A bird’s eye view of some of the world’s most stunning architectural and natural wonders is the subject of ‘air‘, a photographic portfolio by New Zealand-based Amos Chapple and his Phantom drone.
From New Delhi to Barcelona, Chapple records a vantage point otherwise unknown to human sight, from an altitude that soars over cities, structures and landmark sights.
Many of the images from the series were taken before drone photography was restricted or otherwise enforced in 2014 by the Federal Aviation Administration that made it illegal to fly drones for commercial purposes, including photography. Thankfully for us in that small window when the commercial drone first hit the market in 2013 till the ban came in some 18 months later Chapple made the most of this time on offer hovering his device above places like the Taj Mahal and Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage Pavilion without restraint, making these aerial images some of the last remaining of their type.
The Phantom drone he uses was chosen after sifting through new product reviews, searching for the right model to help his art take flight. It allowed him to shoot from almost 400 feet in the air, and take 100 or so images during a single flight.
He made over 1000 flights taking pictures. In the early days unsurprisingly, his activities tended to draw a lot of attention so he normally tried to avoid areas where there are many other people – Especially as his first drone had a design flaw which caused a propeller to fly off mid-flight. Since that time he has only crashed one more – when he claims Wi-Fi signals got crossed.
Check out some of the stunning images he has captured below, and be sure to head over to his website now to check out the rest of his collection.