Don Burgess (Camera)

Don Michael Burgess, ASC (born May 28, 1956) is an American cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis. He was nominated for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for Zemeckis' Forrest Gump (1994). In 2024, he received the American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement Award. Burgess comes from a family of builders and initially wanted to be an architect in his youth. His introduction to photography came through his father building a darkroom for his sister since she was in a high school photography class at the time. When in high school, he made ski movies and motorcycle movies. He attended the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena and cited nature documentarian Mike Hoover as an influence. While attending ArtCenter, he worked as a film loader on William Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977). Burgess spent the first decade of his career shooting various independent and low-budget films, as well...Read More