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For most photographers, making a great shot requires a quick, coordinated burst of framing, focusing, and exposing. But for aerial photographer Alex MacLean, that synchronization also includes making sure his airplane is flying steady. "It's a lot easier than trying to take pictures out of a car because you're dealing in 3-D space. The plane will fly itself straight and level. That's even without autopilot," he said. "I usually set myself up, pick up the camera for five or 10 seconds, and take the picture out an open window."

The exhibition " Alex MacLean: Aerial Perspectives" at London's Beetles and Huxley celebrates more than 30 years of MacLean's work. MacLean's career in photography began in 1975, when he got his pilot's license after graduating from Harvard's Graduate School of Design. While flying his Cessna 172, he started taking photos of architectural and landscape design, which he sold to universities for research purposes. Eventually, he formed his own photography company and assembled a roster of municipal, institutional, corporate, and private clients.

Since then, the Massachusetts-based photographer has flown most of the United States and parts of Europe, capturing patterns and trends from above that reflect an eye trained to understand both natural and human-constructed environments. "You see places where things are moving through the landscape making paths. Then you see other things that are holding things in place. Rivers and streams are pathways, for instance, while ponds and lakes are containment. But those categories transcend every land use that you have. That generates patterns right away," he said. "The other thing I often look for that really highlights these patterns is looking at borders and edges. You usually get contrasts from one side to the other. Color also adds another huge dimension."

Naturally, aerial photography has its challenges. MacLean often has to contend with unpredictable weather, changing lighting conditions, and the plane's vibration-all of which threaten to mess up a crisp, nicely lit photograph. Over the years, though, changes in airplane and camera technology have corrected some of those annoyances. "When I started out, there wasn't even auto focus. When you think of auto exposure, that's a big thing. Of course, the biggest change was transitioning to digital photography, which had lots of advantages," he said.

Today, MacLean flies about 250 hours a year in his Flight Design CT. Because of the nature of his business, he said he often leaves the ground with the intention to photograph a particular scene. Still, he said, there are always surprises along the way, including amazing sights that he never could have anticipated or imagined. "When doing this you really have to be receptive to just looking and sort of analyzing what you're flying over. Otherwise, it's easy to fly by some great things," he said.

"Alex Maclean: Aerial Perspectives" is on view through Saturday at Beetles and Huxley in London.

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Stunning Photos of What the World Looks Like From the Cockpit

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For most photographers, making a great shot requires a quick, coordinated burst of framing, focusing, and exposing. But for aerial photographer Alex MacLean, that synchronization also includes making sure his airplane is flying steady. "It's a lot easier than trying to take pictures out of a car because you're dealing in 3-D space.

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For nearly 40 years, American photographer Alex S. MacLean has been taking pictures from the sky.

In 1975, the photographer started the Landslides Aerial Photography project to provide illustrative aerial photography for architects, landscape designers, urban planners, and environmentalists. Photographing American and European landscapes from 5,000 feet and above, MacLean's pictures reveal the hidden geometry and gorgeous patterns of the world around us.

MacLean is a fully-licensed pilot, and flies in a fuel-efficient carbon-fiber Cessna 182 plane, all the while recording nature, agriculture, architecture, and humanity from a bird's-eye view.

His photos not only reveal the incredible scale of our natural and man-made surroundings, but show the environmental impact of human intervention on farming, the ocean, and the American landscape as a whole.

Massachusetts-based MacLean estimates he has spent over 6,000 hours in the sky photographing America. He has won numerous awards, and written 11 books filled with his photography. Maclean's photos were also recently exhibited at the Beetles + Huxley gallery throughout March 2014 in London.

See more of his incredible aerial photography below, as well as at the artist's website, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
Directionless lobster boats float in the waters near Tremont, Maine.
Photography by Alex S. MacLean
Tracks of tomatoes in the fields of North Central Ohio. Bathers swim in wave pool in Orlando, Florida.
Photography by Alex S. MacLean
A boneyard of old military equipment and planes in Tucson, Arizona.
Photography by Alex S. MacLean
Surfers behind breaking waves at sunset beach in Oahu, Hawaii. Colorful shipping containers in Portsmouth, Virginia. People tanning poolside in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A golf oasis in the arid Desert Hills of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photography by Alex S. MacLean
A housing development (that looks like pieces in the game of LIFE) in Beaverton, Oregon.
Photography by Alex S. MacLean

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10 Stunning Aerial Photos Of Human Civilization

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For nearly 40 years, American photographer Alex S. MacLean has been taking pictures from the sky. In 1975, the photographer started the Landslides Aerial Photography project to provide illustrative aerial photography for architects, landscape designers, urban planners, and environmentalists.

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Tweets by alexmaclean