Aerial photographer Jason Hawkes has seen London from just about every angle. For the last 20 years, he’s been photographing Great Britain’s capital from an AS355 twin-engine helicopter, capturing the cityscape from as low as 450 feet to as high as 3,000 feet. The door of the aircraft has been removed so that when Hawkes shoots, he and his photography equipment can be tethered directly to the helicopter, allowing him the necessary flexibility to take unique shots of the always-changing metropolis. “It’s been a strange year for London and the U.K. with Brexit,” Hawkes said. “Things have calmed down a bit, but as a country, we are stepping into the unknown.” The messy national politics on the ground, however, haven’t yet reached the beauty or bustle of London from the sky. Here he has shared with The Atlantic a selection of his images from 2016.
A Dizzying Tour of London
- Emily Anne Epstein
- January 29, 2017
- 17 Photos
- Spotlight
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Read moreOne of London’s most iconic landmarks, Tower Bridge, lit up at night. #
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Read moreA summer day in London: Looking from Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank toward the Shard and on to Canary Wharf. #
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Read moreThe Shard against a striking sky. #
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Read morePlayers mid-game at an London sports complex. #
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Read moreLondon’s iconic skyscrapers covered in mist at dawn. #
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Read moreThe billboards in Piccadilly Circus light up the busy intersection at night. #
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Read moreA sea of people at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park. #
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Read moreSituated south of the River Thames, the Shard, Elephant and Castle, and St. George Wharf Tower are seen through an orange haze. #
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Read morePeople mill about a replica of the destroyed Monumental Arch of Palmyra in London’s Trafalgar Square. #
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Read moreLondon’s skyscrapers illuminated in the evening. #
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Read moreA couple walks past a rectangular pattern of trees in Granary Square, Kings Cross. #
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Read moreUrban renewal at Nine Elms and the River Thames. In the center of the image is the new American Embassy. #
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Read moreThe O2 Arena and Greenwich Peninsula at night. #
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Read moreQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park, home of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. #
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Read moreA crowd gathers to watch the changing of the guard at Horse Guards Parade. #
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Read moreThe bright and colorful lights at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. #
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Read moreThe Isle of Dogs and the Canary Wharf business district, bound by the River Thames at Greenwich Reach. #
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