I am pretty lucky to call Melbourne, Australia my home. However from an aerial perspective it can be challenging to create new images on a daily basis when faced by the same surroundings. Therefore to solve this problem I decided to head to Iceland and capture some abstract aerial photography!
Icelands landscape might best be described as dramatic, unexpected and nothing short of stunning. This was the perfect foundation to create aerial abstract photography.
When approaching traditional photography I would normally use the rule of thirds and other basic composition methods to create images. However, when approaching abstract photography, everything is thrown out the window. Shapes and patterns don’t need to have relationships and everything is open to interpretation.
Therefore, I give you the top 3 reasons Iceland is great for abstract aerial photography!
1. You can fly your drone (basically) anywhere
When taking aerial photographs, I often find myself taking images I never intending on capturing. In Iceland, I would be driving from one location to the next when a stunning landscape would appear and I would need to get the drone up!
This is where Iceland rocks, as long as you don’t fly in Reykjavik, over 130m AGL or in national parks.. can can fly anywhere!
2. The landscape changes every 5 km
Iceland certainly has no shortage of epic landscapes. Therefore it was easy to find inspiration and create new images on a daily basis.
A normal day would normally consist of:
Drive car, Stop Car, Fly Drone, Take Photos, Land Drone, Put Drone back in Car, Drive Car, Stop Car, Fly Drone etc. This process would happen every 10 minutes and I would find it hard to travel more than 5km every few hours!
3. Roads, Roads, Roads!
Roads in Iceland are a quintessential part of the landscape. Moreover, they create a guide that draws the the viewer into and through the photograph.
Likewise, roads create a separation between elements that could otherwise be overwhelming to the eye. This separation helps create structure and form which organises the photograph especially from an aerial perspective.
