Alex MacLean

Books

  • Introduction by Bill McKibbenBirkhauser, Basel 2020The rise in sea level is a visible and remorseless indicator of global warming, the consequences of which can be experienced worldwide – in contrast to other effects of the climate crisis that are not yet noticeable at a global scale.The book illustrates, in an impressive way, the ecological, commercial, and social impact associated with the rise in sea levels, drawing examples from Maine to Texas along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico: MacLean documented this region from his Cessna airplane between 2005 and 2018 using large-format aerial photography. The pictures illustrate the different conditions of the areas documented before and after major weather events, providing evidence of how dramatically geography and landscape are altered by climate change.To purchase the book, click here.Limited edition prints of images from IMPACT: The Effect of Climate Change on Coastlines are available. Please contact the studio for more information.
  • In 2014, Alex MacLean and Daniel Grossman flew over oil production centers in the US and Canada. They circled over tar sands deposits of northern Alberta, refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, and the pipelines and tank farms linking them. What they saw from above was an integrated, continent-spanning system that powers our lives and threatens our climate. See for yourself what they discovered in Supply + Demand.To purchase the book, click here.
  • Introduction by Robert Campbell. Princeton Architectural Press, New York 2012Dominique Carré éditeur / Editions La Découverte, Paris 2012Pilot and photographer Alex MacLean has flown his plane over large areas of the United States, documenting the landscape from beautiful agricultural patterns to geometric city grids. In his new book, he directs his lens at the rooftops of New York City, showing the great complexity and life of the roofs of New York's buildings. Depicting not only the city's famous water towers, but pools, tennis courts, gardens, sunbathers, art, and restaurants up in the air, MacLean's powerful images give readers a glimpse of a part of the city that usually remains hidden. His photographs leave little doubt about New York City's {quote}green{quote} potential and the belief that improved outdoor spaces above lead to more livable cities below. Maps and captions help the reader to easily locate the photographs, and an essay by Robert Campbell puts MacLean's work into context. Whether you are new to the city native born, this fascinating look at hidden New York will be a revelation.To purchase this book please contact the studio for ordering information or click here. Read Reviews for Up on the Roof: New York's Hidden Skyline Spaces:New York TimesThe Daily MailNew York MagazineThe Slate Book ReviewThe Daily BeastThe IndependentComplexThe Wall Street JournalLife and TimesLimited edition prints of images from Up on the Roof: New York's Hidden Sykline Spaces are available. Please contact the studio for more information.
  • Éditions La DécouverteWith a photo essay by Gilles A. Tiberghien. Dominique Carré éditeur / La Découverte, ParisBy studying photography through the window of his plane for thirty years, Alex MacLean has developed a rare ability to make us understand the conflict between the planet and the wild nature of our cultural habits. Throughout the seemingly endless expanses he travels tirelessly, he strives to identify, mark the landscape (whether of topographical, political, economic or cultural) that, for better or for worse, show our ability to adapt to the territories where we operate.A pilot himself, as well as an architect and urban planner trained at Harvard University, he illustrates comprehensively and descriptively the way we live - in the truest sense - with the planet.Selected among thousands of images, this book brings together a selection of some of the best of Alex MacLean.This book is currently available in French only. Please contact the studio for information on how to order.
  • With a photo essay by Wolfgang KempSchirmer/Mosel Publishers, Munich2010Las Vegas and Venice from the air:Two cities dependent on water in overwhelmingly beautiful pictures.In his new illustrated book, American pilot and photographer Alex MacLean devotes himself to two cities that have more in common than the first two letters of their names: Venice and (Las) Vegas. Both exist in a difficult natural environment: one in salt water and the other in the desert. It requires enormous energy resources to keep them alive in locations hostile to settlement. Both cities are mythical places and, by virtue of their architecture and histories, magnets for mass tourism from all over the world.Alex MacLean is the first person to attempt a visual comparison between these cities from the air, a comparison that opens our eyes to their structural similarities. In his latest