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The World From Above: The Beauty Of Aerial Photography
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:
- 50 Stunning Examples Of Reflective Photography
- 50 Beautiful Examples Of Tilt-Shift Photography
- Celebration Of High-Speed Photography
- 45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos
[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has one of the most influential and popular Twitter accounts? Join our discussions and get updates about useful tools and resources — follow us on Twitter.]
Aerial Photography
Petrenko
Moscow, Russia. A winter shot from an airplane.
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.”
George Steinmetz
China from above.
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.”
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
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”.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
The portfolio contains literally hundreds of photos of over 100 countries shot from above.
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
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
Related Posts
You may be interested in the following related posts:
- Beautiful Black and White Photography
- 35 Fantastic HDR Pictures
- 50 Stunning Examples Of Reflective Photography
- (Really) Stunning Pictures and Photos
- 50 Beautiful Examples Of Tilt-Shift Photography
- Let There Be Light: Light Painting and Sculptures
- 45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos
- 35 Beautiful Examples Of Rain Photography
- 50 Stunning Underwater Photos
- Celebration Of High-Speed Photography
Vailancio Rodrigues, born and currently living in scenic beauty of Goa, spent most of his childhood in art and creativity. At present a College student who likes to try and do different things at every moment. Also an webmaster and web designer – Tiny Goa and Pixel Art.
- 65 Comments
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December 21st, 2008 2:28 pmAmazing list, keep them coming!
I’m hoping to see ‘flexible’ looking artwork sometime soon! - 3
December 21st, 2008 2:30 pmamazing… another world… so high
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December 21st, 2008 2:34 pmAlways a pleasure to see so many cool pics of the world from such a high angle! Keep them coming SM!!!
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December 21st, 2008 2:36 pmWow very nice :O
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December 21st, 2008 2:39 pmNice collection.. Some of them just really stunning with a amazing angle & view. Thanks for shearing !!
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December 21st, 2008 2:45 pmLove this collection SM! Keep them coming.
The boats in the harbour are especially eye catching.
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December 21st, 2008 3:40 pmWow, sick!
My favorites are the shadows, the boats, and the snowboarder. Great post!
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December 21st, 2008 3:48 pmthis is so cool !
- 10
December 21st, 2008 3:59 pmI really like the beauty of.. photography series..
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December 21st, 2008 4:26 pmHow 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
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December 21st, 2008 5:10 pmpowerful!..that’s how i can describe these shots..nice!
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December 21st, 2008 5:14 pmI like
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December 21st, 2008 6:04 pmWonderful 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 review (german). Website: http://www.alexmaclean.com/
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December 21st, 2008 6:14 pmA my my mazing!! I hope I can try that some day
- 17
December 21st, 2008 6:38 pmAWESOME!
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December 21st, 2008 8:51 pmThese pictures are just awesome!!!!!! :)
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December 21st, 2008 9:56 pmGorgeous pictures! Some of them are absolutely amazing!
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December 21st, 2008 10:26 pmvery 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
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December 22nd, 2008 12:41 amHi
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 ^_^)
Champagne Ardenne from the skyAnd certainly my most stranger arial image !
- 22
December 22nd, 2008 1:21 amThis 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!
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December 22nd, 2008 3:03 amwow ..
its really great photos sets ..
keep continued add like this content.. - 24
December 22nd, 2008 6:01 amFantastic.
Great post.
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December 22nd, 2008 6:13 amThis is awesome!!!
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December 22nd, 2008 7:13 amVery nice pictures. Love the ones from George Steinmetz. Especially the one of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is breathtaking. Two thumbs up.
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December 22nd, 2008 8:40 amwhat a beautiful world. great inspiration.
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December 22nd, 2008 10:47 amWow. 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!
