Over The Great Blue

When you’re 1200 feet above your shooting location, it’s essential that you know the lay of the land… or in this case, the ocean

- Tom Mackie

Funny the things you think about when cruising 1200 feet high over the Great Barrier Reef in a helicopter with no door. Am I strapped in properly? Did the pilot remember to fill up the petrol tank? More importantly, did I bring those spare batteries and cards? Hanging out of a helicopter may not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but I love it as it gets me out of my comfort zone as a landscape photographer and enables me to obtain an entirely different perspective.

Unless you have a drone (and they’re being restricted more and more), sometimes it’s the only way to achieve views like these, so taking to the skies was the perfect solution. The Great Barrier Reef is greater in size than the UK, Holland and Switzerland combined, so knowing precisely where to go is essential. I had my sights on the heartshaped coral reef, oddly enough, called Heart Reef that has become a popular tourist attraction.