Just a little about me.
My name is Zachary Burns, I am a photographer and filmmaker based in Oklahoma and I am legally blind in my left eye.
Now don't let that scare you. Essentially from birth, a cataract was forming and growing in my left eye, and when it was discovered, I had eye surgery to have the cataract removed (see the photograph below for a glimpse at how excited I was about that). Now all I see through that eye is a blurry world. And tying that to my normal sighted right eye, this unique vision has helped give me a different perspective which influences and informs my photography.
I first explored photography while pursuing a BFA at Oklahoma City University. While there I fell in with the filmmaking students and started taking stills of their short films and I've never looked back. Growing up as a young cinephile, discovering a way to use my talents as part of the filmmaking process was a dream.
My work has been featured in Variety, EW, Deadline, and Indiewire, among others, and I have had the pleasure to work with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Beth Grant, Mary Holland, and the legendary Cloris Leachman.
I also recently studied to further my craft at the Film Stills Academy with Nicola Dove, still photographer for No Time To Die, Murder on the Orient Express, The Souvenir, The Death of Stalin and many other films across her career.
Below is a selection of films and filmmakers I have shot stills for. If you're making a movie and need an on-set photographer, I would love to hear from you.
Me on the set of Golden Arm. Photo by Ahmed Bharoocha.
Me just before getting eye surgery as a child.
Selected Filmography
• Calculated Obsession (2024) - Ryan Francis
• Fairwood - Season 2 (2023) - Bud Schaetzle
• In Her Likeness (2023) - Louise Alston
• What Rhymes With Reason (2022) - Kyle Roberts
• COX Presents: Band Together (2021) - National Spot for Cox Communications
• Beauty of Love (2021) - Lindsay Nicole Korman
• The Nanny Knows (2021) - Lindsay Nicole Korman
• A Baby at Any Cost (2021) - Tamar Halpem
• My Terrorized Teen (2021) - Jose Montesinos
• Deadly Debutantes (2021) - Lindsay Nicole Korman
• Prisoner of Love (2021) - Lindsay Nicole Korman
• Finding Carlos (2020) - Lance McDaniel
• Family Camp (2020) - Brian Cates
• Golden Arm (2019) - Maureen Bharoocha
• Shifter (2019) - Jacob Leighton Burns
• The Stand-In (2019) - Yousef Kazemi
• Awake (2018) - Aleksandr Chernyaev
• Hosea (2018) - Ryan Daniel Dobson
• All Roads to Pearla (2017) - Van Ditthavong
• You People (2017) - Laron Chapman
• The Bygone (2017) - Graham Phillips & Parker Phillips
• Forsaken (2017) - Conor Allyn
• Christmas in the Heartland (2017) - Harvey Lowry
• Overexposed (2017) - Conor Allyn
• I Can Only Imagine (2016) - The Erwin Brothers
• Hellraiser: Judgement (2016) - Gary J. Tunnicliffe
• Children of the Corn: Runaway (2016) - John Gulager
Want a downloadable pdf of my resume? Here you go.
Aside from shooting stills, I actually make my own movies too under the banner of Planet Thunder Productions. I even got nominated for a Heartland Emmy one time. I also make snarky greeting cards. I like to keep myself busy.
If you'd like to get in touch, my email is zachary@planetthunderfilms.com