{"id":149742,"date":"2024-08-06T13:22:54","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T04:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/?post_type=story&p=149742"},"modified":"2024-08-06T13:23:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T04:23:08","slug":"birds-eye-view-aerial-photography-with-andro-loria","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/stories\/birds-eye-view-aerial-photography-with-andro-loria\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird\u2019s-Eye View: Aerial Photography with Andro Loria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aerial landscape photographer Andro Loria explains how his passion for aerial photography took off<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhotography gives me\u2026 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a purely creative outlet because I do create other things,\u201d begins Andro Loria. \u201cBut it\u2019s an outlet for doing something different to what I do on the ground. It completely engages my mind. There\u2019s so much planning involved, but a lot of unknown elements too \u2013 if you want to call it that, there is an element of adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andro honed his imaging skills doing landscape photography on his various travels. A lecturer and research scientist in the field of neuroscience by day, Andro is known in the photography world for his abstract aerial depictions of natural features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI studied landscape photography in Iceland, working alongside other people. I realised something while trying to learn from these experts \u2013 not just in photography, but in local weather patterns and landscape types. They were teaching me to calculate what your exposure should be and when the sun will be in a particular spot in the sky to get the perfect visual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2020 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX50S and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F6.4, ISO 320<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI realised working in this way isn\u2019t exactly me. I wasn\u2019t into this wide-angle lens, filter, tripod, carefully orchestrated landscape photography.  When some of my pictures did get into magazines, they weren\u2019t premeditated ones \u2013 they were made on the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt one point, I had a camera on a tripod photographing long exposures of geothermal vents. But then I saw a person walking on a hill, approaching the summit \u2013 I grabbed my second camera and started making images of that, and forgot about the first camera. And those instinctive photos were the better ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andro\u2019s first experience of aerial photography was in a hot air balloon ride over London \u2013 a gift from his wife. It was a transformative encounter, and led him to pursue a return to the vistas of Iceland, but this time from the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2020 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX50S and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F5, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Taking to the skies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a scientist, I consider myself an explorer. I like seeing the unknown, knowing the unknown, finding something people haven\u2019t seen before. That\u2019s why I wasn\u2019t happy making landscape pictures many people had already done before me,\u201d Andro explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get it \u2013 at art school you draw the classics, right? But once you develop your technique to a certain level, there comes a time to start asking what you want to do with those skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aerial photography \u2013 offering the combination of a more reactive form of image making with an opportunity to create more abstract framings of the natural world \u2013 was the ideal prospect for Andro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2020 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX50S and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F4, ISO 100<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I took my first flight, it was like when you\u2019re a kid and it\u2019s your first time on a bicycle,\u201d he recalls. \u201cEverything is in your face and it\u2019s over fast. You\u2019re lucky if you can see things through this visual overload. And you\u2019re very lucky if you can get some good photos. Once you\u2019re in the air, everything happens so fast, you have to act instinctively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you work from an open window in a plane and stick your head out with a camera, lots of wind hits your eye. So, it\u2019s only an initial image you\u2019ll see because your EVF will be covered in crystallised tears and your eye gets defocused by the wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to learn to predict how elements will combine in three-dimensional space. You can, of course, adjust your altitude to add detail or move to a view that\u2019s attracted your attention. But you don\u2019t always recognise the reason why you\u2019ve photographed something in the moment \u2013 you just do it. Later, when you look through the frames, it\u2019s like \u2018Aha, I see it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2018 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX50S and FUJINON GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR, 1\/1000 sec at F10, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Making preparations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A lot of work goes into planning a flight path, Andro explains, and everything needs to be approved by the pilot. \u201cIf I\u2019ve been to the area before, I may have seen something amazing during a trek and would love to fly nearby and take a better look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor new areas \u2013 for instance, when I went to Kenya last year \u2013 I work with satellite images. These days, there is good enough resolution to understand the patterns. You can zoom in to the point of altitude where we usually fly and see how it looks from 3000 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will put a lot of placemarks down, and then once you zoom out you can look at the clusters of them and start planning the best possible route, bearing in mind we will have two, maybe three loops around each spot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2021 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX100 and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F10, ISO 500<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re limited by fuel and time, so you have to think where the nearest airstrip is and come up with a contingency plan. What will I do if the weather turns bad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen you talk to your pilot, and they say, \u2018No, this is crazy at this time of year, there\u2019s too much wind.