I've flown over New York City a million times and it never seems to get old. I often think of other cities it would be cool to fly around in an open door helicopter and it always seems hard to top NYC. New York is so vast, there's always something new to see. However, it was refreshing to finally see a new perspective on a city I've visited a few times already.
I was lucky enough to be a part of the FlyNYON team at the Life Is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas. Besides the weekend itself, it was a long week leading up to that of content gathering and flying all over the Las Vegas area. From Red Rock Canyon to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and the Las Vegas Strip, Nevada offers such a dynamic view of desserts, mountains and city lights.
Sony A7SII, Sony 12-24mm f/4 (iso200, f/4, 1/5000s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/8000s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/8000s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/4000s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/8000s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/500s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/1250s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/400s)
Just like photographing anything else, sunset and blue hour are usually the best times to shoot. Vegas was no exception. Since you're elevated, you're able to see the sunset behind the mountains and look down to see the chaos happening on the stip down below. As the sun sets, the lights of Sin CIty begin to illuminate and that's when the magic really begins.
New York City is hard to top at night, but Vegas is up to par. The main difference, in my opinion, is that Las Vegas is a lot more colorful. All the signs and illuminated billboards reminded me of Times Square, which is definetly one of the highlights of flying with FlyNYON in NYC.
Sony A7SII, Sony 12-24mm f/4 (iso51,200, f/4, 1/125s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 (iso8000, f/2.8, 1/50s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 12-24mm f/4 (iso51,200, f/4, 1/125s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 12-24mm f/4 (iso51,200, f/4, 1/125s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 (iso20,000, f/2.8, 1/100s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/2000s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/2000s)
Sony A7SII, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 (iso200, f/2.8, 1/3200s)
We live in an unpredictable and dangerous world today. As we all know, Las Vegas encountered the largest massacre in modern American history the week after we left. A man opened fire into a crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival killing 59 people and injuring over 200. There has been speculation that the gunman originally targetted the Life Is Beautiful Festival initially and had a room in a building that was literally right next to our FlyNYON tent and the main stage which we stayed for 12hrs a day, 3 days in a row. I am extremely grateful that myself and my group of friends were all safe the entire time.
I was in Paris the week before the Paris attacks a couple of years ago, and a few months after, I ended up in Sydney in the same city square where there was an ISIS attack a few days prior. People have been asking me "will this affect the way you travel or live your life?" Not at all. We can't live our lives in fear and restriction. Anyone would be a fool not to take advantage of every minute of their lives.
Peace out Las Vegas, until next time...Everyone stay safe out there.
Life IS beautiful.
One of the few images I actually got during the Life Is Beautiful Festival
Sony A7SII, Sony 12-24mm f/4 (iso400, f/4, 1/1600s)