Aviation Photographer George Hall Dies At 65

George Hall, a leading aviation photographer and founder of two stock photography agencies, died April 20 as a result of complications from open heart surgery. He was 65.
Hall's death occurred two days before he was to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Aviation Photography for his striking images and ingenious technical contributions.
"Early in his career he sweet-talked the military out of an old aerial bomb and modified it to hold motorized Nikons facing backwards, forward, and sideways," recalls aviation photographer Chad Slattery. "He'd hang it on the wing of an Air Force jet fighter, have the wingman tuck in just a few feet behind the pod, and trigger the camera remotely."
Later Hall figured out how to make photography through optical periscopes in a modified Learjet piloted by aviation filmmaker Clay Lacy, says Slattery. "He'd have this huge 747 tucked maybe twenty feet beneath this bitty Lear 25. You could practically see the Captain's epaulets."
Hall was regarded for his humor and generosity as much as for his prowess with a camera. "He was generous with his time, his experience, his contacts and you could never pay for dinner," photographer John Dibbs recalled at a memorial service for Hall on May 6. "Many people working today owe their careers to George?I am proud to include myself in that number. George Hall was my mentor, a huge inspiration and support to me."
Hall grew up in Gary, Indiana, majored in history at Stanford University, and then joined the army. Afterwards, he pursued a career in urban planning, but found he disliked the work. "He once described it as a year spent denying people permission to do things," says Slattery.
But the job involved some photography, which Hall enjoyed, so he quit to pursue photography full time in 1968. He broke into aviation photography by publishing The Blimp Book , featuring images from the Goodyear blimp. That led to assignments for Flying magazine, for which he began shooting military jets.\
During the 1980s, the Reagan military build-up and popular films such as Top Gun helped propel Hall's success as a publisher of military aviation calendars and books. He published his "Air Power" calendar for more than two decades. His books included Cv: Carrier Aviation, Top Gun, and Strike: U.S. Naval Strike Warfare Center.
His last book, called Grumman F-14 Tomcat: Bye, Bye Baby ... !, features the work of various aviation photographers. It is scheduled for publication this June.
In addition to publishing books, Hall founded two stock agencies: Check-Six, specializing in aviation photography, and Code Red, specializing in fire and rescue photography. With John Dibbs, he also founded Planepix.com, a web site that sells aviation prints to consumers.
Hall is survived by his wife and business partner Nicky Wolf. "The last thing he said to me when they were wheeling him into surgery were, 'Tell everyone I've had a great life. I have no regrets.' He must have had some intuition about it, but I certainly didn't."
Wolf says she intends to keep Hall's two stock agencies in operation.