Tom Hegen: Images of Human Impact on Earth by Aerial Photographer

Artistic Background

Tom Hegen is a photographer and designer based in Munich, Germany. He studied Communication Design in Germany and the United Kingdom. During the students days, Tom already knew that photography is his real passion. His first shoots were landscapes – classical photos of panoramas and scenes. But soon the photographer started to examine what a landscape truly is and what it represents.

Tom Hegen’s Aerial Photography

Tom Hegen’s work could be described as the synthesis of the unique “dance” between humans and Earth. Every day, people interact with the environment, constantly and heavily altering it. Humans, as the major factor of the planet’s changing, do things that caused climate change or the ozone hole. The photographer’s aesthetic and philosophy are put together in his work to show how big the influence we have on our environment and remind us about the responsibilities we have.

I am trying to sensitize the viewer for those subjects by taking a look at the extraordinary forces impacting our environment.

With these thoughts on his mind, the photographer recognized a new opportunity on how to observe the landscape through the camera lens. Tom’s idea was to take photos from above, using  DJI drone, and document the collision between mankind and Earth that creates remarkable abstract landscapes.

The Sea Salt Photography Series

The Sea Salt Series is a set of photos captured with a DJI Phantom 4 Pro. For these photos, Tom Hegen won DJI Drone Photography Award. The photographer captured the largest salt production sites at different European countries, aiming that this old human’s craft usually stays undiscovered for a large audience.

The Sea Salt Series displayed the photographer’s idea what happens on a land surface after the extraction of sea salt. At the end of the process, we see vivid colors and geometrical shapes. Colors are different, from light to bold, which depends on the process of salt extraction and nature’s influence on it. The colors are very important in the photographer’s work – he uses them to communicate with the audience:

I hope to provoke the viewer to question what it is that they are looking at and leave them to reflect.