Many of the celebrated images on The Lancaster Archive were created by Lavoy Bauknight (1920-1995), who operated Lavoy Studio from 1947 to 1988. The Lancaster native graduated from LHS and later from Wofford.
Here, in the 1960s, Lavoy poses beside his airplane while holding his massive, 4x5 professional camera, which produced film negatives over three times the size of 35mm format. The result was a higher-quality image compared to 35mm.
Early in his career, after several flights with a pilot who couldn't get Bauknight the exact angle he wanted, Lavoy got his own plane and pilot's license. This allowed him to get the perfect angle in flight. He would get the aircraft in position, lift the window, which would stay up on its own thanks to the wind, then aim his 4x5 camera to get the shot.
He was considered by many to be ahead of his time, as evidenced by his breathtaking aerials of Lancaster and nighttime images of Main Street.
He was the first photographer in Lancaster to place multiple, full-size studio lights on Main St. during Christmas parades, producing beautifully lit images of the floats at night.
When he was not in an airplane, he could still be found high above, usually in the bucket of a fire truck or on top of a building, making pictures of downtown Lancaster.
He operated a retail camera shop and studio on The Springs Block for years and later moved to a location near Twin Pines on North Main St.
As a member and president of The Professional Photographers of America's SC Chapter, he won dozens of awards at the group's annual Columbia meeting and inspired photographers statewide with his dramatic, panoramic pictures of Lancaster's Main Street.
This image was made possible by:
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