Melvin Vaniman

Chester Melvin Vaniman (1866 – 1912) was an American photographer, adventurer and businessman who specialized in panoramic images taken from height and was nicknamed the "Acrobatic Photographer." He shot images from gas balloons, ships masts, tall buildings and even a home-made 30 meter pole. He was a famous aviator and balloonist. He scaled buildings, hung from self-made slings, and scaled dangerous heights to capture his unique images.

Born to a farming family in Virden, Illinois, he was the eldest of four sons, and attended Valparaiso University in Indiana and Chicago.

Vaniman's photographic career began in Hawaii in 1901 and ended some time in 1904. He spent over a year photographing Australia and New Zealand on behalf of the Oceanic Steamship Company, creating promotional images for the company. During this time the New Zealand Government also commissioned some panoramic images. Beginning in 1903 he spent over a year photographing Sydney and the surrounding areas. It was during this time that he created his best known work, the panorama of Sydney, shot from a hot air balloon he had specially imported from the United States.

He constructed his own "swing-lens" cameras to accomplish the capture of full 360×180 degree panoramic images.

Vaniman is best known for his images of Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand.

Some time around 1904 he gave up photography and took up exploration. This included attempts at the North Pole and the Trans-Atlantic crossing - both attempted in Walter Wellman's airship America. At the first attempt to cross the Atlantic in 1910 Vaniman sent one of the first aerial radio transmissions when he urged the launch boat to "come and get this goddam cat!" - "Kiddo" the cat who was (at first) not happy about being airborne. Kiddo caused such a ruckus, that the cat had to be placed inside a gunny sack and suspended below the airship's gondola. They anticipated a five-day crossing, but the airship's motor failed after 38 hours, leaving it adrift until it was rescued two days later by the RMS Trent, a passing Royal Mail steamship.

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