Germany from above

Gerhard Launer has 47 years of experience as an aerial photographer. He has spent around 14,000 hours in the air and flown more than 2.6 million kilometres. In our interview, he talks about his view of Germany from above.

Mr Launer, what fascinates you about aerial photography?
You can see shapes in the landscape, patterns that can only be seen from a bird’s eye view. From my aerial perspective, I have also been able to see many changes happen over the years. Like in the Ruhr region for instance, where former mining areas have been transformed into sites of industrial culture or landscaped parks. Sadly, however, I have also seen negative changes, such as the dieback of trees or the destruction of entire areas of woodland, for example by Cyclone Kyrill. If I had to pick one favourite area to photograph, it would be the Wadden Sea. The constant changes due to tides, times of day and season, and indeed the weather, make it virtually impossible to take the same photograph twice.

How did you become an aerial photographer?
While studying for my degree in graphic design I did my private pilot licence - flying was my hobby. I also specialised in photography during my degree course. That’s how I came up with the idea of combining my hobby - flying - and my profession, so I acquired a professional pilot’s licence to do so. I have worked in aerial photography since 1977.

You made a conscious decision to photograph Germany from above. Why?
I also flew across areas in the US for a while. Mainly national parks in Arizona and Utah, which held a particular fascination for me because of their size and formations. But precisely that is what made me increasingly aware, every time I flew over Germany, of just how beautiful, diverse and varied my home country is, even on a comparatively small scale.

Would you like to share with us one particularly special moment that you experienced on one of your flights?
I experienced one particular highlight when taking photographs of the Thuringian Forest in its autumn colours and suddenly spotted a huge flock of storks below me - that was completely unexpected. It seemed to me that there were over 100 of them. They may well have gathered there in readiness to continue their flight south together. It was truly fascinating to watch them constantly change formation.