I originally started traveling to New Zealand for commercial photo and video work. Visually, there are few place on earth that exude the beauty of that place AND it has the benefit of being opposite seasonally (opposite hemisphere) from most of the brands/agencies etc that I work for. Great 6 month lead time for campaign creation, media buying, etc. It’s geographically very dense with variety as well. It’s a home run for productions. As such I’ve been heading down there to shoot campaigns for many years.
It was in these travels for commercial work that I fell in love with the New Zealand landscape and started a personal project aiming to capture that beauty from the air. Nothing too serious…more casual initially. But in the past 3 years it has grown more serious with each return. I’ve learned that mountains and landscapes can often photograph a lot like people. They have moods, personalities, essences. Capturing those has become the goal of my Aerial New Zealand project.
At the beginning of this Chase Jarvis RAW vid, you’ll see the door come off of the helicopter, you’ll see my shooting rig, and some safety measures…but the real fun begins after that where we’re buzzing above the Southern Alps of New Zealand, up canyons, and across deltas making pictures–both still and moving. Flying around in a helicopter above what I’d argue is one-of-if-not-THE most beautiful landscape in the world is humbling and stunning and so many things at the same time–not to mention just effing cool. I hope you enjoy the vid. There’s a handful of still images from the end of the video after the jump…
I’ve had the good fortune of shooting out of helicopters for more than a decade…and can say that I never get over how fun it is. Having probably taken 100 or more rides, it never gets old. I’m grateful to have worked with some of the best pilots in the world as well. In this video, Alfie (Queenstown Heliworks) works his magic. Thank you Alfie.
Needless to say, if you ever get a chance to fly, you must absolutely grab that chance.
Check out the images below, but also feel free to check out a bigger gallery selection of images from this project here.
Happy to answer any aerial photography questions you might have in the comments. Thanks for spending some time with the video.
This is awesome. I would love to get a chance to cruise around in a heli!
Did you have someone else in the heli with you shooting the video?
Wow, another beautiful video Chase. Love it, for real.
I was wondering, do you prefer to fly over NZ or do you rather shoot from the ground on the slopes, or in the wonderful nature?
Daniel
Win the Lotto or live a Chase Jarvis life style?… I choose the “Chase life”.
If you are not familiar with the work of Bradford Washburn you should check it out. A contemporary of Ansel’s, his work was equally gorgeous B&W landscapes, but much more dynamic. He was one of the pioneers of aerial landscape photography, shooting primarily for mapping, and I think you would enjoy his work. I had the honor and pleasure of making a portrait of him and his wife toward the end of his life, and his stories of the challenges of hanging out the side of an airplane with an 8×10 camera and getting sharp pictures were inspiring.