Though we've now all seen our fair share of aerial photography (see here, here and here), it would be remiss of me if I did not share with you the work of Stephan Zirwes. About 11 years ago, Germany-born Zirwes took some of his first pictures from a helicopter and found that the most interesting ones were taken straight down. “They show a reality you never knew and, at the same time, makes you question your reality,” he tells us. “You ask yourself, ‘Which reality is real?' My whole work is based on playing. That means I experiment with accidents.”
Zirwes' work is divided up into two parts. The first are the “fields” which includes airfields, cultured land, snow, water and ice. The second are the “zones” which mostly deal with man-made areas in industry, leisure and construction.
When asked what the most exciting and challenging part of shooting from the sky is, Zirwes had this to say, “You have the possibility of showing things that are hidden from daily view. For instance, I can show constructions as a whole. You find out that even chaos has its own structure.”
Finally, what does he hope others get most out of his photos? “I think that people like my pictures because they have a personal connection to these subjects, they find things there that are a link to their life.” Or, he says, “Maybe they get a new view on familiar things.” Everyday life made extraordinary by changing your perspective. What's not to love?
Photos courtesy of Stephan Zirwes
