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.

Best of 2016

Each year I release a set of photos showcasing the highlights I've photographed over the previous year.  It's a Year in Pictures, similar to how news outlets also compile Year in Review columns which rely almost solely on photojournalism (which is an important and unfortunately underappreciated art, by the way).  This year's "Best Of" is coming a bit late - I usually release this on New Years, but I've been rather busy and distracted upon return from my trip to St. Louis.

So now I present to you the Best of 2016: A Year in Pictures.  Photos are presented in order in which they were photographed, and contain captions and links to relevant articles when applicable.

Janet Echelman's 1.8 Renwick at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  This photograph of Echelman's woven sculpture is displayed upside down to create additional dramatic discord and illusion to the already intricate landscape of mesh. 

John Grade's Middle Fork at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  Viewed from the base, or roots of the molded tree recreated from cedar planks, the natural béziers of organic growth are showcased with a feeling of fluidity.

Portrait of Dennis Hazell, Customer Service Manager of Washington Dulles International Airport, photographed in Eero Saarinen's historic Main Terminal Building.

Rim and caliper of the 2016 Alfa Romea Giulia sport sedan, photographed at the Washington Auto Show.

Cabin crew serve champagne in a First Class compartment aboard Emirates' new A380, which began inaugural service between Washington, DC and Dubai on February 23rd, 2016.

The First Class cabin aboard Emirates' new A380, which began inaugural service between Washington, DC and Dubai on February 23rd, 2016.

Portrait of Scott C. Booth, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Chief of Police.

The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck; a new restaurant offering at Washington Dulles International Airport.  Much of my work, many of which goes undisplayed on my website, is photographing commercial marketing imagery of concessions and products for the DC area's two airports.

The bar inside The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck; a new restaurant offering at Washington Dulles International Airport.  Much of my work, many of which goes undisplayed on my website, is photographing commercial marketing imagery of concessions and products for the DC area's two airports.

Portrait of Sidney Woods, Marketing Director at Washington Dulles International Airport, photographed in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's Main Terminal.

My own Infiniti G37S 6MT photographed in Frederick, Maryland on a day and place reminiscent of the iconic Windows XP background, Bliss by Charles O'Rear.

Wedding portrait of Amy and Brandon.

Wedding portrait of Nina; it rained on their wedding day, pushing the ceremony inside, and rushing the portrait session in Leesburg between bands of drizzle and high winds.

A Piper tow plane for Jersey Ridge Soaring takes off from Blairstown Airport (1N7), lifting a glider into the sky.

View inside the cockpit of a glider being towed to 2,500ft before release of the tow cable.  The tow plane is visible directly forward, with instrumentation on the console and the red lever which releases the tow cable.

A selfie inside a glider soaring around 2,500ft.  A maximum altitude of 3,500 was reached on this flight using thermal for lift.

Aerial view of Blairstown Airport (1N7) from 1,000ft.  The small public use airport in New Jersey is home to Jersey Ridge Soaring, a glider service and school.

All-Nippon Airways' "BB-8" Star Wars 777 departing Washington Dulles International Airport after a promotional visit by the aircraft.  The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority held a Discover Dulles event to mark the occasion, welcoming 50 lucky participants to watch the aircraft's arrival on the runway itself, and providing a tour of Airport Operations and Dulles' Ramp Tower.

LATAM Airlines begins inaugural service between Lima, Peru and Washington, DC on May 2nd, 2016.  LATAM is the result of LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines merging at the same time this inaugural flight took place; the LAN Airlines livery seen above has been discontinued.

Portrait of Manuel Rodriguez, Award Winning Chef, photographed making lamb chops in the kitchen of Kapnos Taverna by Mike Isabella.

An American Airlines Douglas DC-3 parked outside the original terminal building at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, formerly known as Washington National Airport.  The aircraft was on site to commemorate the airport's 75th anniversary, after opening it's doors on June 16th, 1941.

Portrait of Rose Corps, a synth-pop musician and singer, photographed at CityCenterDC for promotional portraits before the release of her first two singles Frosted Glass and Making it Hard.

Portrait of Rose Corps, a synth-pop musician and singer, photographed at CityCenterDC for promotional portraits before the release of her first two singles Frosted Glass and Making it Hard.

Portrait of Rose Corps, a synth-pop musician and singer, photographed at CityCenterDC for promotional portraits before the release of her first two singles Frosted Glass and Making it Hard.

Portrait of Rose Corps, a synth-pop musician and singer, photographed at CityCenterDC for promotional portraits before the release of her first two singles Frosted Glass and Making it Hard.

Portrait of Savannah, a rising high school senior, Class of 2017, photographed at her stable where she cares for her horse Tosca, and trains with him for equestrian events.

Portrait of Savannah, a rising high school senior, Class of 2017, photographed at her stable where she cares for her horse Tosca, and trains with him for equestrian events.

Portrait of Alyssa McGuire, fitness coach and newborn photographer, photographed atop Stony Man Mountain in Shenandoah, Virginia.

Portrait of J. David Buerk, Washington, DC area commercial photographer, photographed by Alyssa McGuire atop Stony Man Mountain in Shenandoah, Virginia.  Photo by Alyssa McGuire, edited by J. David Buerk.

