Don Ultang

Who was Don Ultang?

Donald Theodore "Don" Ultang 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.