home would have allowed da Vinci opportunities to observe all manners of flying creatures and objects. Large colorful butterfly wings would have caught attention due to color, motion and the moving of air. What perfect design for a person to use to lift and soar in the air. Large, powerful surfaces scooping air to bring motion and thrills to the operator. Thus, a long flat body with large forward lifting wings tapering to a tail for control would have allowed imagination to combine with inderstanding of mechinaical advantages to design an ornithopter.

Ages 13-17

1st Place

Soaring Over Civilization by: Michael Jarrell Description: Leonardo Da Vinci dreamed of flying. He studied birds gliding, noting that the inner part of their wings moved more slowly than the outer, helping him design a glider. 2nd Place

Flying with da Vinci by: Diana Polyak Description: Imagine yourself standing on the beach with a sea breeze and a view of sea gulls flying with gliders coming down from ocean cliffs. This scene is what I saw when taking my photo. The idea of flight passed through my mind with Da Vinci's sense of observation. The structure of the sea gull birds and people using gliders portray Da Vinci's inventive drawings of parachute type structures which could form to the glider idea; Da Vinci's drawings of wings large enough for a human to use for flight relate to the bird's wings that allow them to fly. The Great Da Vinci could have stood in a similar scene as I myself stood in; getting the idea for his flight inventions and ideas from these sea gulls and thoughts of flying down off of the high cliffs with a safe landing. 3rd Place

Paper Helicopter by: Chris Chen Description: The paper helicopter is reminiscent of the maple tree seed's natural tendency to drift with the wind. Da Vinci was inspired by all forms of nature, especially flight, and this paper helicopter strongly resembles that natural maple seed spreading away from its mother tree on the back of the wind.

Under 12

1st Place

Arizona Desert Black Hawk by: Carson Bolter Description: I was designing my picture after da Vinci's aerial screw concept. I used an abstract sort of photography for my picture. I also took my picture at an angle where you could see the whole helicopter and put the camera up to the rotor to make it look interesting. I set the camera to sepia mode to give it a renaissance feel. 2nd Place

Aerial Triplets by: Daniel McDougal Description: This picture is of three para gliders, gliding into the distance, 2 of the 3 however are recently trained flyers with some maneuvers still to be perfected. Their gliders are filled with color and the background of the picture is the soft sky over the ocean and a flag showing the gentle ocean breeze. 3rd Place

Grounded by: Maddy Villacruz Description: I think this picture is related to Da Vinci because of his ornithopter. The ornithopter was the original design of the helicopter.