As we are approaching the 75th anniversary of LIFE Magazine’s debut, we present you with The 75 Best LIFE Photos.
Pictured: An Air Force pilot with patterns of light covering his face and shoulders is measured, like a contour map, for a perfectly fitted flight helmet in this 1954 Ralph Morse photo. Morse, whose technical brilliance so often meshed with his eye for the startling, striking image, managed in this portrait to perfectly illustrate the cover story of the December 6, 1954, issue of LIFE: a report titled, simply, “Jet Age Man.”
