It’s not unusual for architects to diverge from the conventional path of practice, with multiple skills from the profession lending themselves to all manner of creative pursuits. However, once you’ve experienced life in the studio, you never see the world in quite the same way again. It comes as no surprise, then, that Kacper Kowalski is a former architect, because he likes nothing better than to capture the stunning beauty of his environment… in plan view.
The Polish photographer — winner of a World Press Photo Award in 2014 — spent five years studying architecture and four years in practice before giving it all up to fly solo, quite literally. Drone photography may be on the rise, but it seems that the old-fashioned manned aerial vehicle has its advantages: Kowalski takes flight via paraglider, capturing the world below from unconventional angles with an extraordinarily steady hand. Seen from above, the local architecture and natural landscapes take on a graphic quality and document powerful stories in the process.
These seven standout shots should have you reaching for your SLR… and possibly booking paragliding lessons to boot.
© Kacper Kowalski
1. Plus Minus
Kowalski found this remote lake in Kashubia, northern Poland, and harnessed its distinctive palette of nature colors to portray the wondrous variety of the local landscape throughout each season. This multichromatic autumnal shot is particularly spectacular, with the reflection of the sky in the water lending the scene a surreal air.
© Kacper Kowalski
2. Flood From The Sky
The photographer flew above the semi-submerged town of Sandomierz in southeastern Poland following a devastating flood in 2010. His melancholy images were originally intended to aid reporting on the crisis, but proved so evocative that they ended up being given their own exhibition — and were a key part of a non-profit action aimed at attracting tourists to the historic Old Town that survived the flood.
© Kacper Rojek
© Kacper Kowalski
3. Harsh Winter
Kowalski lives in a region notorious for its brutally cold winters, but whilst some treat this as the time to batten down the hatches, the photographer sees opportunities for some stunning shots. These strange pancakes of ice take on an unusual, graphic quality from above, bifurcated by a swathe of pitch-black tarmac in northern Poland.
© Kacper Kowalski
4. Brushstrokes
Other seasons in Poland provide moments of aerial magic too: As shadows lengthen in the late afternoon, these spring fields near Nowe erupt in a riot of color. Kowalski paraglided over the historic region of Pomerania to capture this abstract expressionist shot, with poppy weeds appearing as a brushstroke upon a canvas of green grain sprouts.
© Kacper Kowalski
5. One Day
Living on the coast, Kowalski spent time studying the changing landscape created by sun worshippers on the beach during the course of a long summer’s day. Starting out with an empty stretch of sand at 6 a.m., the photographer describes the transforming scene: “I like watching how little sunny valleys are created every day – with its alleys, plazas, and neighbours’ fights.”
© Kacper Kowalski
6. Depths Of Winter
Whilst the majority of his images portray static urban or natural environments, Kowalski occasionally focuses his lens on people — particularly when they form strong abstract compositions. Within the monochromatic landscapes of snowbound Poland, the photographer revels in capturing momentary explosions of color and contrast, provided here by a bevy of queuing skiers.
© Kacper Kowalski
7. Oriental
Kowalski has not restricted his aerial adventures to Poland; he recently published a series of photos of China from bird’s-eye view, many of which were markedly more urban in their nature. Some present startling views of architectural mass production being rolled out across the country, such as this image of housing in the eastern city of Jiangyin.
Yours aloft,
The Angry Architect