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The World From Above: The Beauty Of Aerial Photography

By Vailancio Rodrigues, December 21st, 2008 in Inspiration | 110 Comments | Forum

by Vailancio Rodrigues and the Smashing Magazine editorial team

Aerial photography offers a drastically different perspective than the one you get from shooting on the ground. It includes photographs taken from aircraft, helicopters, balloons, rockets, kites, skydives, etc. It can be a rewarding, challenging and enriching experience. It can produce unique shots that look different than any other ground shot you have ever taken. Scenic flights can give you some great, memorable photos.

Below, we present over 50 amazing aerial photographs — photos shot “from above”, in the air. At the bottom of this post you’ll also find references to DIY-tutorials and further useful information about aerial photography. You can also explore other works of the photographers we’ve featured in the links at the bottom.

You may be interested in the following related posts:

Aerial Photography

Petrenko
Moscow, Russia. A winter shot from an airplane.

Jason Hawkes

Carlos Gutierrez
“Lightning bolts appear above and around the Chaiten volcano as seen from Chana, some 30 kms (19 miles) north of the volcano, as it began its first eruption in thousands of years, in southern Chile May 2, 2008. Cases of electrical storms breaking out directly above erupting volcanoes are well documented, although scientists differ on what causes them. Picture taken May 2, 2008.”

doncon402

George Steinmetz
China from above.

Evan Leeson

MNkiteman

Laurent Malbecq

michi.p

David McNew
“A firefighting airtanker drops Phos-Check fire retardant over the Gap fire as more than 1,000 wildfires continue burning across about 680 square miles of central and northern California, on July 3, 2008 near Goleta, California”.

Unknown
Passing The Golden Gate Bridge.

Bret Oliver
Burj Dubai construction.

Andrew Strain
“Dave Fortin goes big at the 2007 Grouse Mountain Showdown Over the City, high above Vancouver, British Columbia.”

Joshua Longbrake

George Steinmetz
“A breathtaking view from the top of Golden Gate Bridge reveals the span far below where it enters Marin County.”

ZaksterNT
Night view of St.Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney

David Maisel

Unknown
“A competitor dives from the 14 meter-high bridge over Drina river during annual high diving competition in Bosnian town of Visegrad July 12, 2008. “

NASA’s Terra Satelite
Glacial lakes from retreating glaciers. “A firefighting airtanker drops Phos-Check fire retardant over the Gap fire as more than 1,000 wildfires continue burning across about 680 square miles of central and northern California, on July 3, 2008 near Goleta, California”.

Vincent Laforet

Unknown

Yann Arthus-Bertrand
The portfolio contains literally hundreds of photos of over 100 countries shot from above.

blondepowers

AFP
“An aerial photograph captures the plume of ashes spewed by the Chaiten volcano in Chile, on May 31″.

AFP
“This September 10 image, taken by the crew of the International Space Station flying 220 statute miles above Earth, shows Hurricane Ike”.

Aurora Borealis as seen from space

Mark Tantrum
Beautiful Singapore when the sun rises

Franck
HDR shot of Shanghai, China

Astronaut photography
China from above.

Sam Abeil
“Clouds above Crater Lake, Oregon”.

Unknown
“Built in 1931, the Hidden Lake Lookout sits 6890′ above the sea. It was an active fire lookout until the 1950’s. Now it is beautifully maintained by the Friends of Hidden Lake Lookout in Mt. Vernon, WA.”

Farl
Archipelago of Sulu

Bblan72
Zion National Park in Utah, United States

Coolskipper
Mountains of Siberia

Alex S. Maclean

Drhundertwasser
Crops above the Great Plains, USA

Hhardwiredindustries
Meandering river of northern Alberta

Ron Niebrugge
Aerial view of Copper River Delta, Chugach National Forest, Cordova, Alaska

Last Click

Unknown
New York From Above. Mid 1930s.

Unknown
“NASA Astronaut Robert L. Stewart Floats Above Cloudy Earth During an Untethered Extravehicular Activity (EVA) , February 1984″.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Heart in Voh, New Caledonia.

What makes aerial photography so challenging?

