1913 First Aerial Photograph of Albuquerque
Aerial Photo of Albuquerque, N.M. October of 1913; by Roy A. Stamm; showing Robinson Park and the vicinity looking southeast; from the William A. Keleher Collection of UNM's CSWR PICT 000-742
Roy A. Stamm's book, "For Me, The Sun" relates his story of being involved in the first flight to make an aerial photograph of Albuquerque. In the Fall of 1913, the pilot Roy N. Francis brought a twin propeller, tractor biplane to the State Fair. This plane had a seat for a passenger who sat in front of the pilot. Francis was a "barn-stormer" taking people up for short flights. On Roy's first flight, he brought a simple camera, but the negatives were blurry. Later, Roy rented what he refers to as the "only high-speed camera in town." Pilot Francis was eager to have photos of his flight and suggested that maybe a more experienced photographer than Roy Stamm should do it. However, the owner of the camera could not be coaxed into flying. Here is the account of that flight by Roy Stamm from "For Me, The Sun."
"On this second flight, we took off on the meadows south of the Fair Grounds. For some reason, probably mechanical, the plane didn't get altitude. Only ten to twelve feet in the air, we buzzed down the river over its sand bars, just missing the tops of small saplings. Two miles downstream, a steel bridge crossed the river. Two bents were washed out and a pile driver was working there to close the gap. 'Almost onto the bridge, still no altitude, something is wrong!' flashed through my mind. When Francis swung over the water, heading for the gap to miss the bridge, I was sure of it! There seemed nothing to do except sit tight and not rock the boat. But, workers around the pile driver sure went overboard as we approached. They splashed into the water like a lot of frightened frogs! Shooting through the opening, on the other side immediately we started to climb. I squirmed around. Francis, his face sheet-white, sweat trickling down, slowly shook his head, speechless. I couldn't see my own face but I couldn't say anything either!
After gaining sufficient height, two wide circuits were made. I shot Albuquerque and the valley, east, south, west and north on the first circling; then took two more eastern exposures on the second. Francis and I had had enough; we spiraled down into the Fair Grounds right now! The plane slid to a stop."
The pilot, Francis, quit barn storming later and became a captain in the first World War. Roy Stamm thought a short while about taking up aerial photography as a vocation, but decided with a wife and young son, it might be best to stay on the ground. Still, Roy Stamm became the first person to take a picture of Albuquerque from an airplane.
from "For Me, The Sun" published by the Albuquerque Museum in 1999 and edited by Jim and Ann Carson; pages 189-194 from an article first published as "Pioneers in the Air" by Roy A. Stamm in the New Mexico Magazine, September 1946
"On this second flight, we took off on the meadows south of the Fair Grounds. For some reason, probably mechanical, the plane didn't get altitude. Only ten to twelve feet in the air, we buzzed down the river over its sand bars, just missing the tops of small saplings. Two miles downstream, a steel bridge crossed the river. Two bents were washed out and a pile driver was working there to close the gap. 'Almost onto the bridge, still no altitude, something is wrong!' flashed through my mind. When Francis swung over the water, heading for the gap to miss the bridge, I was sure of it! There seemed nothing to do except sit tight and not rock the boat. But, workers around the pile driver sure went overboard as we approached. They splashed into the water like a lot of frightened frogs! Shooting through the opening, on the other side immediately we started to climb. I squirmed around. Francis, his face sheet-white, sweat trickling down, slowly shook his head, speechless. I couldn't see my own face but I couldn't say anything either!
After gaining sufficient height, two wide circuits were made. I shot Albuquerque and the valley, east, south, west and north on the first circling; then took two more eastern exposures on the second. Francis and I had had enough; we spiraled down into the Fair Grounds right now! The plane slid to a stop."
The pilot, Francis, quit barn storming later and became a captain in the first World War. Roy Stamm thought a short while about taking up aerial photography as a vocation, but decided with a wife and young son, it might be best to stay on the ground. Still, Roy Stamm became the first person to take a picture of Albuquerque from an airplane.
from "For Me, The Sun" published by the Albuquerque Museum in 1999 and edited by Jim and Ann Carson; pages 189-194 from an article first published as "Pioneers in the Air" by Roy A. Stamm in the New Mexico Magazine, September 1946