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December 22nd, 2008 12:16 pmTo 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 :)
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December 22nd, 2008 12:29 pmOne of my favorites is Emmet Gowin. http://www.vincentborrelli.com/vbb/images/items/100616.jpg
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December 22nd, 2008 6:49 pmThank you very much for showing us beautiful photos…
They really touch my heart. - 32
December 23rd, 2008 12:08 amamazing..
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December 23rd, 2008 2:18 amThe photo by michi.p shows the Staudinger power plant in Grosskrotzenburg:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fkrotzenburg_power_station
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraftwerk_Staudinger_Gro%C3%9Fkrotzenburg - 34
December 23rd, 2008 2:41 amamazing photos! :o you can take a look at that photos to http://www.neregetalietuva.lt/nuotraukos.php?page=2 this is from aerial photography album “neregeta lietuva”
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December 23rd, 2008 10:50 amStunning!!
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December 23rd, 2008 7:01 pmstunning.. thanks for this inspiring collection! I so appreciate the effort you put into these incredible posts.
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December 23rd, 2008 10:49 pmWow…Coo00000000000000ol………..
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December 24th, 2008 12:10 amlove it. Awesome collection.
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December 24th, 2008 1:08 amTypo –
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
December 24th, 2008 8:48 amThe B&W photos of the DC-4 over New York is a famous photo by Margaret Bourke-White. See here:
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December 24th, 2008 11:14 amFor 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.
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December 25th, 2008 7:58 amNice selection. Thank you.
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December 26th, 2008 2:37 pmWow! Incredible pictures, I like all of them. They give a new perspective toward our world, make me think of respect and esteem.
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December 26th, 2008 6:26 pmThe one with the boats is my favourite. <:3
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December 27th, 2008 11:04 amAwesome. Love all of them, however, some of my favourites are missing. They are by the Danish aerial photographer Jan Kofod Winther. Unfortunately the site is only available in Danish, but some of his works – primarily from Scandinavia – are displayed in the gallery. Check them out!
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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.
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December 28th, 2008 8:28 pmAmazing photographs to watch.
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December 29th, 2008 8:07 amThanks for sharing with us these gorgeous pictures !
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December 29th, 2008 1:13 pmBEYOND CATEGORY!!!!!!
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December 29th, 2008 11:42 pmAn abosolute visual treat! AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHY!!!
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December 31st, 2008 11:07 amWow these shots are amazing! really wish i could do that!
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January 4th, 2009 3:53 pmReminds me of National Geographic’s Earth from Above
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January 5th, 2009 1:36 amThis is simply AWESOME. wow.
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January 6th, 2009 1:07 pmWHAT 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.
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January 6th, 2009 4:10 pmthat is some of the most beautiful and calming photography i have ever seen!
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January 15th, 2009 9:05 pmWoow……totally mind blowing photography
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January 30th, 2009 11:35 pmso nice pictures,i cant believe we have such wonderful nature ..please dont cut it any more..thanks
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February 13th, 2009 9:51 amHello. 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
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March 11th, 2009 1:10 pmtotally awesome
thanks for the amazing pictures - 61
March 18th, 2009 8:58 pmAbsolutely awesome. Thankyou for sharing
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May 16th, 2009 2:34 amI would suggest to visit http://www.flyfoto.lt as well – some really nice picture there.
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May 18th, 2009 11:00 pmTHIS SITE ROCK´S !!
I DO AEREAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN MEXICO.WANNA CHECK OUT MEXICO FROM ABOVE??
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June 29th, 2009 5:56 amYour ‘unknown’ of the San Francisco bridge and WW2 fighter is probably Philip Makanna http://www.ghosts.com
Regards
Neill W - 65
November 12th, 2009 8:33 amThanks for choosing my photo, i’m honored to have been included in such an awesome collection!
- drhundertwasser
my airborne collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drhundertwasser/sets/72057594049604759/
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Wow. this is cool…
I’ve seen an open air exhibition of Yan Arthus Bertrand, and it was impressive!
- http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/v2/yab_us.htm