Buddy Squires

Buddy Squires
EducationHampshire College
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1981–present
OrganizationAmerican Society of Cinematographers

Buddy Squires is a cinematographer known for his work with Ken Burns as a founding member of Florentine Films. His accolades include one Academy Award nomination, one Primetime Emmy Award win of eleven nominations, and the 2007 International Documentary Association’s Outstanding Documentary Cinematography Award.

Style and approach

Describing his work on The Civil War, Squires noted "our job in the field is really to build the visual vocabulary that can then be handed off to the editors to weave into the story that’s being guided by the script.” "I think any visual artist is essentially reorganizing the world in front of them in a way that makes the most sense to the individual artist," Squires reflected in an interview with ProVideo Coalition. "When I’m shooting a scene I’m breaking down the scene into the elements I find the most interesting and figuring out how can I communicate what I see to others. It’s really just a process of translation and it doesn’t really matter if one is a painter or still photographer or cinematographer, one is always really rebuilding the world in a way that makes sense to oneself. That is what I do all the time."

Filmography

Release year Title Credit(s) Awards and nominations
1981 Brooklyn Bridge Associate Producer
1985 The Statue of Liberty Producer 58th Academy Awards: Best Documentary Feature, nominated
38th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Informational Special, nominated
1986 Huey Long Cinematographer
1988 The Children's Storefront Cinematographer
1988 Sentimental Women Need Not Apply: A History of the American Nurse Cinematographer
1988 Thomas Hart Benton Cinematographer
1989 The Congress Cinematographer
1989 No Applause, Just Throw Money Cinematographer
1989 Adam Clayton Powell Cinematographer
1989 The Other Side of the Moon Cinematographer
1990 Chimps: So Like Us Cinematographer
1990 The Civil War Cinematographer
1991 American Experience: Coney Island Producer
1992 Compassion in Exile: The Life of the 14th Dalai Lama Cinematographer
1992 High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music Cinematographer
1994-2010 Baseball Cinematographer 47th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming, nominated
1995 Listening to Children: A Moral Journey with Robert Coles Director, Cinematographer
1995 One Survivor Remembers Cinematographer 47th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming, nominated
1995 The Way West Cinematographer
1996 The West Cinematographer
1997 Hasten Slowly: The Journey of Sir Laurens van der Post Cinematographer
1997 Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Cinematographer
1997 Heart of a Child Cinematographer
1997 Thomas Jefferson Cinematographer
1998 Out of the Past Cinematographer
1998 Frank Lloyd Wright Cinematographer
1998 America's Endangered Species: Don't Say Good-bye Cinematographer 50th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Achievement In Non-Fiction Programming - Cinematography, won
1999 The Last Days of Kennedy and King Cinematographer
1999-2003 New York: A Documentary Film Cinematographer 52nd Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Cinematography in Non-Fiction Programming, nominated
2001 Jazz Cinematographer 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards:

Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming, nominated

2002 Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film Cinematographer 54th Primetime Emmy Awards:

Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera), nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Ken Burns.com, The Filmmakers | Buddy Squires". Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  2. ↑ Cunningham, Megan (2014). The art of the documentary: fifteen conversations with leading directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers. Berkeley, CA: New Riders. ISBN 978-0-321-98192-9.
  3. 1 2 "The 58th Academy Awards | 1986". www.oscars.org. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  4. ↑ "Buddy Squires". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  5. ↑ "Outstanding Documentary Achievement in Cinematography Award: The Visual Poet: Buddy Squires | International Documentary Association". www.documentary.org. 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  6. ↑ "With The Civil War, Ken Burns Reinvented the Television History Documentary". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  7. ↑ "ART OF THE SHOT: Buddy Squires, ASC Talks About Shooting Ken Burn and Lynn Novick's "The Vietnam War"". 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  8. ↑ Edgerton, G. (2002). Ken Burns's America: Packaging the Past for Television. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. ISBN 978-1-137-05482-1.
  9. ↑ "Outstanding Informational Special 1986 - Nominees & Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  10. 1 2 "Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming 1995 - Nominees & Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  11. ↑ "Outstanding Achievement In Non-Fiction Programming - Cinematography 1998 - Nominees & Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  12. ↑ "Outstanding Achievement In Non-Fiction Programming - Cinematography 2000 - Nominees & Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  13. ↑ "Outstanding Cinematography For Non-Fiction Programming 2001 - Nominees & Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  14. ↑ "Outstanding Cinematography For Non-Fiction Programming (Single Or Multi-Camera) 2002 - Nominees & Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-10-21.