Aerial photographer and filmmaker David Ondaatje made this photo (below) of a runner on Carmel Beach as part of a series documenting the area’s early morning waves. “The size of the runner in the lower left is the only thing that allows us to appreciate the massive scale of the waves,” he writes.
Ondaatje’s new photobook, “Water Views: Rivers, Lakes, Oceans” (The Monacelli Press), is a collection of 150 aerial images, with an emphasis on ocean, lake, and river compositions. The photos were made in California, Montana, Italy, the Bahamas, and other locations.
Making aerial photos near water presents challenges, Ondaatje writes, like finding a dry spot to take off and land, and safely navigating a device that’s hundreds of yards away while checking the camera settings and framing the ideal shot.
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“Views of water are restorative. I am happier near water. I always have been,” he says. “As you turn the pages in this book, my hope is that you’ll agree that the same is true for you.”
Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.