Jim Cambon Goes Beneath the Surface

Photographer Jim Cambon has a love affair with shiny surfaces.

Over three decades of commercial photography shooting thousands of different products, he’s often found himself working with chrome, silver, gold and aluminum objects, not to mention glossy surfaces of all shapes and sizes—so when Waterpik needed an image to show how easily the reservoir of its Cordless Plus Waterflosser is filled, they knew just the artist who could make it happen.

“Most of the products I shoot feature one or more special surfaces,” says Jim, who notes all those shiny, reflective objects have their own special – often conflicting – lighting requirements, as do clear and colored plastics and stationary and running water.

All of these singular surfaces appear simultaneously in Jim’s Waterflosser shot, which was used on their website, print and packaging materials.

The son of an MIT engineer, Jim developed a fascination with machines early on (“before I started walking,” he claims). The photographer believes that enchantment with the inanimate has enhanced his ability to shoot challenging surfaces and angles. 

Other artists might balk at the challenge, but Jim’s portfolios are filled with shower heads, faucets, watches, bikes, automobiles and enough other polished products to reflect exactly how skilled he is.

A good example of his work with reflective surfaces is this classic Waterpik shot, which “presents one solution to the conflicting requirements of chrome and water, transparent and white plastic,” he says.

Click here to see more of Jim’s amazing photography of shiny products.