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.
Brilliant work as usual! Just posted pics up from my recent trip to India on my blog and am now regretting not taking a heli over the Himalayas! Will have to make that a must on my next trip 😉
Great shots. I particularly like the last one. The pattern is very similar to some aerials of Tanzania. Amazing how these two far away locations are finally very similar from above.
My boyfriend is a professional pilot and photographer and he does a lot of aerial photography (yes, while flying the plane himself). The photos he is bringing back home are fantastic. Like for the photos you put in your post, the abstract beauty of nature is stunning.
You might want to have a look at this blog (http://benwilhelmi.typepad.com) and maybe you will want to come to Tanzania to make some aerial photo too! In the mean time I am adding New Zealand to my list of places to visit and photography.
Karibu (welcome, as we say here)
So Chase, you’re in New Zealand? I decided to stay in Brooklyn and eat Chinese food.
Awesome soundtrack to the video. Awesome photos! I bet it was an unbelievable experience.
Hey Chase, what’s your video stabilization rig of choice for heli shooting? Just using the bungees? Or something more elaborate (gyro’s, Tyler mount, etc.)