After decades of being witness to Air Canada’s history, the airline’s corporate photographer, Brian Losito, is retiring.

Over the years, his award-winning images have told the story of Air Canada. Through his eyes, the world has come to know the airline's people, aircraft, products and services in advertising, posters, corporate magazines, annual reports, and social media channels.

“Brian has not only witnessed but actually participated in so much of Air Canada’s history, up close and personal. From capturing images of our aircraft during air-to-air photography, to the thousands of employees he has photographed working to serve our customers, his pictures have recorded and helped share our story. He is a rare individual who has excelled at what is probably one of the world's rarest jobs, a full-time airline photographer,” said Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Public Affairs at Air Canada.

Brian is only the third corporate photographer in Air Canada’s more than 85-year history. Starting as a technician in the dark room in 1987, his career has spanned 10 CEOs, more than a dozen different aircraft types, and several iterations of the iconic Air Canada livery.

One special memory was the opportunity to take awe-inspiring aircraft photos, which have been seen globally, during air-to-air filming missions.

“This is the dream part of the job if you’re an aviation guy… planes are fun, and when you’re in the air, no one gets to do things like this. It’s extreme," he said.

To showcase Air Canada's latest livery, he soared on a Learjet in close formation with an Air Canada Boeing 787, snapping air-to-air photos from all angles of the aircraft.  To complete the assignment, he then took to a chartered helicopter for up-close photos of the aircraft on take-off and landing. Adding to the magic, Canada's spectacular West Coast scenery served as a backdrop.

“I want snow-capped mountains, I want the ocean, I would ideally like white fluffy clouds.”

His favourite camera from the film era was the Pentax 645, but for digital his choice is his current camera, the Nikon D4, chosen for its ruggedness, durability and outstanding image quality.

“What I'll miss most about this job is the people, the people you get to meet at Air Canada. Fantastic, inspiring people. Those people inspire me and it’s going to be the biggest challenge as I retire,” he said.

By the numbers:

Years at Air Canada: 36

CEOs photographed: 10

Air-to-air photography missions: 10

Aircraft types photographed: 18

Liveries photographed: 8

Cameras: 5 (film) and 5 (digital)