Without any doubt, aerial photography is a challenging art. Aerial photographers have to tackle many problems while shooting in the air. Photographers must deal with the effects produced by motion — not only the motion of an airplane or helicopter, but motion of the camera as well. Photographers should be equipped with cameras that have very fast shutter speeds to avoid hand shakes (motion blur) caused by airplane and helicopter vibration. Because airplane windows are made of Plexiglass, which doesn’t have the same optical qualities as normal glass, images taken through them are of inferior quality.

Also, shooting through aircraft windows presents other obstacles, such as having to shoot around your neighbor’s arm. But it can also result in some interesting images. Aerial photography totally depends on a photographer’s judgment and experience to predict and capture the proper moment. Also, being a form of outdoor photography, aerial photography depends for its success largely on the environment. Therefore, a basic understanding of the atmosphere and its effects on photography is necessary for successful aerial images. As with all outdoor photography, the aerial photographer depends on the sun to illuminate the subject. And haze further reduces contrast levels in high-altitude shots.

In many ways, aerial photography is both more and less complex than other kinds of photography. However, the skill and techniques needed to obtain good results are easily learned through careful observation and good judgment.

Further Resources

Further articles and related resources:

Do It Yourself: Aerial Balloon Photography
Do It Yourself: Pole Aerial Photography
Do It Yourself: Kite Aerial Photography
Pretty Blue Planet
Our beautiful planet seen from the eyes of satellites.
Tutorial on Aerial Photographs
This tutorial shows you how to remove haze from an aerial photograph.
2000 Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Aerial Photographs
Discover Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s photographs, with captions and free wallpapers.
Hot air balloon flight over St Jean sur Richelieu
360-degree aerial view of St Jean sur Richeleiu.
Airbus A380: 360-degree cockpit view
A View From Above
Aerials Flickr Pool
Above Flickr Pool

You may be interested in the following related posts:

About the author

Vailancio Rodrigues is an emerging webmaster who runs Tiny Goa, a travel and tourism website. He also maintains a blog of his own, Technology Tips, which provides reviews, tips and tricks for various gadgets. (al)

Published in Inspiration, December 21st, 2008
Tags: air, inspiration, photography

1.

Marc Bijl (December 21st, 2008, 2:24 pm)

Wow. this is cool…
I’ve seen an open air exhibition of Yan Arthus Bertrand, and it was impressive!
- Link [www.yannarthusbertrand.org]
2.

Tyler diaz (December 21st, 2008, 2:28 pm)

Amazing list, keep them coming!
I’m hoping to see ‘flexible’ looking artwork sometime soon!
3.

macias (December 21st, 2008, 2:30 pm)

amazing… another world… so high
4.

Alex (December 21st, 2008, 2:34 pm)

Always a pleasure to see so many cool pics of the world from such a high angle! Keep them coming SM!!!
5.

Paul (December 21st, 2008, 2:36 pm)

Wow very nice :O
6.

DKumar M. (December 21st, 2008, 2:39 pm)

Nice collection.. Some of them just really stunning with a amazing angle & view. Thanks for shearing !!
7.

Paddy (December 21st, 2008, 2:45 pm)

Love this collection SM! Keep them coming.

The boats in the harbour are especially eye catching.
8.

BeantownDesign.com (December 21st, 2008, 3:40 pm)

Wow, sick!

My favorites are the shadows, the boats, and the snowboarder. Great post!
9.

KNizam (December 21st, 2008, 3:48 pm)

this is so cool !
10.

h-a-r-v (December 21st, 2008, 3:59 pm)

I really like the beauty of.. photography series..
11.

Cameron Davidson (December 21st, 2008, 4:26 pm)

How about Adriel Heisey, or William Garnett or George Gerster or Mary Meander or Marilyn Bridges…..

You missed some of the best shooters in the world…….

Nice collection but some gaping holes there.

Cameron Davidson
12.

bz00 (December 21st, 2008, 5:10 pm)

powerful!..that’s how i can describe these shots..nice!
13.

chenli (December 21st, 2008, 5:14 pm)

I like
14.

Aleso (December 21st, 2008, 5:33 pm)

wow amazing photos!!!

Link [www.3dand2dmag.wordpress.com]
15.

kahunablogger (December 21st, 2008, 6:04 pm)

Wonderful photos! Many more of such photos can be found in Alex McLeans new book “Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point “. Here is a Link [www.kahunablog.de] (german). Website: Link [www.alexmaclean.com]
16.

