On the 3rd of December, Unity Books was delighted to host the launch of Grant Sheehan’s latest photography book, Eye in the Sky: A Drone Above New Zealand – a collection of aerial & landscape photography. There was a large crowd of people, including many familiar faces from the photography community who made their way through the wind to celebrate the publication of this ground-breaking book, which also happened to be our last launch for 2015.
The crowd mingling before the speeches kicked off.
Simon Woolf, when researching his introductory speech, was quick to discover that Eye in the Sky is actually the first drone photography collection ever to be published, making this an international first, as well as a unique and beautiful hybrid of photography & NZ history. This was news to Grant Sheehan, who recognized the photographic potential of drones immediately, but had to wait years for camera technology to catch up. The book was published by Phantom House Publishing, and Grant’s drone was a Phantom model, a coincidence that the publishers assured us had nothing to do with their decision to publish.
Simon Woolf speaking.
Grant Sheehan is at the frontier of a new technology, but he’s not alone. Simon Woolf spoke about one of Grant’s drone photographs of the Kereru Sheep Station in Hawkes Bay, which Grant Sheehan uploaded to ‘Dronestagram’ (which, as the name suggests, is a social networking site for drone photography.) The photo was picked up by the New York Times and went viral, reaching thousands of people all over the world. The photo depicted hundreds of sheep waiting to be shorn, all staring up at the camera in the sky. This interaction between technology and landscape is one of the most interesting parts of the book, and Grant’s photographs have offered us a rare opportunity to see images of our country in a way that would never have been possible before.
A captivated crowd.
The new technology brings a new perspective to landscape photography, but it also comes with its own unique set of challenges and problems. Grant Sheehan spoke about the various roadblocks involved in taking these kinds of photographs. There were lengthy phone calls to city councils, fights with various authorities in order to get permissions and even having to regularly interrupt air traffic control, to inform them of the drone’s movements.
Grant takes his turn at the mic.
Simon Woolf talked about the importance of this book, not only as an incredible piece of art, but also as an important historical document, and the skill involved in marrying the two. In a world where drone warfare and the negative implications of this kind of technology is a hot button issue, it’s refreshing and empowering to see these kind of innovations being put to such good use, even if a few sheep were confused in the making of it.
Grant gets ready to sign copies of the book.
Eye in the Sky: A Drone Above New Zealand (Phantom House Publishing) is $45 and available in store now or from our online shop.
photography by Vanessa Williams.
