Interview with Simon Heather | A Seeker of Unique Perspectives

I'm a British-Japanese photographer and illustrator from Brooklyn, New York. I'm always on the hunt for rare shots, and I love to snap slices of life and the world around us, bringing my images to life through storytelling, and illustration techniques - playing with composites, scale, colour and lighting - to create vibrant and colourful scenes that capture our escapist fantasies for travel.

I’m self-taught. I got my first SLR when I lived in Japan when I was 19, where it was cheap to develop film. I always loved to snap photos of my friends and community and just experimented through trial and error. I got my first drone 8 years ago and loved learning how to fly and how the new tool opened up lots of avenues to capture photos from new perspectives.

My first shots were with my parent’s compact camera - pictures of my family usually while travelling in Japan.

Today I use a Mavic 3 Pro for aerial photography and a Sony A73 for ground work.

At the end of the day, I want to capture images that are unique and rare, highlight different angles or perspectives, and conjure a mood or feeling. Even better, if it's something you enjoy looking at immersively over time.

I had taken photos for a long time before I felt confident to share them. I started using my camera and drone during user research at my design firm, to make small documentaries or exhibitions for clients to help them understand who they were designing for. These were greeted with enthusiasm by my colleagues which inspired me to continue capturing photos and videos.

In my work, I aim to capture images that are playful, warm and delightful and importantly I try to capture any rare or alternative perspectives that only a drone can capture. I also illustrate and a lot of inspiration for my style comes from illustration and animated film and Japanese art and photography which often approaches the same medium with different values.

Vibrant, uplifting, and playful.

Thank you! It's a fantastic feeling to have my work recognised by such an illustrious creative body. I'm thrilled to be noticed among some amazing photographers across the world and am excited to continue sharing in the future.

Venetian Sunrise - in Venice, I got up at the crack of dawn and was lucky enough to catch the sunrise as the fog rolled over Venice. I felt like it was a dynamic beautiful shot of a beautiful-looking city, and it felt right for the Italy Category.

It's lovely to be officially recognised for my work and to gain some form of feedback from well-established photographers. It has inspired me to continue pursuing photography and fine art and it has led to calls or inquiries from press and private commissions.

Sebastien Nagy, Brad Walls, and Hugo Healy.

To not overthink the edit, to go with imagery I like to get my work out there, and not to be too concerned about perfection. I have 10s of thousands of photos but not always enough time to edit to standards at which I'd like to share. I've had to feel more comfortable being iterative and just sharing my work more so others can see it.

Just get snapping and enjoy the learning journey, and definitely experiment and stay persistent!

Follow your curiosity energy and stick with it!

I spend a lot of time on YouTube and looking for inspiring photos on Instagram to give me new ideas for things and images I'd like to shoot. The challenge is finding the time to do everything!

Just a heartfelt thanks for taking the time to check out my work, it means a lot!