Knowing that it was only a matter of time before drone photography was restricted or even banned, New Zealand-based photographer Amos Chapple set out on a world tour in 2013, travelling the globe over a period of 18 months while he "legally" took aerial shots at famous tourist attractions around the world.

For this project, Chapple used a quad-copter to which he attached his own camera. A quad-copter flies autonomously and uses only the computing power of a smartphone or a remote control. "I was reading about the drone laws coming into play throughout Europe and realised the value of these images," Chapple wrote to us on email.

Today, these photos would be illegal as many of these spots and other tourist attractions are off-limits for drones.  The only place in which he encountered any problems with local authorities, he wrote, was when he visited the Taj Mahal in Agra.


Taj Mahal, Agra, India
At the Taj though, things were very different.


Chapple started off at New Zealand's largest daily newspaper in 2003. "After two years chasing news I took a full-time position shooting UNESCO World Heritage sites. In 2012, I went freelance but kept up the travel", Chapple said. He is now a regular contributor to publications such as The Guardian and The Atlantic.



St. Petersburg, Russia
In the early days (2013) you could fly drones pretty well anywhere.


Over these 18 months, Amos visited 16 different countries that included India, Spain, France, New Zealand, Russia, Italy, Georgia, The Netherlands and Turkey. Many of the photos are one of a kind.

In an interview with Scroll, this is what Chapple had to say about the project and the response.

How was the drone acquired and how does it take pictures?
The drone I fly is purchasable from any major city nowadays. The drone I use doesn’t have its own camera so I attach my own small camera to the bottom of the drone. I don’t want to give too much information away about the method I use as it’s taken me a LOT of trial and error and I want to keep it to myself for now.


Yerevan, Armenia
There’s a lot of bad stuff that went down between Turkey & Armenia 100 years ago, this statue is looking, sword in hand, at Mt. Ararat – once the pride of Yerevan but now lying within Turkish territory.


What does it take to fly a drone and were there any problems with local authorities in the countries you visited?
Flying the drone is very very easy, that’s why I’m glad there are strict rules coming into place. A child could operate it. I have had a drone fail in midair once before. The earliest model had a design flaw which caused a propeller to fly off. The only time I had problems with the authorities was at the Taj Mahal, the police force there are extremely diligent. I was caught once and warned I would be prosecuted if I tried it again.


Sagrat Cor Church, Barcelona, Spain
Twenty minutes later a thunderstorm hit the city.


What is the range of a drone?
Around 300 metres but I don’t like flying it high, most of my pictures were shot from around 30-50 metres up. 

Any problems with getting the drone from one place to another?
You’re free to travel with them for now. I travel with only a carry-on bag so I don’t have many clothes, but always have my drone with me.


Katskhi Pillar, Georgia
If you look close you can see the ladder. The terrifying ladder which I eventually had to climb.


How long did it take you to compile these images? What has been the feedback so far?
Around two years. Overwhelming. Frankly, the internet can be a ruthless place for photographers to display their work but people were genuinely moved by the images. It’s not often you elicit such a powerful response from people.


Sagrada Famila, Barcelona, Spain
Octagonal city blocks allow for the light, spacious street corners which make al fresco beer & tapas in the town such a delight.


What was your favorite part about using the drone?
Photographing structures from angles they had never been seen through all the centuries they had stood there.


Budapest, Hungary
The barge in the centre of the river is packed full of fireworks. An hour after this pic they were sent booming into the night sky to celebrate the country’s national day.



Mumbai, India
Known to the locals as "Hill 3" this knoll jutting above Mumbai's northern slums is no more valuable than the land below. Access to running water, which the hill lacks, is more valuable than any view.



What is your most memorable experience from all of these places?

In Varanasi, I was teasing a monkey with the drone and got into a very bad situation.  But let me tell you the full story about my experience. I’d gotten up early to take a picture with the drone. I got set up and was waiting for the sunrise but it was just a grey, dreary morning, not worth photographing. I was sitting there wondering what to do when I saw a monkey on the rooftop across from me. I figured I’d give the guy a thrill by flying the drone over to him.  I launched and cruised it out over this monkey. For a few seconds it was hovering above him and he was super interested – jumping up & down, running back and forth. Then suddenly he started looking up at the drone, then straight at me, like.. “I’m onto you buddy”.


I got uneasy and started flying the drone back over towards my building but he was hopping and leaping along underneath it getting closer to me. I realised the gap between my building and his was a pretty easy leap for a monkey so, with the drone just hanging between us I picked up my umbrella and started waving it around like “Yaargh! Stay back!” . At that point I got panicky when I saw two more monkeys bounding across towards us. One of the monkeys was a big alpha male – all muscle and teeth, so as they were leaping their way across the rooftops I was scrambling to pick all my stuff up with one hand, getting ready to run back to the door into the stairwell . As I landed the drone the big monkey leapt straight over the gap and the other two monkeys then leapt over all pumped up, like "not so tough now huh?”


I scooped up the drone then started backing towards the door while the three monkeys were fanning out around me. Luckily it was a swing door which hadn’t latched shut so I crashed backward into it then kicked it shut with the monkeys leaping up and down to see in. When I put my face up to the glass one of them lashed out with his hand right at my face. Don’t mess with Rhesus Macaques.




Summer Garden, central St. Petersburg, Russia
Visitors walk on fallen leaves in the Summer Garden, central St. Petersburg’s oldest Park.




Have you done any post-processing or editing to the photos?
I adjust the contrast & crop the images but nothing that wouldn’t be accepted into a newspaper.


The Palace at Peterhof, Russia
In the background is the frozen Gulf of Finland. If you want to know bleak, head to that wasteland on a dark winter’s day.



Cathedral of Christ, Moscow, Russia
Many Finnish laborers were employed in the Cathedral’s troubled 40-year construction, resulting in the Finnish idiom “To build like St. Isaac’s” in reference to something taking far longer than it should.


Cover Image: St. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Petergof


Photo credits: Amos Chapple.