A FREE exhibition from

May 18 through September 16, 2007

Wednesday through Sunday.

ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNEY
THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF
ROBERT CAMERON

At the Presidio Officers' Club Exhibition Hall

Presidio of San Francisco- Golden Gate National Recreation Area

For more information contact

Cameron & Company

@ 415-558-8455.


ROBERT CAMERON ON HIS PHOTOGRAPHY

Aerial photography demonstrates in a way that no other form of photography can what we are doing to the Earth, the oceans and the atmosphere.

I usually shoot from a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter using a Pentax 6x7 cm camera with a gyrostabilizer and six Takumar lenses from Fisheye to 400 mm. The digital revolution has transformed both photography and photographic printing. For this exhibit my transparencies were drum scanned, digitally color corrected, blown up and printed on archival paper at Color 3 Lab in San Francisco using the latest digital technology in very large format, up to 6 by 10 feet. This gives the viewer a chance to see these places almost the way I saw them from the air.

HELICOPTERS: TRIPODS IN THE SKY

I am convinced that helicopters are the safest way to fly because of the fact that if the motor conks out, you can use what they call autorotation. I once asked my pilot, "What's auto-rotation?" He said, "Oh, I'll show you." Then he turned off the motor. We were at about 2,000 feet and we fell -literally fell- fast. What went through my mind was, "Well, it hasn't been a bad life, but this is it." Then, when we got to within 500 feet of the ground, he worked the blades and we had a gentle landing.

How lucky the hawks are that they can just spread their wings and float and float up there and just look down at all this beauty!

Robert Cameron

The Exhibition

Renowned aerial photographer Robert Cameron began photographing California from the air in 1969. Over those years, his view has reached as far north as Alaska, as far south as Mexico, as far west as Hawaii and as far east as France. This exhibition selects over 50 great images from Cameron's large body of work on California, Washington State, Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii.



El Nino surf, Ocean Beach, San Francisco CA

Walking through nine galleries, the visitor will experience (1) an aerial journey, (2) the edge of the Pacific, (3) a little background on Robert Cameron, (4) bays, estuaries, rivers and lakes, (5) forests, (6) mountains and deserts, (7) energy sources, (8) farms and ranches, and (9) the monuments and cities of this dynamic part of the earth. Both the natural environment and the impact of humankind on the landscape unfold before you. The environment is a big subject, and Camero's images reflect this in large format prints, many as tall as six feet and ten feet wide.

Moss Landing power station, Monterey County CA


50 Moraga Ave San Francisco, CA 94127

FREE PARKING



LECTURES AND Q&A EVENINGS

The exhibition will be accompanied by free public Wednesday evening programs, the first of which will be an evening with Robert Cameron talking about his work.

Subsequent discussions focus on the environmental and ecological challenges we face today, and feature experts and organizations grappling with these issues. Talks will explore the atmosphere, the oceans, our expanding cities and threatened architectural monuments, and the magnificent natural habitats that survive in public parks and private holdings.


June 6

Climate Messengers
(Al Gore's Group) www.theclimateproject.org


July 11

Public Utilities Commission

A program about the proposed new building downtown SF that will generate its own energy. www.cpuc.ca.gov


August 8

National Resource Defense Council Keeping oceans wild. www.nrdc.org


FROM ABOVE-A ROBERT CAMERON RETROSPECTIVE

A LIFE'S WORK IN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

2005 EXHIBIT

This free exhibit featured 58 iconic aerial images by famed photographer Robert Cameron. The dramatic large-format prints showcase wonders of the natural and man-made world as seen from 1,500 above.

24,000 visitors viewed Robert Cameron's retrospective at the San Francisco Presidio.

The exhibit closed October 2, 2005.

Randolph Delehanty-Curator

Linda Henry-Curator

Robert Cameron-Photographer

Cameron is known internationally through his series of books including Above San Francisco, Above Paris and Above Washington D.C. His latest book is Above Mexico City.