Aerial Photos
I really enjoy taking photographs from the air. Not so much from commercial airliners, but most certainly from small, private planes.
Take, for instance, a photo of a ship loaded with logs in a port along the Columbia River. From ground or river level, the scene might be informative, but from the air, it’s dramatic. And the aerial view offers the viewer an idea of what surrounds the port, not just the ship in port itself.
Or the tractor in a grape vineyard in the Willamette Valley. From ground level one wouldn’t see the pattern of the rows of grape vines surrounding the tractor, nor would you see the scale of the field in which the tractor is working.
Often, like the tractor in the field mentioned above, it’s the pattern or design that appeals to me. The small touch of yellow on the tractor contrasting with the green grape vines is simple and elegant, and is something that would be very difficult to achieve from the ground.
The jogger running on Torrey Pines Beach was taken from an ultralight flying near the cliffs that oversee the coastline below. Again I liked the design of the runner situated between the sun highlighted surf and a highlighted section of the beach.
But what really attracted me was the sunlit water pushed up from the sand creating bright, circular shapes left by the runner’s feet as they pounded on the sand, leaving a subtle trail that leads the eye to the runner.
The subtle wake behind the boat on the river would have, again, been difficult if not impossible to capture from river level. Shooting from the air also allowed me to eliminate a distracting background and create a very simple and direct image.
Take, for instance, a photo of a ship loaded with logs in a port along the Columbia River. From ground or river level, the scene might be informative, but from the air, it’s dramatic. And the aerial view offers the viewer an idea of what surrounds the port, not just the ship in port itself.
Or the tractor in a grape vineyard in the Willamette Valley. From ground level one wouldn’t see the pattern of the rows of grape vines surrounding the tractor, nor would you see the scale of the field in which the tractor is working.
Often, like the tractor in the field mentioned above, it’s the pattern or design that appeals to me. The small touch of yellow on the tractor contrasting with the green grape vines is simple and elegant, and is something that would be very difficult to achieve from the ground.
The jogger running on Torrey Pines Beach was taken from an ultralight flying near the cliffs that oversee the coastline below. Again I liked the design of the runner situated between the sun highlighted surf and a highlighted section of the beach.
But what really attracted me was the sunlit water pushed up from the sand creating bright, circular shapes left by the runner’s feet as they pounded on the sand, leaving a subtle trail that leads the eye to the runner.
The subtle wake behind the boat on the river would have, again, been difficult if not impossible to capture from river level. Shooting from the air also allowed me to eliminate a distracting background and create a very simple and direct image.
To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email bobeckertphotography@yahoo.com
or use the contact form on the About page
or use the contact form on the About page
