Munich-based photographer Tom Hegen has published a set of aerial images capturing the beauty of sea salt production seen from above. The images, shot from a small airplane in Western Australia, demonstrate the impact of human intervention on natural environments, and depict how even seemingly rural landscapes are alive with the hyper-globalized demands of humankind.
“The Salt Series Part II follows on from the first edition, which we previously covered in our article on the DJI Drone Photography Awards: an award which Hegen shared with photographer Markel Redondo who focused on Spain’s 3.4 million deserted houses.
Sea salt is a product that is heavily included in our everyday life but we hardly know where it comes from and how it's been produced: Seawater is fed into evaporation ponds. Energy from the sun and wind concentrates the water to help encourage salt growth. The colour of the water comes from micro bacteria, which changes their hues when the salt concentration rises. Once ponds are completely dried out, a layer of salt of around 25 cm in the pond is ready to harvest. After harvesting, the salt gets washed and ready for transportation.
-Tom Hegen
Below, we have republished Hegen’s series, with the full set available in the gallery at the end of the article. For more information, check out his Behance profile here. To improve your own aerial photography skills, check out our guide on the subject here.
