Elmer Dyer

A Kansas native, Elmer Dyer moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was 14. He entered the film business as an assistant set dresser, but after buying a camera he began to find work as a cinematographer, and supplied footage to many newsreel companies. He soon found himself hired as cinematographer on several low-budget westerns, but he really hit his stride when he he got into aerial photography--he was one of the many cameramen who photographed the sweeping aerial dogfights in Hell's Angels (1930), worked on Frank Capra's Dirigible (1931) and soon gained a reputation as one of the best aerial cinematographers in the business. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his photography in Air Force (1943). During World War II he was assigned to the Army's Motion Picture Unit and shot much aerial footage that was used in training films. He began assembling a library of stock footage during the war, and eventually left active photography to spend most of his time in that business.