Blackhawk Taking Off Youth T-Shirt

This image was taken in may of 2009. In mid May 5 counties in southern West Virginia (known as the coal fields) flooded from a very large amount of rainfall over a very short time. The coal fields include logan country and the town of Gilbert, Wv.

At any rate the national guard was mobilized to assist residents clean up after the flood. Then Governor Joe Manchin (now Senator Manchin) and assessment teams toured the area affected by the floods by Black hawk helicopter. This is an image of one of the Black Hawk helicopters taking off from a small field in Gilbert.

I was very impressed with the pilots skill as Gilbert is in a very narrow valley and is surrounded by high tension power transmission lines. Taking off and landing in this area is treacherous if the mountains doesn't claim you the high tension lines will try. At any rate I was able to meet the commander of the WV National Guard and then Governor Joe Manchin while he toured this devastated area. I was also allowe...

Christopher Flees of Flees Photos is an Internationally Published Photographer, Art Promoter, Artist, and Producer of Man Cave, She Shed, Home and Business decor. "He entered the art of photography and photo processing at the age of 13 in a studio owned by a family friend and professional photographer. He started out working in the darkroom developing and processing portfolio images for models. A quick study he transitioned out of the darkroom and onto the studio floor working with the models and composing image for their portfolios. After several years of studio work Chris left the studio, desiring a change in his career direction. He transitioned his career toward fine art landscape photography. Over the next 30+ years he adopted a...