Last year a freelance photographer on assignment for Newsweek was covering Southern California’s wildfires. He wanted pictures of the heroic work the firefighters were doing as they battled the blazes. When he arrived on the scene, he realized that the smoke was so thick it would impede his ability to get good photographs from the ground level. He requested permission from his editor to rent a plane and take aerial photos. The request was approved, and the photog called the local county airport to charter a flight. He was told that a single-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport.
Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a Cessna warming up outside a hanger. He hopped in with his camera bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, “Let’s go!”
The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into a stiff headwind, and barreled down the runway. Once in the air, the photographer asked, “Can you fly over the valley and make two or three low passes so I can take some pictures of the fires on the hillsides?”
“Why?” asked the pilot.
“Look,” he responded impatiently, “for this Newsweek assignment, the editor wants some good close-up shots.”
The pilot was strangely silent for a moment, and the blood seemed to drain from his face. Finally he stammered, “Are you telling me you’re not the flight instructor?”
