Christiaan van Heijst began his flying career in his 20s. However, his love for photography began as a child. He told Muse World that he was first drawn to the scenery outside the plane when he was two years old when he flew with his parents.
It was also a passion that followed him into the cockpit of planes that took him to the dreamy space at an altitude of 10 thousand meters, where he captured everything that made him ecstatic, from lightning in storms, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, auroras, clouds, storms.
“It was like a peaceful solitude in the sky, in complete contrast to the rest of the world,” he told CNN.
“I had to take pictures because I realized that if I didn’t press the shutter, they would be gone forever.” Van Heijst has been shooting from the cockpit since his first flights 14 years ago, to Africa and Afghanistan. He says the feeling of flying a huge plane and then looking out the cockpit window, then shooting what’s happening in front of you, is amazing, especially when there’s aurora in the sky.
“Sometimes we fly for up to eight hours under the aurora borealis. Below is the Arctic ice and above is the aurora borealis. It’s amazing.” The Dutch pilot uses his phone, camera and film to show his passion and the photos he takes, posted on his Instagram page, have a lot of followers.
The photos are not only beautiful, but also provide a perspective so that people can at least understand what pilots see during flights. Van Heijst also takes photos of his colleagues on the flight to help people understand their work and the hardships they face. Of course, flying the plane is still his main job and requires the most concentration, so “I only take photos when I can”.
Christiaan van Heijst has never attended any photography school. He bought his own camera, took his own photos, and gradually improved his skills through trial and error. Christiaan mainly uses intuition to balance the light, shadows, and composition of his work.
