The World From Above

Alex sMaclean_3
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Happy 11/11! For us in The States it’s Veterans Day (Armistice Day for much of Europe), I’m not sure if anyone besides students and librarians get the day off, but it’s a good opportunity to reflect on the state of affairs in our world and to show our appreciation (regardless of political stance) for the men and women who walk the line for us every day of the year. Although not all that related, Smashing Magazine’s piece on aerial photography seemed like a fitting post. Seeing shots like this always seems to give some perspective on things.

Aerial photography has always fascinated me, unfortunately it’s prohibitively expensive. You pretty much have to be a pro to even get near these sorts of photo ops. I always have my D80 close at hand when I fly just in case something presents itself, but it seems like polarization or a random overhead light always ruins the moment. I think this is the closest I ever got to anything halfway decent.

Anybody here have any experience with aerial stuff? I’ve heard they rent ultralights out in Davis, CA. Seems like it would be worth it just to go up with a decent camera.

More photos and all credits for above images can be found here

23 Comments

  1. RA_OUL says:

    Happy 11/11! I do get the day off because I’m a student at Sac State but it is going to be a work day for me pretty much all day. Beautiful shots here though. They seem to fit the topic quite well.

  2. Ross says:

    I’ve volunteered to throw myself out of a ‘plane next year for charity. Not sure if they’ll let me take a camera up though. Or even a parachute for that matter…

  3. drew kora says:

    Great photos. I have a sweet book someone gave me that’s earth from above: 365 days. photo for each day. Cool. Love lookin at this sort of stuff. Thanks for the links.

  4. Patrick says:

    Wait, librarians are supposed to be off today? I need to complain to my boss.

  5. Shelby White says:

    That photo of the house on the peak above the clouds is amazing.

    Ross, they should let you do pretty much anything you want considering you’re throwing yourself out of a plane…

  6. Disign Police says:

    If you think these are cool you definitely need to check out Jake Sargeant’s work here: http://mn8studio.com/blog/?paged=3

    The kid is a brilliant photographer, designer, and montionographer. His aerial shots have something very unique about them, not sure if it’s the color or just that magic touch great photographers seem to have, but spectacular for sure.

    Photo #19 on the slideshow is one of the best aerials I’ve ever seen, it’s almost frightening.

  7. Rent says:

    stunning photos! I wish I had more opportunities to take aerial shots like these, but I just don’t fly enough…which is really okay by me.

  8. zenzanon says:

    The second shot was taken by George Steinmetz. I’ve had his site bookmarked for a long time now, everyone should go check it out.
    http://georgesteinmetz.com/

  9. Bobby Chombo says:

    Perspective is right. I love aerial photography, it always induces in me a sense of awe and calm. The 5th of these I particularly enjoyed, the 6th is cool too, I’d like to see a photo/video journal of that house being built; it looks totally impossible..

  10. Jesse says:

    great shots! I would love the chance to get some aerial shots. Like yours mine are all with a big wing in the way of everything..

    So this is not related at all, but i just realized while looking at these comments it would be so nice to have the music player play continuously when you were browsing old posts and comments. I am always annoyed with myself when I forget i am not listening to my own play lists, go to browse some comments and the music stops! Then I have to try to find what song it was…

    I know that is a easy thing to say but….just thought I would throw that out there for future consideration.

  11. NB says:

    I’ve only tried once, this shot was taken on the way home from Berlin without any thought, simply because I wanted an image to complete the journey:

    http://cargocollective.com/thenegativebear#73995/Pictures-From-Berlin-Pt-2

    Can I just say thanks for bringing Cargo Collective to my attention. Before that, all my work sat collecting dust on my hard drive.

  12. Rent says:

    I forgot this photo of mine was shot from an airplane…seems like the only real good aerial shot I’ve ever taken.

  13. John says:

    This is a great reminder that I want to give kite aerial photography a shot one of these days. Thanks!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_aerial_photography

  14. barry says:

    The shots of the surf are so impressive, that shot of thailand is beautiful though scott.

    dont think i’ll ever be able to afford to get anywhere near this kind of stuff, although, how much is a private flight lesson in a cessna or something similar?just leave the instructor fly and shoot away!

  15. Mark C. says:

    Another smashing post! These photos are breath-taking.

  16. Sweet! I actually was on a UNITED flight going from JFK to ORD and managed to get some unplanned aerial shots.

    http://www.pauloctavious.com/jfksfo/

  17. Spencer says:

    one of my dad’s buddies is a U-2 pilot, which is one of the highest flying planes in the world, and he does some photography while hes up there as a hobby. im feeling like this is an empty post because i cant find the link to his site right now, but i guess it takes jobs like that for opportunities to get shots like this.

    if i find the link ill post.

  18. Daniel says:

    Your so fucking talented!!

  19. I think walk the line is an awesome movie, it shows the great work of jonny cash in a great way and is an adequate way to pay him tribute.

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