The Drachen Foundation Recreates “San Francisco In Ruins” on the Centennial of the 1906 Earthquake

The Drachen foundation hired a photographer to recreate George Lawrence's famed picture, "San Francisco In Ruins." This is unique because in 1906 Lawrence used a team of kites to lift a 1400 pound camera into the air to take a picture of San Francisco after the devastation of the earthquake. The photographer today replicated the effort with modern day technology using just one kite. Both pictures are included in this release

Seattle, Wash. (PRWEB) April 24, 2006 -- The Drachen Foundation, a private nonprofit corporation dedicated to the increase and dissemination of knowledge about kites and their place in art, culture, science and history, marking the centennial of the San Francisco earthquake, chose photographer Scott Haefner to recreate George Lawrence’s famous picture of “San Francisco in Ruins.” The foundation released the new photograph today.

With San Francisco in ruins after the devastating earthquake of April 18, 1906, Chicago photographer George Lawrence saw an opportunity to capture the “Paris of the West” in his famous photograph, taken using a 49-pound panoramic camera raised 1,000 feet above the bay by a train of Conyne kites. This was a seminal event in the history of kite aerial photography (KAP). The Drachen Foundation, together with Bay Area photographer and Web site designer Scott Haefner, re-photographed Lawrence’s San Francisco from the same vantage point, using a contemporary KAP rig.

One hundred years later, Haefner lifted his camera in almost the same location as Lawrence, in light winds using a single Dopero kite. Haefner accomplished this feat from the bow of a boat in San Francisco Bay. One big difference (thanks to modern technology) — Heffner’s camera and rig weighed less than three pounds.

Documenting the growth and change of San Francisco since 1906, Haefner’s photograph reveals the awe of the city sites down Market Street the same way Lawrence’s “San Francisco in Ruins” was captured.

The challenges of capturing an aerial view of San Francisco demonstrate the vision and brilliance of George Lawrence’s kite aerial photography following the 1906 earthquake. Lawrence’s original photos are currently on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the exhibition, “1906 Earthquake: A Disaster in Pictures.” The exhibit closes May 30, 2006. Digital of photos and film can be viewed at: http://www.drachen.org/special_events_earthquake.html .

About Lawrence:

George Lawrence was a born risk taker who experimented on his own without any formal education. During his career, he invented a specific type of flash photography and designed and built a 1,400-pound camera (the largest ever made) to capture the entire Chicago and Alton railroad train in a single horizontal image. His business motto said it all, “the hitherto impossible in photography is our specialty.” For more on Lawrence, go to: http://robroy.dyndns.info/lawrence/naval_his.html .

About Haefner:

The Drachen Foundation carefully selected Scott Haefner, an accomplished KAP photographer, for this project. He has published work in numerous magazines, newspapers, and books, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, BBC News, and Photo District News. For more on Haefner, go to: http://www.scotthaefner.com .

About the Drachen Foundation:

The Drachen Foundation is devoted to the increase and diffusion of knowledge about kites worldwide. It is a 501 c 3 private nonprofit corporation, who views kites from the standpoint of art, culture, science and history. It uses an integrated program of exhibitions, education, research, collections, management and publications to promote learning about kites. The archive it maintains is freely open to the public for research. More information is available at: http://www.drachen.org .

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