I always take photos with my audience in mind and when I went to Alaska with the Alpha Collective, I had a special opportunity to photograph the incredible Alaska landscape from the air. A lot of people use drones to do aerial photography these days, but bringing a Sony camera, the α9 was what I had, up into a plane and a helicopter offered a different perspective and a lot more flexibility for photographing close-up subjects and shooting wider mountain-scapes. In Alaska, I had my second helicopter flight and my first time in a float plane. In the planes, it was definitely a great experience because I was able to change lenses during the flight based on the landscape below.
Thinking of my audience, I wanted them to feel like they were there with me, living the adventure. I used the 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master a lot to include the interior of the helicopter or plane and to get the wing in the photo to help them feel part of the moment. I used the 100-400mm G Master for some shots as well, but especially when we were really close to the mountains – I really wanted to get the full effect of that landscape with the wide angle.
I consider myself an adventurer, story teller and adventure photographer. When I think of green, I think of adventure. So you’ll see in my pictures that I de-saturate colors beside green. I don’t remove them entirely, but I dial them back. The other colors are still noticeable, but I want green to stand out when you look at my photos collectively.
En route to Knik Glacier in a helicopter, we were treated to stunning views of the Alaskan forestry and landscape below us. Since I could only use one lens during the helicopter flight, I chose the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master lens, not only to capture the views below, but to add the perspective of seeing these sights from inside a helicopter. It’s important to use the highest shutter speed possible to get the sharpest results.
On the last day of the trip we took float planes from Anchorage to Crescent lake to photograph bears. The flights to-and-from the lake offered more amazing views. I could change lenses for different shots in the plane, so along with the 16-35mm I had the new Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master lens to capture close-ups of the lagoons below. I even got a shot of one of the other planes carrying some of the Alpha Collective crew.
Mic-anthony Hay is part of the Alpha Imaging Collective. Follow him on Instagram @mic-anthony
