How Donn Delson Redefines Perspectives in Art Photography

American fine art aerial photographer Donn Delson is one of seven Los-Angeles based American photographers being shown at Photo Independent, London’s first inaugural exhibition Visions Unbound: A Photographic Journey Through American Eyes at Cromwell Place from the 21st of May to the 26th of May 2024. On display at Cromwell Place will be Delson’s pieces Space Invader, Headdress, Abacus, and Feathered.

At 75 years young, Donn Delson specialises in large-scale, often abstract aerial images shot from “doors off” helicopters at heights up to 4000 meters (12,000 feet), his artistry quite literally reaching new heights. Strapped into a doorless helicopter over two miles above the earth, Delson has spent over 300 hours watching the world from a bird’s eye point of view. Donn’s travels have carried him throughout the world, from Japan to The Netherlands, England to Israel, and across the United States.

Flying doorless enables Delson to lean out and/or straight down to photograph clearly and crisply something that excites or inspires him far below; often a chance sighting of symmetric patterns and textures, whether man-made or natural, colourful or not, evokes in him a sense of balance and harmony and peace.

His images are often not planned captures, but rather serendipitous sightings, named to reflect what they may resemble from high above, but not what they actually are in reality. Often taking on an entirely new identity, and aptly named, they become a transformative experience for the viewer, allowing collectors to enjoy the world from an entirely unique perspective.

Looking out of the helicopter with the wind in my face and the magnificence of the world stretching out below, seemingly without end, the only thing I can be is in the moment.

Donn Delson

Delson’s current camera of choice is the Fuji GFX 100, enabling him to capture images at 102 MP. To make his large-scale images crisp and clear, Delson shoots at high speeds in burst mode, which on the GFX is 5 frames per second. This helps him ensure that while the first and last few frames might not be in perfect focus, usually the few in the middle of the burst will be so, enabling him often to enlarge the images to sizes upward of 4 to 6 meters.

Delson’s large-scale, limited-edition images are printed on the highest quality archival paper using Fuijiflex Crystal and mounted beneath clear acrylic glass with no perimeter frame to encumber the viewing experience. Presenting his work through unconventional framing, viewers can experience the same unrestricted high-altitude views and perspectives he does, while keeping both of their feet planted firmly on the ground.

One of the pieces for which Donn is best known is Xylophones in his Points of View Collection. The image was captured in 2016, as he flew over the Port of Los Angeles.

In 2017, Delson flew over Times Square at twilight. The genius of Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie, with its chock-a-block colors, shapes, and sizes, was the inspiration for his flight as he hoped to photographically recreate the myriad colors and shapes of Mondrian’s famous artwork, enhanced by the twinkling of thousands of lights. Delson was so mesmerised by the spectacle below that, for a few seconds, that he almost forgot to snap the shutter.

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Taking creative inspiration from abstract artists such as Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee, and Mark Rothko, the immersive experience of viewing the world from such vantage points and unique perspectives has become a hallmark of Delson’s artistic expression.

Represented by galleries in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Philadelphia, Delson’s impactful creations grace a diverse and loyal base of private, corporate, and commercial collections worldwide. His next solo show is scheduled for January 2025 at Axiom Contemporary in Scottsdale, AZ.

During Delson’s recent two weeks shoot over the Hawaiian Islands, he was flying “doors off” early one morning over Molokai through a light rain shower and found himself smack in the middle of a rare double circular rainbow. Fortunately, a photographer friend in the front seat was able to take a video of him shooting through the centre of the rainbow. On the ground, because of the horizon, we usually see only the top half of the rainbow as we envision the “pot of gold’ at the end.

From Donn’s perspective 1000 meters up, he found the treasure chest in being able to be physically inside the rainbow for a few moments and to have that gift captured on video. The video has been viewed more than two million times on his site, and more than an estimated three million times additionally on multiple other sites including CNNArabic, which interviewed him for that clip.

Visions Unbound: A Photographic Journey Through American Eyes opens from the 21st of May to the 26th of May 2024 at Cromwell Place

©2024 Donn Delson

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