Photographer Jason Hawkes's preferred mode of transport is a helicopter, from which he captures some of the best aerial shots of London we've ever ogled.
On this occasion though, he's swapped the 'copter for the comfort of a British Airways passenger plane — photographing his return flight from London City Airport to Edinburgh.
Hawkes chose his seats carefully (the two window seat in row three in the front of the cabin), putting all of our amateur-photos-from-a-passenger-jet to shame. No wheels or wings blocking the view here.
Hawkes also picked the time of his flight carefully — the UK capital is caught in a delicious golden glow, on his return from Scotland.
Says Hawkes:
It was a very different experience altogether shooting from a British Airways aircraft... In the helicopter the doors are either taken right off or open, but in a standard aircraft the first thing you’ll have to deal with are reflections and glare from the window.
Among Hawkes's tips to budding aerial photographers are: sit towards the front or the back of the aircraft for an unobstructed view; put your lens as close to the window as possible without touching it; and shoot in one of the golden hours, either the hour after sunrise or the hour before sunset.
