De eerste vliegtocht van Clément van Maasdijk bij Heerenveen Possibly 1910 - 1931

This photograph by E. ten Cate captures Clément van Maasdijk's first flight near Heerenveen. It is a double image printed in shades of sepia. I can only imagine the amount of work it took to get this shot. I feel for E. ten Cate trying to capture such an early flight on camera. With all the uncertainty, they were both involved in the same act: Van Maasdijk in the machine, ten Cate in the dark room. It seems they were connected by a string of belief. The camera—the apparatus—was a leap of faith itself, and the only way to prove the camera worked was to take the picture, and the only way to prove the plane worked was to fly it!