How to Pronounce Don Ultang
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Mar 23, 1917 Died on 18 Sep 2008 (aged 91)
American photographer
AriesDon Ultang - Place of Birth, Date of Birth, Age, Wiki, Facts, Net Worth, Birthday, Biography and Family
Don Ultang, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Family, Facts, Age, Net Worth, Biography and More in FamedBorn.com
About Don Ultang
- Donald Theodore "Don" Ultang (March 23, 1917 – September 18, 2008) was an American photographer, a pioneer in aerial photography and a Pulitzer Prize winner.Ultang was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa and raised in Cedar Rapids.
- He attended the University of Iowa, earning a degree in economics in 1939.
- Shortly after his graduation from college, he was hired by The Des Moines Register.
- After being hired by The Register, he signed up to participate in a government-funded pilot training program and served in the United States Navy during World War II as a flight instructor.After returning to civilian life, he convinced the Register to purchase a Beechcraft Bonanza to be used for aerial photography.
- As the paper's only pilot, he would use the plane to take panoramic photos of news events such as a train wreck or flood from the plane using his Speed Graphix camera.
- Ultang would fly the plane solo over the target at a few hundred above the ground, keep his plane in a 45 to 50 degree banking turn and about 20 miles per hour above stall speed, briefly release one of his hands from the controls for about five seconds to take the desired sequence of photographs, and retake the controls to circle around for another series of shots.A portfolio of Ultang's photographs was printed in U.S.
- Camera, 1954 together with works by Ansel Adams, in an annual work published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce.
- In 1991, the Iowa State University Press published a book of his work, "Holding the Moment: Mid-America at Mid-Century." Ultang retired after 20 years at the Register and took a job at an insurance company.
- In recognition of his pioneering career, Ultang was inducted by the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame in 1991.After Ultang retired, and spent his winters in New Mexico, he began a second career taking nature and landscape photographs until a few years before his death.
- Ultang died in his sleep on September 18, 2008, aged 91.
