Ethereal Aerial Film Captures Australia’s Majestic Pilbara

Australian photographer Dan Proud masterfully captures the soul of some of the world’s most vast and ancient landscapes, located in Australia’s Pilbara region.

The Pilbara, in Australia’s northwest, dates back some two billion years and sprawls over 400,000 square kilometres. It’s hard to believe that these otherworldy landscapes are part of the engine room of Australia. This part of Western Australia is a mining powerhouse, specifically for crude oil, natural gas, salt and iron ore.

Proud filmed in locations that were primarily in the Hamersley range and Karijini National park areas, but also includes scenery around the mining town Pannawonica, Milstream-Chichester National Park & Tom Price, the highest town in Western Australia.

Proud is an Australian landscape and commercial photographer from Toowoomba, Queensland. His day job as a commercial photographer, specialising in mining and industrial areas, means that he regularly travels to parts of Australia that many of us don’t think to visit. During his first trip to Pilbara in 2009, he was captivated by the sprawling, red landscape. He resolved to capture its beauty in every way that he could, which resulted in beautiful landscape photography and the thrilling aerial film, featured above. He’s currently developing projects in Australia’s largest states, Queensland and Western Australia, on opposite sides of the country. When I asked if there was a common thread between the two regions that inspired him, he told me:

As I watch the film, goosebumps run up my arm and I feel surprisingly emotional. The power, beauty and grace of the Pilbara is what makes Australia’s landscapes so moving. There is a humble beauty to the red dirt plains, in sharp contrast to the soft, olive green grass and trees blanketing the ground. The natural pools in Karijini National Park shimmer in shades of blue, green and yellow, a refreshing change from the harsh plains. No doubt, the feelings that Proud had the first time he flew over the Pilbara, in the flesh, were even stronger.

Well to be honest, from the outset I had no strategy or particular approach! I shoot or film anything and everything that appeals to me.

“North Western Australia is covered in stunning mountain ranges and diverse landscapes, I just set out to see and capture as many as I can.”

You can see more of Dan Proud’s incredible work on his website, Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo.