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| © Cameron Davidson |
| This personal shot of a corn maze in Tennessee was taken from a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. Click photo for more images. |
The photographic community is incredibly diverse, made up of photographers that shoot from the sky to the sea and everywhere in between. Each month we'll focus on a different segment of the industry, interviewing top professional photographers about life, their careers, and what sets their piece of the photographic industry apart from the rest.
This month we focus on Cameron Davidson, an aerial photographer based in Arlington, Virginia. Davidson shoots from helicopters and airplanes all over the world specializing in editorial and corporate aerial photography. He’s worked for such publications as Vanity Fair and National Geographic and corporations such as the energy company Dominion and Kimley-Horn, a top consulting firm. Davidson took some time out of his busy schedule to answer questions about his career and the aerial perspective.
Can you recall your first experience with photography? At what point did you realize that your passion for photography might turn into a successful career?
My first experience with photography was finding a post-WWII Agfa camera in a closet that used unique cartridges of film. Richard Zamsky, a photographer friend of my mother, gave me 20 rolls of Tri-X and off I went -- shooting everything and anything that interested me. The normal stuff: girls, friends, landscapes and birds.
I knew from the start that this path was the one I needed to go down. I rarely had a doubt about shooting.
What photography equipment do you use on a daily or weekly basis?
I pretty much carry a Leica body with me everywhere I go, usually with the 35mm Summicron lens attached. For most client work, I shoot with the Leica M8, Canon 1Ds Mark II or occasionally a medium format digital camera. For personal work, I still shoot with an old Rollei TLR and my Leica M4 or an M8.
What led to your career in photography?
Good solid advice and a burning desire. I started off as a bird photographer. I shot several stories for wildlife magazines and a story on Great Blue Herons for a nationally known magazine. That story led me to shooting aerials, which changed the direction of my work and career. I was able to combine my two loves -- creating graphic abstract images with loads of color and shooting the landscape from a unique angle.
What percentage of your time at work do you spend behind a camera? What else is involved?
When I'm on the road, I spend a fair amount of time shooting, either aerials or portraits on location. I spend way too much time in front of my Macintosh processing files, but that is the reality of our business now -- we are the lab and photographer. I do appreciate how much more control I have over the image.
Who are some of your clients?
My clients are a mix of corporate, editorial and advertising. Some include Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, Air & Space, Audubon, Field and Stream, Preservation, and National Geographic.
Where have some of your images been published recently?
Recent projects include a piece for Field and Stream about gas mining in Wyoming -- an all-aerial piece. Audubon ran a photo essay on mountain top removal mining that I shot as a personal project. Vanity Fair ran two spreads from a shoot I did for them in June on the Anne Bass estate in New England. Recent ad and corporate shoots have been for Virginia Tourism, Dominion, Symantec, HNTB, Howrey, and Kimley-Horn.
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