A-Spot. A Journey into the World of Airplane Spotting – the book

Since 2015, photographer Mindaugas Kavaliauskas has been creating the second part of his long-term project “travel’AIR” – a story about a global phenomenon – plane spotting. It took the photographer ten years to create photographs of sufficient geographical coverage, write and update the stories of the heroes, and prepare the book. The photo album “A-Spot: Journey to the World of Plane Spotting” is the fifth monographic photo album by Mindaugas Kavaliauskas.

The book is unusual in several aspects. Two parts of the book fit under the cover: one for photographs, the other for texts. Both of them will be able to be flipped through at the same time – immersing yourself in large-format photographs in one part and reading the stories of the heroes in the other without interruption. However, if you want to fully experience the paper acrobatics of this book, you will need a table about 130 cm wide.

According to the author of the book Mindaugas Kavaliauskas, one might think that the topic of “A-Spot” is shallow and niche, but the book tells the story of people who, looking at airplanes, are not only seeking entertainment, education or a good time, but also peace, relaxation, therapy, treating longing, anxiety and looking for hope. Among the thirty-five documented airports in the world, the book includes one from Ukraine. Thus, the book invites us to remember the people of Ukraine suffering from the war, whose dream is to see passenger liners in the sky, not enemy missiles or drones.

The photo album will reach curious viewers in three versions: standard, experiential and a version with a signed author’s print. The latter will include an archival quality photographic print signed by the artist with an image from the book. All 50 images will be different. There are also three versions of the experiential book. The three scent pairs of the experimental version are composed of interpretations of specially created “A-Spot” atmosphere perfumes and combinations of aviation scents.

And yes, there is a special musical theme “A-Spot” by Simas Kavaliauskas. You can play it while scrolling from the SoundCloud window, below.

Fred Boucher, the head of Diaphane Éditions, recalling his acquaintance with the author of the book, notes that he first met him at Beauvais Airport. According to him, Mindaugas loves aviation very much and keenly sees its influence on everyday life and its impact on localities. So when he suggested that Diaphane co-publish his book, we did not hesitate for a moment. This new book gives new wings to the dissemination of his significant long-term project “A-Spot”, and the book layout created by Inga Navickaitė, like jewelry, valorizes the photographs.

“A-Spot” photographs have been exhibited at the photography festivals Fotonoviembre (Spain), InterPhoto (Poland), Photaumnales (France), and in galleries in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Vilnius and elsewhere. They were published by The New York Times (USA), Die Zeit (Germany), Il Tempo (Italy), online and printed publications of other countries, including Lithuania.

The book’s texts are in three languages: English, French and Lithuanian. 220 pages are devoted to photographs and 48 pages to texts. Photographs from 35 airports in Europe, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and St. Martin’s Island.

The book’s publishers are VšĮ Šviesos raštas (Lithuania) and Diaphane Éditions (France).
The publication was financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. 

Special Versions of A-Spot book

“A-Spot” book versions

• Standard version;

• 3 Scent versions (Limited editions of 50 for each set of sensual add-on). Each version has a set of two sides of the fence, witch separates the spotters from the airplanes – the imaginary perfume of the place, and one selected scent that might be emitted by an airplane. The scents are placed on a special foldable card. With the release of the book, the first scent experience variant, A-SPOT WILD, is available, only from Kavaliauskas.eu;

• version with Artist Signed Print (A4 size, archival quality: pigment ink on Hahnemühle Photo Matt paper). This version with is also limited to 50 pieces. Each book has a print different of a different photograph. Available only on Kavaliauskas.eu.

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Make it Your Journey.
Buy your Copy from the Artist

Costs of versions of the book are as follow.

Standard Version – 45 EUR
Scent Version – 55 EUR
Version with Artist Signed Print – 99 EUR.

To purchase, please choose the version and shipment destination in the PayPal drop-down menu.
You will enter your shipping address in the payment stage of the purchase.

"A-Spot" book (Versions + Shipping destinations)

Standard V. to Lithuania €49.00 EUR Standard V. to European Union €58.00 EUR Standard V. to the rest of the World €72.00 EUR Scent V. to Lithuania €59.00 EUR Scent V. to European Union €68.00 EUR Scent V. to the rest of the World €82.00 EUR Artist Print V. to Lithuania €103.00 EUR Artist Print V. to European Union €112.00 EUR Artist Print V. to the rest of the World €127.00 EUR

For questions, info about Versions with Artist Signed Prints, contact photography (at) kavaliauskas.eu.
Shipments handled in one working day.

Thank you!