Robert McQuilkin

Robert Paul McQuilkin (March 21, 1952 – September 28, 1988) was an American photographer and writer who won 58 prestigious awards for his remote camera photos taken in high-risk sports ranging from ice diving to hang gliding. McQuilkin died in a drowning accident while on assignment for Chicago Magazine photographing a shipwreck in Lake Michigan.

McQuilkin worked for Black Star, a photo agency in New York.

McQuilkin was an innovator in the art of remote photography, a name given to attaching cameras to places the photographer cannot go. He mounted them to the foot of a runner in a race, to the tip of a kayak, and to the wing of an airplane. In one of his award-winning images, he attached a camera to the wing of a hang glider, which required putting a piece of steel of the exact weight on the opposite wing for balance.

McQuilkin wrote five books on photography, was a contributing editor to two magazines, and was an advisor to the Board of Expedition Research International. He also taught at the University of Chicago’s publishing extension program.

His photos and articles appeared in many publications, including LIFE, Stern, Der Spiegel, Forbes, The New York Times, Saturday Evening Post, Field & Stream, and Outside.

He received awards from the New York Art Directors` Club, the Kodak Professional Photographers Showcase, the American Society of Magazine Photographers, and Nikon.

He was married to writer Susan McQuilkin and was the grandson of Robert C. McQuilkin, founder of Columbia International University (formerly Columbia Bible College).

www.robertmcquilkin.com