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North Augusta resident Damon Comparetta loves to fly, and he loves
to take pictures. When he combines the two, his shutter finger is
capable of freezing an Augusta-area landscape with rolling hills
and plenty of construction projects onto a disc.
"It's a planning tool," said Mr. Comparetta, whose business
is aerial photography. Mr. Comparetta, who rents an airplane at
Aiken Municipal Airport, started Aerial Photos last month and runs
it from an office inside his North Augusta home. He has recently
been shooting photos of the Palmetto Parkway construction for the
project's contractor to keep up with its progress. He also has photographed
the Old McDonald Fish Camp in North Augusta. He has shot photos
for a Movie Gallery being built near Langley Pond on U.S. Highway
1 and is planning to shoot photos for North Augusta's riverfront
project.
"You have some rolling hills here, which is nice," said
Mr. Comparetta, who moved to North Augusta from the Pensacola, Fla.,
area.
Mr. Comparetta flies with co-pilot Dick Hawkins so he can take photos
through an open window with a digital camera. Together, Mr. Comparetta
said the two have a combined 73 years of flight experience, "which
makes us probably the most highly experienced aerial photographers,
at least in the Southeast." Mr. Comparetta served in the Marines
from 1989 to 1997 and became the captain and commanding officer
of a Marine aviation logistics squadron. He also has been a certified
flight instructor since 1997.
He said that when he flies, restrictions require him to stay at
an altitude of 500 feet above farms and other sparsely populated
areas. However, in heavily populated locations, he must stay at
1,000 feet.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, pilots must also stay at a 3,000
foot altitude and three miles away from any gathering of 30,000
or more people, he said. That restriction doesn't affect Mr. Comparetta's
business, though, because he usually photographs everything from
farms for an owner's personal use to new construction projects where
crowds will soon visit. He said his biggest project right now is
the Palmetto Parkway work, which involves the extension of the Bobby
Jones Expressway from the Savannah River into North Augusta. "I
go up once every other month for them," he said, but noted
that he usually flies for aerial photos on other projects about
twice a week.
He said he now is looking to grow his customer base, with plans
to photograph the new construction of a classroom building at Augusta
State University and an addition to the Augusta Museum of History.
For Mr. Comparetta, it's a love he's had since childhood.
"I knew I wanted to be a pilot when I was 6," he said,
noting that his father was in the Navy as an aircraft maintenance
chief. "I used to build little plane models when I was a child.
And my dad used to take me out to the squadron."
While on visits to the airport in Pensacola about 14 years ago,
he cultivated his love for photography while watching military planes
land. "Most of my photography is all centered around aviation,"
he said. And today, that love continues. Inside his office, a model
airplane adorns the wall and an aeronautical clock and mug can be
found at his desk.
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