OUR FIRST FLIGHT IN HELICOPTER

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When I went to Los Angeles I didn’t plan to get into an helicopter and take pictures, I mean, it crossed my mind, but it wasn't until last minute before heading to the airport to fly to LA that I told my husband to please search for some rides in helicopter. And then, one night in LA, we searched for the ride in the web and the next morning we scheduled it, yay! Just like that, not thinking too much, it’s good for once!

In the agency there were two kinds of flights: one for tourists or just pleasure, with the route already prepared, maybe with other passengers in the helicopter and with a duration of 35 minutes and you could have the doors open or closed; the other flight offered is private, you have all the helicopter for you, you can have open doors and you can tell the pilot where to fly and the duration is one hour; so we took the second option, we wanted to fly over the Santa Monica and Malibu beaches and one hour is clearly a better duration.

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You definitely have to prepare well for this kind of photoshoots; on the other hand, there are things that are only given by experience. To begin, you have to tell the pilot to fly the lowest possible all the time, because even if you have the best camera and lenses you are so far away from the photographic subject, and the sea is a subject in constant movement and then the helicopter is moving also. I have been looking for a while at these kind of photography, aerial beach, from some artists and I was familiar with the compositions I wanted; study the field you want to photograph so you can take the best advantage of the flight, and don’t be afraid to tell the pilot all that you want, if you want to stay in the same place until you have the pictures you want, do it; and take a jacket even if it is summer because the wind is heavy up there!

What I loved the most was the Santa Monica beach, we went at 10 am and it was almost empty, the light, the color of the water and the sand beach were a dream, Santa Monica beach is so extensive so you can fly a long time over it and take lots of pictures, or just enjoy. The Malibu beaches are smaller but it was nice to see all those wealthy houses of famous people. 

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The artistic experience is unique, I have seen many pictures of aerial beach but seeing those images with your eyes in the real place is another thing, the perspective is an experience from another world, your eyes are used to the same perspectives, so to see the world from above is priceless. As usual, I asked myself why I didn’t do this before, now I feel I opened a door to another kind of photographic experience that I totally want to explore more.

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The whole experience was so amazing, I was almost in panic when I got in the helicopter, we were with open doors! But the pilot, Rebecca, was the best, she flew that machine like handling a baby, the take off was so soft, and well I trust in machines and all the science of flight, yes I do, so when we were up I was so happy, I was in my element (even if I am an Aries haha), I was not afraid, and I couldn’t believe it, I was so surprised of myself to be that brave and calm up there, now I am thinking to drop with a parachute, kidding.