Abraham (December 21st, 2008, 6:14 pm)

A my my mazing!! I hope I can try that some day
17.

Joao Oliveira (December 21st, 2008, 6:38 pm)

AWESOME!
18.

VTV (December 21st, 2008, 8:51 pm)

These pictures are just awesome!!!!!! :)
19.

Brian Gottier (December 21st, 2008, 9:56 pm)

Gorgeous pictures! Some of them are absolutely amazing!
20.

david (December 21st, 2008, 10:26 pm)

very sweet submission today … one of the better collections i’ve seen from SM.

i like the directly overhead shots the most … partly because they reveal a most interesting version of our world, and partly because they’re amongst the hardest to capture.

thanks for sharing.

cheers

david
Link [www.davidsmeaton.com]
21.

Cédric GIRARD (December 22nd, 2008, 12:41 am)

Hi

Awesome gallery… I usually practise aerial photography and it’s a challenge on each flight… Without stabilized lenses, no chances !

You can see some of my photos here (my region : the Champagne, in France ^_^)
Link [champagne-ardenne.aube-nature.com]

And certainly my most Link [www.aube-nature.com] !
22.

SSV (December 22nd, 2008, 1:21 am)

This doens’t make much sense:

NASA’s Terra Satelite
Glacial lakes from retreating glaciers. “A firefighting airtanker drops Phos-Check fire retardant over the Gap fire as more than 1,000 wildfires continue burning across about 680 square miles of central and northern California, on July 3, 2008 near Goleta, California”.

Great post btw!
23.

yosrysabry (December 22nd, 2008, 3:03 am)

wow ..
its really great photos sets ..
keep continued add like this content..
24.

madeofsquares (December 22nd, 2008, 6:01 am)

Fantastic.

Great post.
25.

Ворон (December 22nd, 2008, 6:13 am)

This is awesome!!!
26.

Andris (December 22nd, 2008, 7:13 am)

Very nice pictures. Love the ones from George Steinmetz. Especially the one of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is breathtaking. Two thumbs up.
27.

heather van de mark (December 22nd, 2008, 8:40 am)

what a beautiful world. great inspiration.
28.

Gianni (December 22nd, 2008, 10:47 am)

Wow. These are beautiful shots and inspiring. With all the crime, horror and hate in the world these are really refreshing and show how really beautiful this world is, and can be!
29.

Igor Jovic (December 22nd, 2008, 12:16 pm)

To see this makes my day so much better and makes me relax, It´s like all the trouble in the world just vanishes away

Thank you very much for making my day more brighter :)
30.

MDH (December 22nd, 2008, 12:29 pm)

One of my favorites is Emmet Gowin. Link [www.vincentborrelli.com]
31.

Gaurang (December 22nd, 2008, 6:49 pm)

Thank you very much for showing us beautiful photos…
They really touch my heart.
32.

foroogh (December 23rd, 2008, 12:08 am)

amazing..
33.

keen (December 23rd, 2008, 2:18 am)

The photo by michi.p shows the Staudinger power plant in Grosskrotzenburg:
Link [en.wikipedia.org]
Link [de.wikipedia.org]
34.

Vytautas (December 23rd, 2008, 2:41 am)

amazing photos! :o you can take a look at that photos to Link [www.neregetalietuva.lt] this is from aerial photography album “neregeta lietuva”
35.

Jhay (December 23rd, 2008, 10:50 am)

Stunning!!
36.

Lisa Marie (December 23rd, 2008, 7:01 pm)

stunning.. thanks for this inspiring collection! I so appreciate the effort you put into these incredible posts.
37.

IzulCYberCafe (December 23rd, 2008, 10:49 pm)

Wow…Coo00000000000000ol………..
38.

Lanz (December 24th, 2008, 12:10 am)

love it. Awesome collection.
39.

Nick (December 24th, 2008, 1:08 am)

Typo -
NASA’s Terra Satelite
Glacial lakes from retreating glaciers. “A firefighting airtanker drops Phos-Check fire retardant over the Gap fire as more than 1,000 wildfires continue burning across about 680 square miles of central and northern California, on July 3, 2008 near Goleta, California”.
40.

