Video: Fly over London in a helicopter with an aerial photographer
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Aerial photographer Tommy Clarke is hot property right now. Sell-out exhibitions, his own gallery and a swimwear collection for M&S. Now he's back in his hometown to photograph London from 1,000ft
There's a fair amount of irony in what I do, says aerial photographer Tommy Clarke as we board the helicopter. 'I'm actually afraid of heights.' The 30-year-old Londoner isn't joking, but that acrophobia hasn't stopped him taking some of the most extraordinary (and instantly recognisable) airborne shots of beaches and coastlines around the world.
From San Tropez to San Francisco, the Canaries to the Caribbean, Clarke has been harnessing in and hanging out of helicopters to get the perfect photographs for nearly six years. Today, however, is a slightly less sundrenched location: a blast down the River Thames from Battersea Heliport. 'I've never photographed London from above before, so this is a real thrill for me,' says Clarke as we walk out to the chopper. 'Obviously it's very different from shooting beaches, but the same rules apply: the water can act as a natural frame if you wish, and you're looking for symmetry and flashes of colour below. There's so much beauty and detail to the river and the city that you can never fully appreciate from the ground.'
Clarke's career has really taken off recently. Following his wildly successful solo exhibitions last autumn, he is opening his own gallery in South London. And recently his work came to the attention of James Doidge, Marks & Spencer's Head of Menswear Design, while he was flicking through Instagram. Fast-forward six months and a capsule collection of beachwear based on Clarke's photographs is available to buy.
'It's utterly surreal,' says Clarke. 'I thought it was a joke at first, a prank email. I've spent all this time photographing beaches from the sky, with holidaymakers under bright umbrellas in their colourful beachwear, and now my images will be on that colourful beachwear. The whole thing has come full circle.'
His seven-piece M&S capsule collection features images from the Côte d'Azur and from Cornwall, where he spent childhood holidays. See the collection here:
The Tommy Clarke swimwear collection for M&S is available online now