\u2019 Now, you can fly in wind, but if there\u2019s more than 20-25 knots, when you start banking you become a big sail. Then it becomes more difficult and dangerous, so we don\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, you pre-plan again, maybe the day before with your pilot. Everything depends on the winds, weather patterns, temperatures, level of sunshine, cloud cover and so on. I\u2019ve had a few situations where we were ready to take off and it was all called off because the weather changed. It happens. Patience in photography is a great skill \u2013 in aerial photography, even more so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2021 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX100 and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F8, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once in the air, communication between photographer and pilot becomes more difficult. \u201cYou will agree to circle a zone of interest with, say, a 300-metre radius,\u201d Andro continues. \u201cWe can start at 1000 feet and go up, or we can start at 3000 feet and slowly go down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut when you lean out to make a photo, you shut your mic off because so much wind goes into it. It\u2019s a huge amount of white noise, which isn\u2019t pleasant for the pilot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andro pays particular tribute to the Icelandic pilot Haraldur Diego, who passed away in 2022. They were frequent collaborators, completing many flights together over a period of four years, with Haraldur\u2019s own photographic skills helping them synergise effortlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou develop a sign language after a while,\u201d Andro notes. \u201cAfter we flew a few times together, it got to where I would just point my camera and we didn\u2019t even need to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2019 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX50S and FUJINON GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR, 1\/1000 sec at F4.5, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The best cameras for aerial photography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, I use two FUJIFILM GFX100<\/a> bodies,\u201d notes Andro, \u201cand it\u2019s probably my favourite camera ergonomically, for the old-style dials.\u201d Having tactile control over exposure settings without having to dig into fiddly menus is critical when working in freezing and bumpy conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will bring two identical bodies on a flight with me, with different lenses attached. You have no time to reconfigure when you have to grab a photo fast,\u201d he adds. \u201cAnd when you have certain muscle memory to a specific camera body \u2013 and your fingers might be half frozen \u2013 you don\u2019t have time to get things wrong, you\u2019ll just miss your photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI use zoom lenses, as they give maximum agility in terms of how close you can be to the subject. You can do three loops on the same altitude and just play with the focal length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2024 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX100 and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F16, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR<\/a>, which is very me. I had started with the GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR<\/a>, but quickly realised most of my photos were in the longer part of the zoom, and I was longing for something that went into the 70 to 80mm range. The GF45-100mmF4 gave me exactly that \u2013 when I check the metadata of my photos, the majority are from between 60 and 85mm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI also have the GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR<\/a> on a second body, so I can quickly grab it and it gives me much more extension. It\u2019s great if you want to compress things a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlus, I keep a second GF45-100mmF4 with me as a backup lens. I\u2019ve never had any problems so far, but I guess it\u2019s like having an umbrella in England \u2013 when you have it with you it never rains,\u201d Andro laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2024 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX100 and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F11, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing that\u2019s important is taking the lens hood off, because it becomes a massive sail in the wind. We\u2019re talking about 60-knot speeds, with the wind adding another 20 knots or so. Also, these planes are very small, confined spaces. It\u2019s like a seat in a kayak, so you don\u2019t have much space to move around. Having extra length on your equipment doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt may be that smaller camera bodies are better suited because of this, but I want the biggest and best picture I can make \u2013 that\u2019s why I choose GFX System<\/a> cameras. Half of the function buttons are disabled because I don\u2019t want to change anything by accident while being buffeted around. I have three or four buttons in specific positions doing certain things, like changing ISO or giving me the histogram.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2024 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX100 and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F9, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Working from a speeding plane, Andro needs to set his exposure to freeze the moment perfectly. \u201cI work at 1\/1000 sec typically. I can go up or down a bit \u2013 for a lateral photo I can go to 1\/640 sec, but for a top-down photo I can\u2019t go lower than 1\/800 sec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have to say that the image sensor stabilisation of the GFX100 is superb. It just works. With a 102-megapixel sensor, you can see every movement, every vibration in the image \u2013 so the fact the IBIS works so well is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no time to check his results until long after landing, Andro finds there\u2019s a certain analogue charm in his post-production process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2024 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX100 and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F10, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know what your favourite frames are when you make them,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cWhen I come home and go into the files, I always go to three or four specific frames first. \u2018Did it work?\u2019 There\u2019s this kind of darkroom development moment, when suddenly that magic appears again in front of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the best moment, when you see it\u2019s spot on, because you don\u2019t have time up there to see it in the viewfinder. I trust technology a lot, and have to give all kudos to Fujifilm cameras \u2013 they actually nail it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2023 \u00a9\u00a0Andro Loria | FUJIFILM GFX100 and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/1000 sec at F8, ISO 100<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I make photographs, I make them for myself. First and foremost, I make photographs of what I love,\u201d Andro concludes. \u201cI love wild nature \u2013 I try to have it pristine. Nature makes the art, I just try and put it in the frame as well as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aerial landscape photographer Andro Loria explains how his passion for aerial photography took off \u201cPhotography gives me\u2026 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a purely creative outlet because I do create other things,\u201d begins Andro Loria. \u201cBut it\u2019s an outlet for doing something different to what I do on the ground. It completely engages my mind. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":403,"featured_media":149780,"template":"","category":[],"post_tag":[],"b2b-solutions":[],"class_list":["post-149742","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"fujifilm_category_label":"","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-01 06:32:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/149742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=149742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_tag?post=149742"},{"taxonomy":"b2b-solutions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/b2b-solutions?post=149742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}