As Real As It Gets is a photography project by Thomas Nolf exploring humanity’s need for escape through aviation culture. Between 2020 and 2024, Nolf traveled the globe, engaging with flight simulator enthusiasts, aircraft spotters, and visiting the world’s largest model airport, Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Nolf rekindled his childhood fascination with flying through Microsoft Flight Simulator, inspiring him to connect with others who similarly escape reality through aviation. Enthusiasts build elaborate home cockpits, ranging from desk setups to immersive recreations using real aircraft parts. This hobby provides a sense of control, structure, and autonomy, with some believing they could land an actual plane. The project also highlights aircraft spotters who document planes with precision. At places like Maho Beach in Sint-Maarten, spotters and tourists gather to experience low-flying planes against stunning tropical backdrops, merging thrill and beauty. Through photography, simulated images, and archival footage, Nolf examines the dreamy allure of aviation. His stylized compositions blur the lines between reality and fiction, reflecting on the romanticism and artificiality of escape.
A scene featuring a model airplane from the film Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), starring Harrison Ford — meticulously recreated by an aviation enthusiast from Seville, Spain.
The purchased nose cockpit of a real Boeing 737 aircraft, placed in the garden of a flight simulator pilot in Bern, Switzerland.
Inside the cockpit of a home-built flight simulator, operated by a dedicated pilot in his apartment in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
A visitor watching a plane take off at Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany.
A look inside the workshop of a group of model-building enthusiasts near Faro, Portugal.
In the kitchen of aviation enthusiast Carlos, near Huelva, Spain.
Inside the handmade cockpit of a flight simulator pilot near Zwolle, the Netherlands.
A spotting location near Brussels Airport, Belgium, featuring a small take-off runway for children.
A model aircraft in the car of an aviation enthusiast at the club airfield near Huelva, Spain.
Planespotters in the public parc near Seville Airport, Spain
A plane spotter at the Flight Park near the airport of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
A family near the entrance of Flight Park, just outside the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Photo by Thomas Nolf
Photo by Thomas Nolf
Photo by Thomas Nolf
Photo by Thomas Nolf
Tourists watching a plane take off from the viewing area at the Royal Islander Resort, overlooking the airport in Saint Martin.
Plane spotter Paul doing a bit of gardening with a machete to keep a clear view of incoming aircraft in Saint Martin.
A view of Maho Beach, Saint Martin, where tourists and plane spotters gather in anticipation of a landing aircraft.
A group of tourists beneath a low-flying landing aircraft on Maho Beach, Saint Martin
A small group of tourists getting ready for a plane to take off, standing close to the fence at Maho Beach near Princess Juliana Airport, Saint Martin.
Two birds on a fence near Princess Juliana Airport, Saint Martin.
A tourist caught in the jet blast on Maho Beach, Saint Martin.
A group of tourists beneath a low-flying landing aircraft on Maho Beach, Saint Martin
A tourist with her dog watching an incoming landing aircraft from the back of her rented pickup truck.
A flight simulator pilot, dressed in full uniform, looking out from his home.
Father Dane, a retired priest, inside his self-built flight simulator room in Sheffield, United Kingdom
Thomas Nolf (1986) is a Belgian visual artist whose work explores how people construct meaning and seek escape in a world shaped by myth, memory, and simulation. Graduated MA in Visual Arts: Photography, School of Arts (KASK), Ghent. His projects blend documentary photography, found materials, text, and simulated imagery to examine the thin line between fiction and reality. With a poetic and often critical eye, Nolf frames everyday rituals, historical enigmas, and virtual realities to reveal how they serve as outlets for control, nostalgia, or freedom.
