Why I Soared 2,000 Feet Above London in a Doorless Helicopter with Aerial Photographer Donn Delson
I wouldn’t normally wake up just as a new day is dawning to make my way across a sleepy London. But this day was special. I was meeting with American aerial photographer Donn Delson at 7.30 am at London’s Battersea Heliport. Together we would fly over London at a height of around 1,900ft in a helicopter with no door.
Donn, at 75 years young, is exuberant when we meet and eager to offer a glimpse of the world from a bird’s eye point of view; a new perspective that with a keen eye and a good camera lens can offer up an intriguing trompe l’oeil. Strapped into his seat yet leaning out and seemingly dangerously forward, Donn was at ease. He has spent over 300 hours in this position over diverse lands from Japan to The Netherlands, England to Israel, and across the United States to create his art. Was he ever fearful?
“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.”
I imagined that Donn had probably always lived his life “in the moment” having built and sold the fourth largest entertainment merchandise business in the world, BandMerch, to AEG Live in Los Angeles (Staples Center/Philip Anschutz). Donn represented worldwide merchandising (tour, e-commerce, licensing, and retail) for artists like Rihanna, Billy Joel, Alanis Morissette, Outkast, and Linkin Park.
He retired in 2010 and now had the time and the means to pursue his passion for photography which morphed into aerial photography during a chance ride in a “doors off” helicopter in Queenstown, New Zealand in 2015.
Donn says that though he has traveled widely, his favorite city is London and today the metropolis was drenched in sunshine making the view below bright and clear. We put on our headsets and looked down as Donn pointed out landmarks, like the 02, the Eye, the Shard, Battersea Power Station, and the British Museum.
On a previous clement day, he had captured the teal green glass of the British Museum’s domed roof while illuminated by the sun. The interplay of light and structure took his breath away so he took the shot. He calls this “The Crown Jewel” and the artwork belongs to his Points of View collection. Other examples of abstract imagery include “Turntables,” an image of the Beckton Sewage Treatment Works, Newham. No glamour there for sure but for Donn it conjured up records on a turntable.
While flying over the River Thames, his imagination was ignited by the sight of containers parked in diagonals. On the ground, this is an unremarkable mundane space-saving practice but what emerged for Donn was a beautiful series of colorful feathers that resulted in “Feathered.”
Sometimes the aim is to catch the interplay between shadow and light as demonstrated in “Circus Nights” and “London Lights” from the Points of Light collection. During our fast-paced 20 minutes of moments, Donn was eyeing the city hoping for a chance sighting to divulge some unusual formations. I followed suit, looking for “color, symmetry, patterns, and contrast.” I became aware of raising an eyebrow in response to London’s generous verdant patches, the roads that threaded between the sheer variety of architectural shapes and sizes straddling the winding river like an unkempt smorgasbord.
I knew Donn had spotted something when he instructed the pilot to hover allowing him time to get into position and capture the scene.
