CONSIDER THE PERSPECTIVE

You get a very different view of the world from above, so how can you be sure that your compositions are creative?

Shooting from above guarantees that you will never run out of inspiration, and I really enjoy shooting the more random, just-happen-to-bethere moments. When you are flying, you are privy to the most unexpected and beautiful configurations that can result from the most ordinary of subjects – hotel balconies, rundown housing estates, car parks, rubbish tips. Patterns and shapes that are invisible from the ground just appear out of nowhere.

The natural world is also a rich source of creativity from above. There are the shots you can’t plan – the boats that lazily float, the tractor halfway through ploughing a field, or the way light plays off mud flats, creating weird, deflated balloon textures. On other occasions, I might research a particular site, such as just outside San Francisco, where I knew I could find extraordinary salt lakes full of vibrantly contrasted colours.

Despite flying all over the world, the city I know the best is London. Over 20 years, it’s amazing how things keep changing, with innovative new architecture altering the skyline time and time again. Conversely, I’ve also photographed places like Libya, where I had no idea what to expect. The helicopter, the size of a double decker bus, was an extraordinary platform to shoot from – even more so when I found out that the pilots couldn’t speak English. However, coming across ruins of Roman settlements in this wartorn zone, set against the alluring backdrop of the azure Mediterranean Sea, made for some captivating images.

One of the things that often surprises people is what you can and can’t see from 1,200ft. Even packed cities can look empty, as if everyone has left and gone elsewhere, and it’s only when a few hundred people gather in one location that you become aware that they are there. One of my favourite recent shots was a concert I just happened to fly over. I had no idea who was singing until I got back to the office, zoomed in and saw Justin Bieber. What I love most is that you can see all these fans filming him on their phones rather than simply living in the moment.