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David Degner

Boston Photographer and Photojournalist

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Outdoor Lifestyle Photography

Adventure photography on the trail to Mount Everest.  Photographing avid adventurer Kenton Cool, one of the world’s leading high-altitude climbers.

Adventure Photography & Lifestyle Photography

Adventure photography and Lifestyle photography are rarely easy, and they are tough to do well. Getting the most striking photographs of athletes and explorers first requires the photographer to keep up with them. The best light and most expressive vistas are usually found by waking up before sunrise and moving through the day’s heat.

Somehow in that haze of physical and mental exhaustion, I focus on making a creative photograph. I love it.

My favorite part of fitness photography is forming that perfect photo in a dynamic situation. It often requires a mental flow of recognizing the light or compositional elements available. It harkens back to my first love, street photography, but with more preparation and pressure.

I assembled a portfolio of adventure and fitness photography that I created for jobs worldwide. Usually, I am working beside a video production crew with only a few minutes in between takes. However, sometimes the results can be magical.

Sometimes adventure photography includes the cultures around the physical challenge.

Hiking to Mount Everest

Taking adventure photographs using the early morning sunrise.
A map can help find the best places for adventure to photograph.
Kenton Cool, avid high altitude climber.

This trek to Everest Base Camp was possible with extensive planning and coordination. It was even more complicated as the whole crew had to quarantine and stay Covid-free. Thanks to the producers, sherpas, crew, and talent it succeeded even after several things went wrong.

My extensive planning included, how to make a photo studio small, light, and powerful. Because I had to carry it in my backpack and use it in the midday sun. Carrying my Profoto B1x wasn’t an option, so I brought two smaller A1xs and a special mount so they could be mounted side by side and be twice as powerful.

Fitness in Turks & Caicos

Fitness photography in Turks and Caicos includes paths along rocky outcroppings.
Beaches are one of the most iconic places for fitness photography.
Photograph from inside a cave structure in Caicos.

Photographing fitness instructors in Turks and Caicos sounds like a dream. It was some of the best accommodations and sunsets of any photoshoot. But Covid curfews and forced us to work quickly. Usually, we were under the mid-day sun, missing the golden hour light of sunrise and sunset. I was able to photograph quickly with a light Profoto kit and a large reflector.

One of my favorite fitness photographs on the beaches of Turks.
Fitness photography can include historic context like the pyramids of Egypt.

History and Exercise in Egypt & Jordan

Doing yoga in Wadi Rum of Jordan.
Yoga poses in Wadi Rum of Jordan.
Khan el-Khalili is not the normal place for fitness photography, but it works.

Photographing explorers and fitness instructors in Egypt felt like working on my home turf. Since I know the language and have been to the locations many times, I was able to help as a local guide. It was a fun photoshoot, even when we were walking through the desert.

Boston Business Struggles in Pandemic

Photography of Boston's iconic restaurant...a Dunkin' Donuts.

Downtown Boston, the heart of New England’s largest city typically pulses with office workers, tourists and shoppers. Since the coronavirus pandemic struck–canceling vacations and clearing out office towers–once-bustling weekdays feel more like sleepy Sundays.

“Most buildings are not able to crack 7%” occupancy, said Rosemarie Sansone, chief executive of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, or BID, a 34-block area in Boston’s core normally teeming with office workers.

-Published in the Wall Street Journal

 Portrait of Ferguson Herivaux in his store "One Gig"

One Gig Chief Executive Ferguson Herivaux in the skateboard and streetwear shop. Sales have been strong at One Gig, which reopened in early June.

One Gig, a streetwear and skateboard shop, opened its new two-story, 4,000-square-foot location on March 2, after five years in a much smaller basement space around the corner. It temporarily shut operations 20 days later in response to state orders, then reopened in early June, initially for pickups and appointments only.

One of a series of portraits for this story.

A portrait of Levent Berksan in his shuttered Cafe De Boston on December in Boston, Massachusetts.