Portrait of James Dingell, Airport Management Intern at Ronald Reagan National Airport for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, photographed on his last day working for the Dulles Jet Center, where he worked continuously for over 10 years.

A blue poison dart frog photographed at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC.

Royal Air Maroc begins inaugural service between Casablanca, Morocco and Washington, DC on September 8th, 2016.

A limited edition Translucent Pink autographed Lindsey Stirling "Shatter Me" 33 RPM vinyl on an Audio-Technica turntable.

Aerial photograph of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Dulles, Virginia.  Photographed via helicopter, 250ft AGL.

"Superman" leads the way at the 23rd annual Dulles Day Plane Pull benefitting Special Olympics.  The Special Olympics team is always the first team to pull the FedEx 757 to kick off this family fun charity event which draws 10,000 - 15,000 visitors every year.

Aerial photograph of Washington Dulles International Airport's iconic Main Terminal Building designed by architect Eero Saarinen.  Cranes which are part of the "Silver Line" rail construction project can be seen at the bottom of the frame, as construction of the Dulles Metro Station commences.  Photographed via helicopter, 500ft AGL.

A promotional image for the Dulles and Reagan concessions program, photographed at The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck; a new restaurant offering at Washington Dulles International Airport.  Photographs from this photoshoot were selected to be used as cover images for Shop & Dine guides at Dulles International and Reagan National airports.

View of the lounge area inside Turkish Airlines' new Business Lounge at Washington Dulles International Airport.

A Turkish coffee with Turkish Delight served inside Turkish Airlines' new Business Lounge at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Exterior promotional photo of Duty Free Americas after renovation at Washington Dulles International Airport.  Much of my work, many of which goes undisplayed on my website, is photographing commercial marketing imagery of concessions and products for the DC area's two airports.

Interior promotional photo of Duty Free Americas after renovation at Washington Dulles International Airport.  Much of my work, many of which goes undisplayed on my website, is photographing commercial marketing imagery of concessions and products for the DC area's two airports.

Artist Katherine Riedel painting still-life in her Waterford, Virginia studio.

The tide rolls in on the Chesapeake Bay with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in the distance on a cool Summer day at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, Maryland.

Portrait of Katie, a rising high school senior, Class of 2017, photographed at her stable where she cares for her horse Retro, and trains with him for equestrian events.

Portrait of Katie, a rising high school senior, Class of 2017, photographed at her stable where she cares for her horse Retro, and trains with him for equestrian events.

Portrait of Katie, a rising high school senior, Class of 2017, photographed at her stable where she cares for her horse Retro, and trains with him for equestrian events.

Tire and rim detail on a bagged Ford Mustang at the first Regular Car Reviews car show in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.

A Translucent Green Lindsey Stirling eponymous LP 33 RPM vinyl on an Audio-Technica turntable. 

Leo surprises Chelsea with a marriage proposal at the skating rink at Reston Town Center, Reston, Virginia.  She said yes!

Leo and Chelsea and their two dogs, upon getting engaged at the skating rink at Reston Town Center, Reston, Virginia.  She said yes!

2016 has been a great year in my photographic career, bringing me new experiences, introducing me to new faces, and taking me new places.  Here's to 2017 being just as interesting and continuing to take my career to new heights!  Thanks to all of my fans, and especially those who have helped to make my career the career of my dreams!  I'll see you all in 2017!

J. David Buerk, Washington, DC area commercial photographer, on Washington Dulles International Airport's R/W 1C high-speed hold-short line while photographing on assignment for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority during the All-Nippon Airways' "BB-8" Star Wars 777 event.  Photo edited by J. David Buerk.

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 :-)

The Maine and Beach Weather at Springfield Town Center

I don't post a lot of it, but a good portion of my work is commercial marketing photography for a few concession management companies.  Oftentimes this means storefronts and product shots for websites and social media campaigns (which is meaningful, but isn't really why people follow my photography, so I don't post much of it), and other times this means events.

Springfield Mall was reborn in 2014 as Springfield Town Center; a brand new enclosed shopping facility right off of the Franconia - Springfield Blue Line Metro Station, at the crossroads of I-495, I-95, and the Fairfax County Parkway.

Last week, Springfield Town Center was one of the venues along The Maine's "Free For All" tour, and Springfield Town Center's Concert Series.  This was the first time I have ever photographed a concert (if you don't count an opera).  In this case I was the venue's event photographer.

The Maine, and Beach Weather (The Maine's opener), I must say, were excellent bands to have as my first shooting concert photography.  I apparently am out of the loop, because even though a number of friends of mine knew about The Maine, I'd never heard of them (sorry about that guys... but you do have a new fan now!).  Both bands were awesome, and I've picked up their music since the concert last week.

I can't encourage you enough to go buy their music, and follow them on all the Internetz!

Beach Weather

Beach Weather on Facebook.
Beach Weather on iTunes.
Beach Weather on BandCamp.
Beach Weather on Twitter.
Beach Weather on Instagram.

The Maine

The Maine's Website.
The Maine on iTunes.
The Maine on Facebook.
The Maine on Twitter.
The Maine on Instagram.

I've wanted to try my hand at concert photography for many years, and I wouldn't change this first time in any way - I photographed two amazing bands, and quickly learned what it's all about.  I had a fantastic time - Thank you The Maine, Beach Weather, and all you great folks at Springfield Town Center.