His previous books include Desert Air, African Air and Empty Quarter. As Steinmetz explains in the video, the motorized paraglider's long flight time and capabilities makes it possible to not just photograph the immediate landscape, but explore the wider world around it.Ĭheck out the full video above for a dose of Friday inspiration. For New York Air, George Steinmetz, the superb aerial photographer of the Earths. Best known for exploration photography, George Steinmetz has spent the. He goes on to introduce a video of how the paraglider works before highlighting some of the most striking aerial footage and photos taken from it.įor most of us, a drone presents photographers with the closest we can get to Steinmetz style of capture, but that's still not quite the same as a paraglider. Steinmetzs two previous volumes African Air and Empty Quarter. 'It dawned on me that this crazy little aircraft I was flying would open up a new way of seeing remote parts of the African landscape in a way that had never really been possible before,' Steinmetz explains in the video, pointing out that a typical airplane moves too fast for this type of photography, and a helicopter is too loud with too much downdraft. Autographed copies purchased from George’s Studio are 45.00 plus 10 domestic shipping. There are also seven shorter essays covering experiences from aerial fieldwork.

Steinmetz explains that he gets a flight time of about two hours, during which he gets an 'unobstructed view both horizontally and vertically.' The book has a 7,000 word personal introduction that begins in 1979 when George got the idea for this book while hitchhiking through 17 African countries. The motorized paraglider is composed of a wing in the style of a parachute and a backpack motor, holding 10 liters of fuel and offering a speed up to 30MPH / 48KPH. This vantage point gives Steinmetz a unique look at the world below, including its various cultures and landscapes. During a new 10-minute TED Talk, famed National Geographic aerial photographer George Steinmetz talks about his experiences photographing Africa while flying around in a motorized paraglider.

African Air by George Steinmetz