When I was young, my passions were flying and art. I became a pilot at age 17. Later, I became an architect, and much later, in 2000, I decided to become a fine art photographer. After ten years of shooting from the ground, I decided to take to the air again and began shooting aerial photographs, primarily of cities. I now have three aerial books published: LA NY, Thames & Hudson, Paris From the Air, Rizzoli, and London From the Air, Rizzoli. My aerial photographs are exhibited and collected throughout the world.
I like this book because it is a large format, beautifully printed book illustrating the history of aerial photography.
It begins with the earliest Nadar photos taken in France from hot air balloons and chronologically goes through all the different kinds of aerial photography, including satellite images and iconic photographers who shot aerials. It explains the various techniques and ends with photographers who use more recent drone technology.
Since the birth of photography, photographers have been taking images of the earth from the air - with spectacular visual results. Celebrating over 150 years of these incredible images, this book tells the fascinating story of how these pictures were created and the photographers that have propelled image-taking to bold new heights.
Taking advantage of the amazing sense of perspective that aerial photography offers, this incredible collection of images also offers a unique overview of the events, challenges, and changes of the past 150 years of human history.
If you could only have one book featuring the world from above this would be it.
It’s oversize and gorgeous. Yann is the photographer who pioneered this kind of socially conscious photography. If you only looked at the pictures it would be satisfying enough, but Yann is an environmentalist, and the chapters highlight the beauty and fragility and danger of the planet we all share.
Both low- and high-level aerial photographs document places around the world and form the starting point for discussions of ecology, sustainable development, and the current state of the world.
I think that Brad has an amazing photographer's eye.
Using drones, he has created a unique book of photographs of swimming pools from above. This could have been a mundane subject, but in Brad’s hands, each photo is perfectly framed, sized, and cropped to reveal geometry you would not expect, reminiscent of a colorful abstract painting. What I like about his work is how he can look at a pool and find the perfect abstract detail: a sinuous curve, geometric lines, and rectangles, little bits of pool furniture, blue sparkling water combined in a way that no one else would have seen.
In Pools From Above, aerial photographer Brad Walls captures the unexpected beauty, curves, hues and textures of unique aquatic architecture from around the world.
Produced over a span of three years in four countries, this photo collection is the culmination of Walls' long journey to discover the beauty in commonplace landscapes seen from unexpected vantages.
George Steinmetz is a pioneer in a risky type of aerial photography.
He uses a motorized paraglider that uses a small gas engine driving a propellor strapped to his back, while a parachute-like fabric wing provides the lift. I am in awe of how he has traveled the world with this setup, getting photographs from low altitudes that are truly amazing. He has traveled to every continent, going to seemingly impossible places. The book features incredible photos of the natural landscape as well as the man-made landscape. Some of my favorites are the pyramids of Egypt, the indigenous architecture and animal migrations in Africa, the deserts of Saudi Arabia, the camel salt caravans, and the amazing Brazil dune-scape.
I cannot overstate the value of this book if you want to see the world in a way you have never seen. I am amazed by the photos. These were taken before the age of drones, where Steinmetz is hand-holding the camera and seeing and experiencing the landscape below in a way that drones can’t.
A dynamic aerial exploration of our changing planet, published on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day
The Human Planet is a sweeping visual chronicle of the Earth today from a photographer who has circled the globe to report on such urgent issues as climate change, sustainable agriculture, and the ever-expanding human footprint. George Steinmetz is at home on every continent, documenting both untrammeled nature and the human project that relentlessly redesigns the planet in its quest to build shelter, grow food, generate energy, and create beauty through art and architecture. In his images, accompanied by authoritative text by renowned science…
I love the huge size (12.5”x17”) and gorgeous printing of this book.
Of course, the photos are amazing. This book was published by Abrams during the years when they were known for their exquisite art books. There are not many publishers who would put out a book like this today, including Abrams. The photos of New York City in this book are the work of a photo genius.
I get immense pleasure holding this book and going through the pages which show all of New York in beautiful late sun and night light, and so large you can feel like you are right there.
Aerial photographs of the famous landmarks, historic buildings, and local neighborhoods of New York provide a birds-eye-view of one of America's major cities
As a pilot, architect, and photographer, I bring together three of my passions to create a book featuring aerial photography of London. Shot over seven years from helicopters while leaning out with the door open, the book includes London’s monuments, parks, museums, palaces, squares, famous classical buildings, new skyscrapers, airports, and more. Many images are shot straight down, a style I am known for, like an architect’s plan view. Special permissions were granted by NATS.
228 pages with photographs on every spread and with a foreword written by the acclaimed architect Sir Norman Foster.
I come by my interest in history and the years before, during, and after the Second World War honestly. For one thing, both my father and my father-in-law served as pilots in the war, my father a P-38 pilot in North Africa and my father-in-law a B-17 bomber pilot in England. Their histories connect me with a period I think we can still almost reach with our fingertips and one that has had a momentous impact on our lives today. I have taken that interest and passion to discover and write true life stories of the war—focusing on the untold and unheard stories often of the “Average Joe.”
October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on any other single day of the war.
The narrative of No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident while focusing its attention on ordinary individuals—clerks, radio operators, cooks, sailors, machinist mates, riflemen, and pilots and their air crews. All were men who chose to serve their country and soon found themselves in a terrifying and otherworldly place.
No Average Day reveals the vastness of the war as it reaches past the beaches in…
October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, or on June 6, 1944, when the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, or on any other single day of the war. In its telling of the events of October 24, No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident. The book begins with Army Private First-Class Paul Miller's pre-dawn demise in the Sendai #6B Japanese prisoner of war camp. It concludes with the death…
