Captured at night from around 1,000ft above the ground, these spectacular aerial images offer a striking portrait of one of the world's most vibrant cities, showing it as it has rarely been seen before. From the vantage point of a helicopter, familiar sights including the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and the Empire State Building appear to take on an almost abstract appearance. The collection of 130 images includes a host of instantly recognisable landmarks alongside some less familiar views of the city.
The stunning collection includes the world-famous Times Square, shot from 1,300ft, showing hundreds of party-goers far below enjoying an open-air music concert. Another mesmerising image shows a northward view of Madison Avenue in stunning detail - alive and packed with the glare of headlights. In his book, Hawkes describes the intense chill he felt while taking the pictures.
And he recalls one flight when he took a taxi driver up with him. He writes: 'Went flying last night in a Twin Star, with both doors off. By the time we landed I could not even feel my hands, never felt cold like it.
'I was chatting to my cab driver ( Eftakhar ) on the way down to the heliport, and asked if he wanted to come along for the ride. He had never been up in a helicopter before so jumped at the chance.
'I had plenty of cold weather gear to wear, as did the pilot, but Eftakhar was only wearing a jumper. Quite how he survived the flight I'm not sure. He said he enjoyed it and even gave me a free ride back to my hotel.'
'At college all I wanted to be was a studio photographer,' he said, 'but after a flight in a microlight, I realised that, with a little attitude, you see all these amazing patterns - even mundane things look intriguing.
'So I started using helicopters to take my pictures, I try to do as little planning as I can - I have in mind specific sights, but if there is enough budget left over from a book I'm doing, I'll fly a little further afield.'
Check out Jason Hawkes website to see more of his cool photography
