A Kansas native, Elmer Dyer moved with his family to Los Angeles when
he was 14. He entered the film business as an assistant set dresser,
but after buying a camera he began to find work as a cinematographer,
and supplied footage to many newsreel companies. He soon found himself
hired as cinematographer on several low-budget westerns, but he really
hit his stride when he he got into aerial photography--he was one of
the many cameramen who photographed the sweeping aerial dogfights in
Hell's Angels (1930), worked on
Frank Capra's
Dirigible (1931) and soon gained a
reputation as one of the best aerial cinematographers in the business.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for his photography in
Air Force (1943). During World War II
he was assigned to the Army's Motion Picture Unit and shot much aerial
footage that was used in training films. He began assembling a library
of stock footage during the war, and eventually left active photography
to spend most of his time in that business.