Levent Berksan has kept his Café de Boston restaurant closed since the pandemic hit because he relies so heavily on downtown workers. The marketplace eatery occupies a large space on the ground floor of two connected office buildings that are now mostly empty, he said.

“Our biggest strength is our biggest weakness right now,” Mr. Berksan said, of his office-based customers. “We put all our eggs in one basket, and we lost all of the eggs.”

The restaurant grossed $2.7 million last year on about 1,000 customers a day, plus an office-catering business that has also dried up. The cafe can’t break even when business drops more than 25%, he said, noting that a break on rent has allowed him to stay in hibernation until customers return.

Buildings of downtown Boston are reflected in the Millennium Tower in Boston, Massachusetts.
Brattle Book Shop

Kenneth Gloss, co-owner with his wife, Joyce Kosofsky, of Brattle Book Shop, reopened in early June, as soon as he could. His family has owned the three-story antiquarian bookstore for 71 of its 195 years. “Our goal this year is not to lose too much money,” he said.

Normally, the bookshop would be bustling in December, with holiday shoppers and families taking in “The Nutcracker” and other special events. But sales, already down 40% for much of the year, fell further this holiday season in comparison with previous years. “A lot of the regulars just aren’t here,” Mr. Gloss said.

Stephanie Horn of Boston Diamond Company

When the pandemic temporarily shut down the Boston Diamond Company, Stephanie Horn’s business on Washington Street, she worried it could be a fatal blow. “The rent is really expensive in Downtown Crossing,” she said.

The 400-square-foot jewelry shop has managed to hang in there, even without pop-in visits from local office workers and tourists. Ms. Horn has been buoyed by referrals while taking customers to the small shop on an appointment-only basis to avoid crowding.

Emerson Paramount Center

Commercial Photographer

Adventure Photography

fitness · athletics

Adventure Photography

Most of my commercial photography is in Boston but sometimes my athletic and adventure photography takes me around the world. This is a collection of adventure photography mainly for iFit.

Commercial photography for an exercise company.
Boston Portrait Photographer: Kat Gregor

Studio · Location

Storytelling Portraits

Many companies and academic institutions around Boston need a portrait photographer. I can work on location, or in my photo studio. I use local knowledge, experience, and technical flexibility to create storytelling portraits in any situation.

Photo of researcher

Research · Science · Software · Medicine

Research & Science Photography

In Boston I’ve worked with several science based companies to to tell the stories of how their work has an impact in the world. Sometimes I photograph in their labs and offices, but I love to go meet the end users and show how research changes lives.

Research · Education

Video Production

I love the challenge of interviewing researchers and streamlining their ideas into a short video to make them accessible. I also produce video advertisements and raw footage for social media posts.

Industrial Photography inside a factory to show their process for internal communications.

Production · Factory

Industrial Photography

When industrial photography clients in Boston and New England call the first thing we do is define their goals. I enjoy interpreting their manufacturing processes into clean and professional photos. Usually, I work with them to make a library of photos for future advertisements and social media posts.

Industrial Photography inside a factory to show their process for internal communications.

Research · Lifestyle · Industrial · Portraits · Video

Commercial PhotographY in Boston

I love working with institutions as a commercial photographer. I create meaningful advertising photos that connect because they tell real stories.

In Boston, a significant portion of my commercial photography is with academic institutions and local companies. The projects can be as simple as a few portraits for public relations handouts or full libraries of photos. I also produce short videos.

My specialty is international photography, especially in the Middle East. I’ve been able to work with several pharmaceutical companies to tell their stories around the world. These types of situations often require sensitivity and language skills that I learned from years of working with people outside the studio.

Corporate photography projects can consist of creating a single “hero” image, or a library of hundreds of images that can be used with internal and external communications. If you know your photography needs I’d love to discuss how to fit your vision into your budget.

Commercial photography is priced based on three factors, the number of images, usage rights, and complexity of the photoshoot.

Contact Me

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  • David@DavidDegner.com
  • +1-646-450-4334
  • Boston, MA
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  • Photojournalism
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I'm a freelance photographer in Boston, working on editorial, commercial, and personal projects.