James DeCamp Photography

08/22/2026

I went to Hawaii for one client and planned a few days for myself. Hurricane Lala and an earthquake turned my downtime into capturing news instead. So much devastation to the big island. 😞

06/08/2026

It was May 2008, and Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann was discovering a timeless truth of politics: gravity eventually wins.

For months, Dann's administration had been circling the drain. What started as rumors and whispers inside the Ohio Attorney General's Office had evolved into . . .
Read more 👇

The Last Ride Down: Photographing Marc Dann's Resignation It was May 2008, and Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann was discovering a timeless truth of politics: gravity eventually wins. For months, Dann's administration had been circling the drain. What started as rumors and whispers inside the Ohio Att...

06/05/2026

They assigned me to the airport.
That’s what they call the death watch.
Not because anyone expects anything to go wrong - at least not out loud - but because if it does, this is where it happens. Landing. Takeoff. The most fragile moments of the whole traveling circus . . .
Read More Below👇

Tales from the Tarmac - Death Watch with a President They assigned me to the airport. That’s what they call the death watch. Not because anyone expects anything to go wrong - at least not out loud - but because if it does, this is where it happens. Landing. Takeoff. The most fragile

05/04/2026

James D. DeCamp is what happens when you give a camera to a teenager in 1981 and he never, ever puts it down - not for recess, not for reason, not even for common sense when there’s better light somewhere else.

He has spent more than four decades chasing moments with the quiet intensity of someone who knows history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does occasionally pause just long enough for him to nail focus. Former Columbus Dispatch staff photographer, longtime freelance powerhouse, and licensed drone pilot who treats the sky like just another shooting position - slightly more expensive if you mess it up.

He has photographed every U.S. president from Carter to Trump, which means he has stood in rooms where history was happening and thought, very calmly, “Okay, but where’s the light coming from?” While the rest of the world watched events unfold, James was already adjusting, reframing, anticipating - because presidents come and go, but moments are either captured or lost forever.

His gear bag weighs approximately the same as a compact car and contains enough glass to bend reality, time, and occasionally his spine. Lenses for every conceivable scenario, bodies for redundancy, lighting setups that can turn a dim corner into a magazine cover, and just enough chaos to keep it interesting. He doesn’t pack light - he packs correctly.

Clients don’t just hire him; they rely on him. Universities, foundations, national organizations - they all understand the same thing: if it matters, James will see it, shape it, and deliver it. Probably before anyone else even realizes it happened.

Behind the scenes, he runs a small empire of storage systems, sync scripts, and meticulously organized archives that would make a librarian weep with gratitude. His Mac minis have names. His files have order. His chaos is entirely intentional.

A contributor to ZUMA Press and a witness to decades of American life, James doesn’t just take photographs - he builds a visual record of what was worth remembering.

And if you linger in one spot too long, he will absolutely light you - whether you asked for it or not.

03/12/2026

The view from my office today. Covering the Ohio BWC‘s Safety Congress, one of the largest conventions of its type in the country. This is just one of many conventions that I have under contract this year. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)