Photographer George Steinmetz captures beautiful aerial shots from some amazing vantage points. They were taken from the seat of a motorized paraglider (that resembles an outdoor garden chair) which he uses to fly over and around his subjects.

This light aircraft features the “wing” of a paraglider, a backpack-mounted motor, and a single-seat harness. It is launched skyward by Steinmetz laying the paraglider out on the ground behind him like a kite and running forward with the motor idling. When he gives it full throttle, he is lifted off the ground.

Steinmetz notes that he has had a few mishaps, such as landing in the ocean while photographing whales and getting dragged across a dry lake in a sand storm, but explains:

I do this kind of flying because it gives me the opportunity to photograph remote areas in a way that they have never been seen before, and in a way impossible with any other kind of aircraft. I’m a photographer who flies, not a pilot who takes pictures, and I always have to balance my desire for getting a unique image against the realities and unknowns of each situation.

George Steinmetz