Daniel Cormier (December 24th, 2008, 8:48 am)

The B&W photos of the DC-4 over New York is a famous photo by Margaret Bourke-White. See here:

Link [www.gallerym.com]
41.

Andrew Strain (December 24th, 2008, 10:39 am)

Sorry to disappoint everyone, but my photo (the snowboarder) doesn’t fit the criteria of this list… I was firmly planted on the ground for that shot.

Link [www.andrewstrain.com]
42.

Nikki (December 24th, 2008, 11:14 am)

For some reason my feet were cold after spotting the photo of Golden Gate Bridge taken by George Steinmetz. I couldn’t imagine how he managed himself on taking that shot.
43.

Robert (December 25th, 2008, 7:58 am)

Nice selection. Thank you.
44.

Sikantis (December 26th, 2008, 2:37 pm)

Wow! Incredible pictures, I like all of them. They give a new perspective toward our world, make me think of respect and esteem.
45.

Quakeulf (December 26th, 2008, 6:26 pm)

The one with the boats is my favourite. <:3
46.

Anders Buch-Jepsen (December 27th, 2008, 11:04 am)

Awesome. Love all of them, however, some of my favourites are missing. They are by the Danish aerial photographer Link [www.winther-airphoto.com]. Unfortunately the site is only available in Danish, but some of his works - primarily from Scandinavia - are displayed in the gallery. Check them out!
47.

Gary (December 28th, 2008, 8:41 am)

“In many ways, aerial photography is both more and less complex than other kinds of photography.” Thank you for that insight, now I understand completely.
48.

L.C.Mahapatra (December 28th, 2008, 8:28 pm)

Amazing photographs to watch.
49.

Bruno (December 29th, 2008, 8:07 am)

Thanks for sharing with us these gorgeous pictures !
50.

kristian pizzo (December 29th, 2008, 1:13 pm)

BEYOND CATEGORY!!!!!!
51.

Prasanna Yadav (December 29th, 2008, 11:42 pm)

An abosolute visual treat! AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHY!!!
52.

Melvin Walls (December 31st, 2008, 11:07 am)

Wow these shots are amazing! really wish i could do that!
53.

medaholic (January 4th, 2009, 3:53 pm)

Reminds me of National Geographic’s Earth from Above
54.

Zaigham (January 5th, 2009, 1:36 am)

This is simply AWESOME. wow.
55.

Bill DeMaestre, Orinda, CA Jan.6,2009 (January 6th, 2009, 1:07 pm)

WHAT A GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL PLANET WE LIVE ON. NOW WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF IT TO KEEP IT THIS WAY…..THANKS FOR THE THRILL.
56.

Ahmad Majid (January 6th, 2009, 4:10 pm)

that is some of the most beautiful and calming photography i have ever seen!
57.

Muhamamd Shahid Akram (January 15th, 2009, 9:05 pm)

Woow……totally mind blowing photography
58.

nooshin (January 30th, 2009, 11:35 pm)

so nice pictures,i cant believe we have such wonderful nature ..please dont cut it any more..thanks
59.

Bonnie Blanton (February 13th, 2009, 9:51 am)

Hello. I’m Bblan7 and you have posted one of my aerial photos here in this article. I just wanted to say thank you. Your article is well written and very informative. The aerial photos are all so breathtaking. I’m honored to be included with them.

Best Regards,

Bonnie
60.

Enil flores (March 11th, 2009, 1:10 pm)

totally awesome
thanks for the amazing pictures
61.

Lisa (March 18th, 2009, 8:58 pm)

Absolutely awesome. Thankyou for sharing
62.

Dave (May 16th, 2009, 2:34 am)

I would suggest to visit Link [www.flyfoto.lt] as well - some really nice picture there.
63.

RICARDO GARRIDO (May 18th, 2009, 11:00 pm)

THIS SITE ROCK´S !!
I DO AEREAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN MEXICO.

WANNA CHECK OUT MEXICO FROM ABOVE??

Link [fotoaereamexico.com]
64.

Neill Watson (June 29th, 2009, 5:56 am)

Your ‘unknown’ of the San Francisco bridge and WW2 fighter is probably Philip Makanna Link [www.ghosts.com]
Regards
Neill W