Earth From Above Photography Exhibition Shows Unique Perspectives Of Planet (PHOTOS)

The view from a hovering helicopter affords perhaps the best vantage point from which to observe and capture the Earth's beauty -- and fragility. I recently met with artist-activist Yann Arthus-Bertrand to discuss climate change, carbon offsets, and his upcoming outdoor exhibition of 150 four-foot by six-foot aerial photographs of the Earth.

The collection, entitled The Earth From Above, will touch down in New York from May 1, 2009 to June 28, 2009, before continuing on to San Fransisco and Los Angeles in 2010. The exhibition has been displayed in 120 cities throughout the world, and has been recognized as one of the most influential environmental art events of the 21st century.

View a slideshow of select images from the exhibition and read the Q&A with Arthus-Bertrand below:

• • • • • • • • • • Agricultural landscape between Ankara and Hattusha, Anatolia, Turkey

Have you noticed significant changes in how the Earth looks from above since you began this project several decades ago? I've seen the impact of man. I've been flying and photographing for 15 years now -- it's just long enough to see the impact, to see the deterioration. I saw the deforestation; I saw the cities grow bigger and bigger. But you know, this work changed my life completely. This changed my life because I saw how the Earth is beautiful. Nature is beautiful, and the more I fly the more enthusiastic I am about the beauty of nature.

You take the photos from above? From a plane? A helicopter? Do you purchase any carbon offsets or anything like that for the use? My foundation is the first one to do carbon offsets in France. Carbon offsets are very important to me. I'm flying, and I know why I'm doing it, but I'm not happy to do this. You know, I came here today, but I think its better to do this with a video conference. It's less expensive and better for the planet.

Do you consider yourself a photographer foremost, or an activist? I'm an activist surely, I'm a photographer, a little bit an artist, I'm a father, I'm a man. My main job is photography. I'm good at this, I love to do it, but I like my photography used for something. I prefer to be a witness than to be an artist.

What sense do you hope people will come away from this exhibition with? I think it's too late to be pessimistic. Deforestation, global warming, education, you know, there are so many things wrong, but anyway the world is still a nice place to live. My hope for this exhibit is to bring ecology into the heart of people's consciences.

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What made you decide to start taking these photographs from above? When I was studying lions in Kenya, doing a thesis with my wife, I took up color photography. At the time, I worked as a guide taking tourists up in a hot air balloon. I used to tell them, "this is an elephant, this is a lion, this is a giraffe." Photography really gave me a new way to look at the world, to see the thing from behind. I think photography can give you a new perspective.

How does the success of your projects across the world reveal a growing awareness of ecological issues? You know, I have to be very, very modest on this because I began exhibiting my work in 2000 and [climate change] is worse now, so I don't think my exhibition changed a lot. But I try. I continue to try.

What's the process, from beginning to end, for just one photograph? It's very simple. When I come back [from shooting], I look at my computer with my assistant and I try to select the best one and then we print it. It's nothing special -- the process is very easy. We work now in digital because you can print more easily in a bigger size.

How did you decide on the huge format (4x6 feet) of your photographs? When you are in the helicopter, you see the thing big, so I'm trying to print it big.

Find out more about Earth From Above

Comments

[athenasword]

Yann, I'm a little late getting to this thread.... (too many other things this week of a political nature!). But, I wanted to post and say thank you. Your work is amazing. Your images -as all good photography should- connects us to your subject. In this case the Earth, our Mother. When we feel connected we can act to protect, to heal, preserve. I think as humans, it is when we are disconnected that we destroy.

Your photos are like good music for the soul! I love the colors and patterns you capture and your very unique perspective. And, I love that you play the role of the "sacred observer", the silent witness that so many indigenous cultures value.

[PerryWinnwet]

Criticism of the artist, not because of his art, but the way about he goes obtaining it? Pathetic. You claim the harm of CO2 emissions as a result of the helicopter by which he goes about obtaining the art, but that's a bad thing how? CO(2) is good for trees, for all plant-life, and you want to get rid of it? You may claim that CO2 is the worst greenhouse gas, well, I've got news for you, it's actually H(2)O. Yeah, that gas that causes rain, you know, water vapor, what we want to make the only emission of hydrogen powered cars, yeah that water vapor is the greenhouse gas that we all know, love, and unknowingly despise.

http://www.whatyououghttoknow.com/show/2008/04/29/global-warming/

Thank you for the art.

