Amazing photos of landscapes in Britain and France shot by drone

Chris Gorman, the founder of Big Ladder drone landscape photography, shares some of his favourite shots and tells the stories behind them
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Chris Gorman has been taking pictures for 30 years. The founder of Big Ladder drone landscape photography, he is a PFCO qualified pilot who takes photos using a DJI Mavic drone.

Here he shares some of his favourite shots with the Standard and tells the stories behind them.

"We live in an era of disposable photography, where everything‘s already been done" says Gorman, explaining what inspired him to get into drone photography. "You can go to various landmarks and beauty spots and you’ve seen all of the pictures before, but you’ve rarely seen photos of them from the air or shot in a creative way".

"All of my images are HDR ​(hygh dynamic range) which is five or six exposures blended together, 'bracketed exposures', which gives them that dynamic look," he explained.​

Gorman's most famous shot to date is one of the summer solstice at Stonehenge below which was taken in June this year and published by a number of news outlets.

Crowds gather for the 2018 summer solstice at Stonehenge
Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

"You see all the same pictures of the summer solstice every year, but you’ve never seen it from the sky. It gives you a completely unique view that most other photographers are unable to do, it sets you apart from rest", he said.

Another of Gorman's favourite photographs is this shot of Canary Wharf.

He explained that he took the photograph in February just days before the so-called Beast from the East arrived in the UK. "It was bitterly cold hence the extremely crisp look of the shot, with a burning sunset behind," he said.

A golden winter sunset behind Canary Wharf on the Isle Of Dogs (Chris Gorman/Big Ladder)
Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

Gorman says that timing is crucial when taking drone shots like these.

"With a lot of these pictures you obviously can't plan how the clouds are going to look but you’ve got to be in it to win it. I've got to have the drone on me at all times and these situations just present themselves", he said, adding that he had just seconds to take this photo of Portsmouth Harbour.

Portsmouth Harbour
Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

"I’ll often think of ideas in advance of what locations to go to and different angles. I’ll see a shot somewhere on the internet and think I can do that, but better" he said.

​To take this photograph of ​Mont-Saint-Michel in Brittany, France, below, Gorman says he had to wait for a window in the weather, "I decided to turn it black and white to make it more moody".

Mont-Saint-Michel, Brittany
Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

Crop circles in a field in Badbury Rings, Dorset, can be seen in the photo below.

Crop Circles at Badbury Rings in Dorset
Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

Here's a video featuring some of Big Ladder's drone photography.

In this shot taken last year, low clouds drift across Beachy Head in East Sussex.

 Beachy Head, East Sussex
Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

"Sometimes I’ll look at a shot on the ground and think that’s just crying out to be shot by a drone" said Gorman. "It just creates a really unique angle".

"HDR gives it that punchy look, one exposure on its own makes it look flat and boring".

Arundel Castle on the South Downs in West Sussex
Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

He points out how taking photos from different angles in the sky can offer a new perspective even to well-known landscapes, "[this] is probably not a view of Brighton that you’ve seen before".

Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

Gorman said that when taking these photos it can be down to catching the last minute of correct light, adding that he will always keep the drone within his sight.

"This is a quintessentially English scene in a place called East Meon in Hampshire" says Gorman of the shot below. "It's very, very quaint and this photo is taken at golden hour (the last hour of sun before it goes down)

"Within about four minutes of taking that I landed the drone and the sun had disappeared behind a hill," he said.

Chris Gorman/Big Ladder

All of Big Ladder's drone landscape photographs are available to purchase online www.bigladder.co.uk.

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