Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Yann Arthus-Bertrand photographing Melbourne from Above
Friday 27 October 2006.  
Photo courtesy of ‘The Age’ newspaper

“The more conscious one is of the issues at stake, the more interest one takes in our planet, the greater the desire to actively engage in change for the better”
- Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Yann Arthus-Bertrand has always had a passion for nature. He discovered the beauty of the world seen from above in a hot air balloon while studying the behaviour of lions in Kenya with his wife. It was here he began experimenting with aerial photography.

Upon returning to France, Yann worked as a photo journalist specialising in adventure, sports and nature photography as well as travelling to Rwanda to photograph anthropologist Dian Fossey with her mountain gorillas.

As Yann’s passion for aerial photography grew, his work began to cause a stir on the international magazine circuit, with famed international magazines such as Paris-Match, Geo, Life and National Geographic publishing his photographs.

In 1990, under the patronage of the Ecological Science Department of UNESCO, Yann embarked upon the ambitious project of creating an image bank of the earth seen from above.

His aim for the Earth from Above project was to create a record of the world’s environment as a benchmark for future generations. By presenting these 120 emotive images in a free public forum, Yann invites us on a journey to experience a unique view of the earth’s natural beauty, but also our impact.

The exhibition is not an end in itself, but a work in progress. Many countries remain to be visited, and geographical coordinates of every shot will allow other photographers and scientists to witness the evolution of these sites.

Yann and his team have spent more than 4,000 hours flying over 150 countries as part of this ongoing global phenomenon. Earth from Above has been translated into 24 languages and seen by more than 70 million people in over 108 cities around the world. Yann continues to travel and photograph the earth, most recently in Madagascar, India, Nigeria, Spain, Dubai, Argentina and Russia.

In 2005 Yann founded GoodPlanet, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of sustainable development. Yann offsets greenhouse gas emissions caused by his activities by funding renewable energy and reforestation projects through www.actioncarbone.org.