AirlineGeeks.com

A Planespotter’s Dream Gig: A Look into the Life of an Airport Photographer

This morning, AirlineGeeks.com features a profile of me, highlighting my aviation photography, and giving a glimpse into what it’s like when I cover large-scale corporate events.  I invite you to read the full article on the AirlineGeeks website by clicking here or the article preview below.

It is an immeasurable honor that my photography has inspired a profile to be written about me and my work. I’m proud to work so closely with so many people at Dulles International and Reagan National airports, amongst the Airports Authority, the airlines, and their partners, all of whom work hard to keep the DC airports operating smoothly, and welcoming passengers the whole-world over.

I especially have to thank Ryan from AirlineGeeks for shadowing and interviewing me during the Air India inaugural a few weeks ago. I also must thank Airport Operations; without their skilled assistance, I would never be able to cover airfield actives with the depth I capture. Finally I must thank my many partners in the numerous PR, marketing, communications, and media departments and outlets I have worked with over the years - it is because of their efforts on many projects that my photos have been presented to a global audience.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me in growing my career to where it stands today - today marks a true milestone; I can’t begin to describe how honored I am to be receiving such recognition, and I am excited to learn the next heights my career will take. Thank you!

Click here to continue reading the full article on AirlineGeeks.com.

Michael Symon at Bar Symon, IAD

Recently Iron Chef Michael Symon dropped by Bar Symon, his restaurant at Washington Dulles International Airport; this time he was able to stay a little longer (last time he was in town his flight got messed up), and was signing books... and of course taking selfies, as usual.

If you've ever watched Food Network or The Chew on ABC, you have surely come to know and love Chef Symon.  Since there was time, I took the opportunity to get my cousin (who is a huge fan, an aspiring young cook, and incredibly jealous of my small connection to Michael) a signed and personalized cookbook, which I surprised him with a few days ago for Christmas.  He loved it, by the way.  I got one for myself too :-)

This day was a little strange - it's not uncommon that I'll go somewhere and run into someone I know.  It just happened that while I was photographing this event, one of my best friends was flying out, and also a college classmate of mine who I hadn't seen in a few years was also waiting on her flight to board.  It was nice to catch up with her during lulls in the event before she had to get to her gate.

Chef Symon said he remembers me from his last time at Dulles, when I covered his restaurant's grand opening ribbon cutting, and shot a portrait of him in front of the eatery.  This time I wanted to shoot another portrait, but somehow differently - we landed on the bar itself.  Just like last time, I was given only a few short minutes to set up and get the shot; this is a single flash photo, also just like last time.  I actually like it better that my previous one!

Marketing and Product Photography and Videography

I thought it would be fitting to provide an update on my marketing and product photography efforts at Ronald Reagan National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.  This Summer, in addition to my regular ongoing still photography for concession marketing purposes, I also filmed stock footage of concessions at both airports for use in promotions.  These promo spots have been playing on the CNN TV Monitors at both airports since May of this year.  I am responsible for all the footage in these videos with the exception of a few stock photos provided by Legal Sea Foods.  I am not responsible for the video editing; that was tackled by Marketplace Development's marketing team.

Here is an extended edit of the DCA promo.

In addition to these video spots, you can see a sampling of some of my latest marketing photography efforts below.  Both Dulles and Reagan National airports have been working to introduce Better Brands to the Washington, DC aviation market.

You might remember the promotional photography I showcased this past Spring for Pen & Prose and others; much of my photography is used in online promotion, but it also ends up printed large format, very much in public.  This is also a great example of why good photography is important - can you imagine how terrible this dustwall would look with poor quality images, or no images at all?

Examples of my most recent commercial marketing photography.  It's purely coincidental that Chef Geoffrey and I have the same pose :-)