[francoise]

Yann,

I'm glad you're French, because it offers me the opportunity of watching your TV reports which are as fantastic as your books.

I'm glad that at last your photos are being exhibited in America, which is, in the words of their president last summer, "the biggest polluter on earth".

And for those who don't like the way Yann is answering to you, please keep in mind that he's writing in a foreign language. It's not easy to respond to personal attacks in a different language than one's own. It's not easy either to be aware of the urgency to change our ways of consuming, wasting, and destroying nature, and to read posters who are still indulging in blissful denial and ignorance.

Merci, Yann. Vous etes un citoyen de la terre formidable, et un educateur encore plus formidable ! Merci de bouger les consciences et de deranger les mentalites tout en eveillant nos emotions a travers votre art !

[freedomtothepeople]

Francoise,

There is no problem with Yann's english as he is as fluent as anyone. It is a cultural problem. The French are not seen as 'rude', 'arrogant' and 'unlikeable' by all of the world for no real reason. They have trouble communicating. But, I imagine you are french and so see no problem with his aggressive and pompous way of speaking. I have had personal experience with Yann- he threatened me directly after buying a piece of land he wanted for himself. He got his fancy lawyers involved and I lost it to him months later. No matter what his PR, the man is indecent, regardless of which language he speaks...and I am by no means alone in that impression.

(Il n'est pas un probleme d'une langue secondaire avec Yann, mais peut-etre un probleme culturelle. Il y a raison que les francais a une reputation comme 'rude', 'arrogant' et 'unlikeable' par tout le monde. J'imagine que vous etes francaise et, alors, ne senses pas son style mauvais de communication. Personellement, j'ai eu une experience direct avec Yann ou il m'a menace quand j'ai achete une piece de terrain en campagne qu'il a voulu. Il est un homme tres violent et pas sincere. Mais, il a un representative super pour le 'PR'!)

[francoise]

freedom,

I don't know Yann. I judge him through his pics and through his acts. He fights for people to like nature, so as for them to protect it on an everyday basis. For me it's fine, even if he gets rich and megalomaniac in the process. The dangers we're facing are so huge that they should be faced at once. However with the current crisis I guess we'll ask for global warming to wait for some more years again to be dealt with.

I know french people are considered as rude, pompous, and arrogant. Not only each one is convinced of being right, but moreover as soon as some foreigner starts addressing us we're convinced he just wants to prove we're wrong ;-)

Honestly, to appear as fluent in a foreign language isn't like speaking in one's own mother tongue. I've been following some courses in literature and philosophy and I can assure you that I had to make sense of my ideas in french first before being able to express them in english. And I also sound quite pompous with my abuse of "however" and "nevertheless" ;-)

[Gasparilla]

What we need to face is overpopulation driving environmental destruction.

[grantlingel]

and what if the ark never happened.. so many questions..
http://grantlingel.blogspot.com/

[berrycooda]

Did it ever occur to you that this may be God's way of changing the earth for better things to come in the future...

Look how much the earth has changed over millions of years...Can you imagine what is deep in the ocean. What would we see if all the water was gone from some of them.

Some people take on a cause just because....and get rich over their ideas that they think are relevant,
and do a lot of messing up the environment while they are about doing their money making movies.

What if the earth hadn't changed after the ARK....We would all be in cold water.
Not the hot water that America is in now....
There are more important things going on.

[EElise]

Dear Yannb,

These are great, but I don't see the need to be condescending to people who post questions asking about your impact. I have heard people use this line before to discredit others and while I can understand why you may find it annoying, just consider it part of your outreach to educate people without the attitude, please.

[JoeKing]

Op, I missed the hotlink to your site above. Thanks!

[TimmySlagle]

It ironic.

Yann takes these pictures from inside of an EC120B helicopter. (most of us earthbound photographers settle for a simple tripod) That aircraft is a marvel of modern technology. Without the industry he loathes, there would be no Eurocopters; without his Eurocopter none of this art would be possible.

He criticizes us common folk for burning up the planet, while his camera tripod is spewing 485 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere, for every hour he is up there.

These are very pretty pictures, but at what cost to the Earth?

Are they really worth sacrificing our children's future?

[JVA]

The awareness to which he's contributing far outweighs the carbon emissions produced in the act of taking these pictures(in my opinion). Step back from the edge. We all like Earth. This guy's doing good things.

[TimmySlagle]

I don't see how "Awareness" is so valuable.

