Cameron Davidson

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Choosing the right pilot for aerials is much more than finding the service that fits your budget. I work with pilots who know how to fly the camera and who specialize in film and still photography.

Last week, when shooting in New York City I watched my pilot work with three separate controllers, fly through four air spaces plus keep us on our GPS track. Our flight started in New Jersey where we overflew Teterboro with permission of the Teterboro Air Traffic Controller. Next up as we crossed the Hudson we entered into the La Guardia Class B airspace. Within a minute or so, our flight took us back into VFR flight with no immediate need to speak with ATC. On the south end of Manhattan, we flew through VFR, Newark and La Guardia airspace in less then a minute. If we had chosen to fly out toward Coney Island, then we would have contacted Kennedy.

The demands of aerial shooting are tough on a pilot. Not only are you watching for other aircraft plus constant contact with ATC, you are also responding to the photographers needs for the shoot.

I choose to only work with pilots who understand photography and who know how to fly the camera. Safety comes first. It is the most important element of the mission.

When researching pilots for aerial assignments, my first priority is how much experience do they have in type and with aerial photographers who fly low and slow.

I tend to fly in turbine aircraft such as the Bell Jet Ranger, A-Star or Hughes 500. When I need to fly in a piston aircraft, I ask many questions about the ship and the pilots experience with aerial photography. I have a checklist and as a pilot, I feel it is my responsibility to myself and my client to insure a safe flight and a successful assignment. I brief my client before the flight on what to expect: safety precautions, emergency egress procedures and how helicopters work. My experience has been that clients are interested and excited to be in the air, often for the first time and it is reassuring to know that I know what to do if we have to make and emergency landing. The pilot also conducts a preflight briefing and even though I’ve heard it hundreds of times before, it is important to stay with the checklist and not skip over anything because it is familiar.

I love shooting aerials. Sometimes a helicopter is not the right platform, sometimes it is a hot air balloon, often it is a tall ladder or the roof of a building. I own a sixty-foot tripod that does the trick when shooting with a remote. What I enjoy the most for low-level aerials are bucket trucks and genie lifts.

I’ve been working on annual reports the past couple of weeks and this image was shot on two days ago. A production shot to show the scale of where the location is and to shot how high I was above the lineman and power lines. It was a bitter cold but sunny morning. The guys on the line hung in there with me through all my variations in height, angles and subjects. My clients watched the proceedings from yoga mats on the grass in the sun or the occasional run into the cab of one of the utility trucks. (Gotta love Yoga mats, they are perfect for resting, laying down on the grass when shooting, or on a concrete floor or even, practicing yoga.)

Yesterday I had lunch with a group of photographer friends for our monthly dose of Pho Vietnamese soup and chatter about the industry. Most of the folks at lunch worked the Capital, Mall, Streets and Balls for the Obama celebrations.

Burnett told me about a new entry into his blog where he talked about old cameras and a tree on the White House lawn. It is an insightful and interesting read. He used a picture I shot of him by window light when we had lunch at the Explorers Club a couple of years ago.

David and and his Ermanox.

I found this image this afternoon while editing a back catalog of winter images from the Chesapeake Project.

Chesapeake Bay with a path created by the Coast Guard

Editing a long-term project can be tough. You get so close to it. You have picture editor friends edit it down for you and you think it is complete and ready for presentation. Then you discover another image that tells the story a bit differently and the circle starts again.

Reading: The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. (3rd Time around) and Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. Listening to the first Badlands album. It is amazing to me that Jake. E Lee came away from Ozzy’s craziness and Ray Gillan left Sabbath and then they created something very close to the best years of Zeppelin. Great band with much promise. Too bad Ray passed away at such a young age.

Personal image shot after finishing up a project in Suffolk.  Dirt area is a construction site next to a distribution center.