Jeremy Fokkens | Calgary Photographer

View Original

Local Calgary airline sent to Antartica for rescue mission

This post is a bit overdue but a fun project I really enjoyed working on given the back story behind it all. This post is about pilot Wolly Dobchuk and the people of Kenn Borek Air who helped lead a team to Antartica in the middle of winter back in June of 2016 to rescue two people who required medical attention. Crazy right? If you haven't heard this story or seen it in the news, it is one I highly recommend you read. The CBC did a piece on it along with updates of Kenn Borek Air receiving The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum 2017 Trophy award for their outstanding achievements in the fields of aerospace science and technology and their history. The CBC does a way better job on the details than I ever could and you can see that by clicking HERE 

Initially I was hired by Lufthansa Magazine to provide some behind scenes images at Kenn Borek Air’s hangar along with a portrait of Wally to be featured in an article focussing on heroic stories, however, the magazine took a different route when they went to print choosing illustration over photography. Stuff like this happens all the time in the editorial world and regardless, it was a great day where I got to spend the afternoon with pilots, engineers and walk amongst airplanes; felt like being a kid again. To some, Calgary is this small city in Canada, known for its energy, mountains and dare I say stampede. As I continue to set roots here, I’m in awe of the people that I continually meet and the stories I come across. It’s sometimes very unexpected and when you hear about a small local airline rescuing people in Antartica because no one else can… in the world, this makes it even more inspiring and proud. You can read the editorial by Lufthansa HERE

I hope you enjoy the photo’s and if you want to stay in the loop about more stories like this and behind the scenes, feel free to follow along; I promise no spam and posts will be limited to 2-3 times a month.

Cheers,
Jeremy