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This collection consists of aviation-related photography created by American photojournalist Ron Burda at air shows and air races between 1970 and 1999, and reference documents and publications collected by Burda during that period to aid in identifying the aircraft and people depicted in his photographs.
Ron Burda (b. 1940) received his bachelor of science degree in Psychology/Journalism/Art from Brigham Young University in 1966 and his master's Degree in Mass Communications from San Jose State University in 1971. Burda served in the US Navy Air Reserve during the Vietnam War, 1966-1968. He served on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61) as a Plane Chief for A-6 Intruder bombers and a Photographer's Mate 3/c. Starting in 1970, Burda was a photojournalist for the San Jose Mercury and News. The last 15 years before his retirement in 2000, he was the Senior Staff Photographer. Burda also was a frequent freelancer for leading aviation magazines.
NASM.2013.0026
Burda, Ron
bulk 1971-2001
Ron Burda, Gift, 2013
5.44 Cubic feet (14 boxes)
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This collection consists predominantly of aviation-related photography created by American photojournalist Ron Burda at air shows and air races between 1970 and 1999, and reference documents and publications collected by Burda during that period to aid in identifying the aircraft and people depicted in his photographs. Burda's photography from the 1970s and 1980s is predominantly 35mm black and white roll film negatives (accompanied by contact-printed proof sheets), with 35mm color transparencies (generally mounted as slides) becoming more prevalent in the 1980s before shifting to 35mm color negatives in the 1990s. The collection also includes 8 x 10 inch black and white (and a few color) enlargement prints made by Burda and 4 x 6 inch color prints made by commercial photo finishers. The photography includes views of aircraft in flight and on the ground, pilots, ground crew members, and other participants at air shows and races as well as some miscellaneous coverage of other aviation-related events in the southern California area including antique aircraft and hang glider fly-ins. A major feature of the collection is Burda's extensive coverage of the National Championship Air Races held annually at Reno, Nevada, including official race programs and press materials for each year from 1973 to 1996. Also covered are the California National Air Races (Mojave '74, '75, '76, and '79) and features on racing pilots R. J. "Bob" Love and Marvin Lee "Lefty" Gardner.
Collection materials are grouped in series by type of material (documents, photography, reference publications and books, etc.) Folders within a series are generally grouped by event title or subject and arranged in chronological order. The creator, Ron Burda, had originally arranged the bulk of his aviation photography in binders (and later in large envelopes) by calendar year, then event within a year; this arrangement has been retained as much as possible. Photography groups which span multiple years or were undated have been grouped at the beginning of the Photography series as Aviation by Subject. The Aviation by Year section of the Photography series has been grouped into subseries by photography format and arranged in chronological order. Additional arrangement details can be found at the series and subseries levels. NOTE: Only a small amount of the photography contained in this collection has been digitized at this time.
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Ron Burda Air Racing Photography Collection, NASM.2013.0026, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Aeronautics
Stunt flying
Airplanes
Air shows
Airplane racing
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Black-and-white negatives
Color slides