Why two hours of time playing with his camera, is more valuable than a family's monthly ration of gasoline.

But this is typical within the AGW movement. It is acceptable for Al Gore to fly a private jet to Oslo to pick up a trophy, or to Bali to make a speech, but the rest of us are wasteful for wanting large comfortable cars, and incandescent light bulbs.

I guess some animals are just more equal than others.

[yannb]

Ah Timmy. If you were insightful about what you are trying to speak about, you would know that my work has "zero carbon footprint". Every gram of CO2 released in the air during our photographing and filming sessions are "reimbursed" by planting trees. My collaborators and myself have also set up a fund which buys "efficient ovens" for Africans. In Africa, the fragile forests vanish extremely fast. People use more and more wood to cook their food, heat up their homes (I know this may sound weird. In the cliché pictures of Africa, it's hot and people live in straw-made homes. But the reality is far different nowadays). The efficient ovens which we send to Africa enable people to cook, heat their homes, etc... without using wood anymore. The technology is totally organic and it uses the refractory properties of certain materials. The highly skilled engineers and scientists who developed this technology need learn no lesson from Mr. Slagle.
Therefore, Timmy, our carbon footprint while taking photographs is erased.
Lastly, many pictures are taken from hot air balloons.
I am still wondering why Mr Slagle is so aggressive towards my work. I have traveled the world and shown my work to literally thousands of people. It is the first time I'm coming across someone who is not moved by the beauty of nature, someone who thinks pollution is a good thing, someone who thinks raising awareness deserves to be belittled and lambasted. It is rather afflicting.

[TimmySlagle]

Yann,

I do not hold any animosity against your art. I actually think your photographs are wonderful.

Where I do take issue is with your political stance. How can you criticize industry, when you are using high technology to produce your art? it seems to me, that you should be celebrating the modern world, rather than insulting it.

I would like to know exactly how much carbon you believe to have put into the atmosphere. Certainly if "every gram" has been accounted for, you must a have a spreadsheet that you would be proud to share. (Incidentally, a hot air balloon puts about 500 pounds of co2 into the atmosphere per hour, so the difference between a balloon and a helicopter is a wash).

I would also like an accounting of how many trees you have planted, and how quickly you expect your carbon to be absorbed.

Finally, if you are providing Africans with wood burning stoves, isn't all the carbon you've sequestered from the atmosphere by planting tree, going to be released from those stoves?

[catherine126]

Yann-
If YOU were insightful, you would realize that planting trees is not a sustainable answer to wealthy artists' co2-heavy work. It works well, however, for the polluters to forgive themselves for their dirty habits. Just imagine if everyone spent as much time in planes and bought up islands for their own personal use and thought planting some trees and shipping some ovens to Africa would make it all ok. As to being the first negative response, you must be living in a bubble. I lived in France for 4 years where you have many vocal critics, some of whom have defaced your work as a reaction to your misplaced righteousness. Your work is a huge commercial enterprise, complete with calendars, coffee cups and posters. Don't think true artists believe otherwise.

[Marguerite Manteau-Rao - Huffpost Blogger]

Yann, thank you.

I love that you are taking your work to mainstream venues, hence involving folks who might not otherwise think about such important issues as environmental degradation.

You have inspired me to write my next post on the role of environmental witness.

Merci!

[nellie]

The earth is a wonder.

[PeacefulRevolutionary]

indeed it is

[veggiequeenmo]

wow - fantastic - about makes me cry when i konw how much destruction is being done to the planet. everyone should see these pix and learn to truly appreciate what we have.

[LouisvilleLiberal]

Beautiful ! I wish I could see the full size photos.

It would be nice if one could purchase some of these as posters.........

[yannb]

I'm glad you're enjoying my work.

[TimmySlagle]

Human Industry did the work,

You just documented it.

[yannb]

Well, that is absolutely off the mark, but you have the right to be wrong. Among the hundreds of thousands of photos I have taken over the years, about 75% are depict natural landscapes. There are a few man-made ones too.
But, regardless, "documenting" is useful. Surely more useful than belittling documenting. In Europe alone this book sold over 1 million copies. Every 4 months I have a prime time television show on France's most watched public channel to raise awareness about climate change, ecology, and the future of our planet. I am not sure what you do.

[cynicalgal]

Great photos. Sarah Palin you disgust me.
Read about Aerial Wolf Hunting:

http://www.Vaboomer.com