A plane that crashed into water in rural Tuscaloosa County Friday morning is registered to a local aerial photographer, according to data from a public flight tracking website.

As the Thread first reported, multiple public safety agencies responded to a small plane crashing into a tributary creek feeding the Black Warrior River east of Adger Friday morning.

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The plane is reportedly a four-seat single-engine Cessna Skyhawk registered to Tuscaloosa’s Todd Media Incorporated.

The company, founded and run by Edward Todd, has provided aerial photography to clients in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa for more than a decade.

The plane departed the Tuscaloosa National Airport at 9:11 Friday morning and flew into Jefferson County, where it made several loops over spots in Hoover before turning southwest and flying back towards Tuscaloosa.

Tracking data for the flight ends at 10:16 a.m., and the Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue Service said the first calls about the crash came in around 10:30 a.m.

The FAA’s extremely preliminary report said the aircraft crashed after striking a power pole. 

Rescue crews and a dive team from multiple local and state agencies were dispatched to the scene Friday morning.

This remains a breaking and still-developing story, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread for more as it comes in.

The new issue of Digital Photographer is out now!

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This month we have another amazing issue for you, featuring professional tips, reviews, and practical how-to guides. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s inside!

Improve your image quality

In our first techniques feature this issue, we explore how to shoot and edit your best-ever digital files by understanding how to make your gear perform at its very best! From p24, we discuss how to improve the quality of your shots by learning how to identify when your gear is performing at its peak and the secret steps you can take to squeeze every ounce of detail from any camera and lens.

Snap the streets

Get into position, observe and press the shutter – street photography sounds simple, but there’s an art to capturing images with a lasting impression. Starting on p36 of the magazine, we explore this exciting genre with pro photographer Jamie Canning, covering everything from using your lenses to approaching subjects, arranging compositions on the fly and focusing to perfection.  

Capture incredible urban panoramas

Real-estate photography often requires working in busy streets, providing challenges for wide-angle imaging and pano blending. In our creative project this issue, we show you how to capture panoramic images in confined locations and how to overcome the problems of repeating patterns and optical distortions. 

TPS special: Scott Kelby on his favourite things to see at The Photography and Video Show

TPS special: Bella Kotak on her fairytale images

Bella’s images are instantly recognisable for their beauty and delicate colours. Starting on p76, Bella gives us a fascinating glimpse into her creative process and her upcoming talk at The Photography and Video Show on 16th March in Birmingham. 

Pro advice: buying second hand gear

Clash of the mirrorless titans!

Finally, it’s the clash of the pro camera titans as the mighty Canon EOS R3 and Nikon Z 9 do battle in our exclusive Head-to-Head test. If you’re into sports or wildlife photography, make sure you turn to page 96 to find out which one takes the crown!

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Plus we’ve got the usual tutorials, interviews, insight and opinion, from a range of experienced pro photographers from across the industry. 

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Essential exposure technique: settings for seamless backgrounds

Photo therapy: the art of patience – why it’s worth waiting!

Adapt and conquer! Learn to use lens adaptors the right way

Lighthouse photography: learn to compose images of very tall subjects

A series of previously unseen photographs of Björk taken by Spike Jonze were released yesterday. Curated by Humberto Leon and on view as part of a special exhibition at Arroz & Fun in Los Angeles, The Day I Met Björk is an exclusive photo-series that is available to download via WeTransfer that documents the fruitful partnership between the Icelandic singer and the American filmmaker. ⁠
⁠
The images were taken at the famed Chateau Marmont back in the 1990s, prior to Jonze directing Björk’s “It’s Oh So Quiet” music video. Within the images, Björk lends an intriguing and sometimes uncanny effect to otherwise ordinary and mundane scenes — from jumping on a hotel room bed, hunching over a bathtub to swimming in the pool. “It’s very easy to shoot photos of someone when they’re compelling, when they’re imaginative, when they lack any self consciousness and when they’re as singular and original as her. Really, I almost can’t even take credit for any photos being good,” noted Jonze on the series.

As a longtime friend and collaborator to Jonze, Leon entertained the idea of having a cafe art exhibition at Arroz & Fun and Jonze was quick to recommend the forgotten series of Björk. “So, this ‘Surprise Exhibition’ is an ode to someone I love so much,” noted Leon. “Dedicating my first show to someone that showed me what the world could be only
seemed fitting. Today, help me celebrate this love with The Day I Met Björk.”

For those unable to witness the exhibition in person, the photo-series is available to download free as a zine at WeTransfer.

Arroz & Fun
1822 North Broadway,
Los Angeles CA 90031 ⁠

This weekend, the University of New Orleans’ St. Claude Gallery will open an exhibition in honor of beloved New Orleans writer and photographer Christy Lorio, who was in the process of earning her second master’s degree from the university before she passed away from cancer in November 2022.

Lorio, who was 42 when she died at home, had been living with stage-IV colorectal cancer for four years — an experience she wrote and spoke about candidly and often with a sense of humor.

“Choose Joy,” which opens with a reception at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, is a posthumous thesis exhibition of Lorio’s photography. The reception runs until 9 p.m. and will include Lorio’s husband, Thomas Fewer, reading from her chapbook, “Cold Comfort.”

The exhibition will be on display through March 3. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, and admission is free and open to the public. Find more information at unostclaudegallery.org.

Lorio had earned her bachelor’s and then a MFA in creative writing from UNO before starting her MFA in fine arts for photography in fall 2020.

“Christy was a remarkable person, full of love and enthusiasm for life and art,” a spokesperson for the gallery said in a statement. “She was an excellent graduate student and grad assistant for the photography students in the fine arts department at UNO.”

“She excelled at anything she put her mind to, and her pursuit of photography and becoming an artist was no different,” they continued. “The New Orleans art community, and the photography community at large, lost a talented individual.”

A scholarship fund also has been set up in Lorio’s name to support UNO graduate students in the final parts of completing their degrees.

Lorio had contributed to Gambit as well as Antigravity, Uptown Messenger and other publications. Shortly before she passed, she published “Cold Comfort.” The chapbook of essays and photography is about her experiences with late-stage cancer and finding joy where she could.

“When your life exists in the dark spots, you need to interject brightness into your life as much as possible,” she wrote. Find the book at bellepointpress.com.