illustrated book, he produces pictures of immense aesthetic power. At the same time, they illustrate the fatal dangers to which both cities are exposed through uncontrolled land speculation, thoughtless leisure and consumer activities, and a profligate approach to natural resources. Venice has developed over centuries, Las Vegas within a few decades – today, both cities are artificial structures whose natural development is blocked by man's interference. And whilst Venice threatens to drown, Vegas' existence is in acute danger due to a lack of water. Alex MacLean's images document the artificial measures man uses to stave off the catastrophic effects of global warming and flawed urban planning: in Venice, {quote}M.O.S.E{quote}, a large-scale project aimed at keeping the permanently rising floodwaters from the lagoon by means of a water-retaining structure. In Las Vegas it is the Hoover Dam the city is hooked up to like a patient to a drip, the United States' largest concrete dam being expected to quench this casino city's utterly insatiable thirst for water whilst in turn the water table continues to sink inexorably. Wolfgang Kemp, Professor of Art History in Hamburg, has written a stirring essay on the photographs of Alex MacLean for the book. Kemp accurately describes the photographer as an {quote}aerial wanderer{quote} who supplies proof “taken from thin air” of the fateful effects of man’s far-reaching encroachments.At the same time, the author provides an informative insight into the development and the history of both places, whose common characteristics he summarizes as follows: {quote}isolated, marginal, extreme, excessive, charming, fairytale-like, artificial, symbolically charged{quote}.Schirmer/Mosel Press DepartmentUlrike Westphal / press@schirmer-mosel.com / 0049 89-212 670 0Limited edition prints of images from Vegas / Venice are available. Please contact the studio for more information.
  • Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Video Interview with Alex MacLean(pop-ups must be enabled)Video by Stone Media ProsAlex MacLean’s aerial photographs have captured the evolution of the American landscape and the complex relationship between its natural and constructed environments that contribute to climate change. Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point by Alex S. MacLean, Introduction by Bill McKibben (Abrams; October 2008; 336 pages; U.S, $45.00; CAN $48.95) is an ambitious and visually breathtaking catalog of the extraordinary patterns and profound physical consequences brought about by natural processes and human intervention. “Alex MacLean’s pictures are an irreplaceable document bearing testimony to the precise forces now undermining our only planet. May they help give us the insight to make the changes that we must,” writes Bill McKibben, one of the pioneers of the environmental movement, in the book’s introduction. The book allows readers to visualize climate change and our culture's excessive use of resources and energy, which account for our oversized carbon footprint. It demonstrates the extent to which the human ecosystem, and our economic and social well being, are dependant upon our wise use of land and its resources.Over is divided into sections covering such topics as Atmosphere; Way of Life; Automobile Dependency; Electricity Generation; Deserts; Water Use; Sea-Level Rise; Waste and Recycling; and Urbanism. The spectacular photographs featured include large-scale luxury housing developments and golf courses in Nevada; massive highway interchanges in Arizona; and gasoline refineries in Texas. Readers will also see impressive aerial shots of Hurricane Katrina wreckage and coastal damage in Mississippi and Louisiana; a huge municipal compost facility in Chicago; and New York City’s first green building, the Hearst Tower.MacLean’s powerful photographs and insightful text make it clear that maintenance of the current American lifestyle is incompatible with a planet of diminishing natural resources and a finite atmosphere. Over compels us all to reconsider our basic assumptions about how we live, work, and play; and reveals that, while the challenges we face today are not insurmountable, the future depends on our collective vision, passion, and commitment. Please click here to order a copy. This book is also available in French, German and Italian language editions. Limited edition prints of images from OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point are available. Please contact the studio for more information.
  • Home Page
  • Portfolio
    • New Work: Sea Level Rise
    • Agriculture
    • Beach
    • Deserting
    • Dwelling
    • Energy + Waste
    • Flowers
    • Recreation + Play
    • Rooftops
    • Transportation
    • Editorial
  • Exhibitions
  • Books
  • Publications
  • GALLERY REPRESENTATION
  • Stock Archive / LANDSLIDES
  • About
    • Biography
    • Resume
  • CONTACT

(c) 2015 Alex S. MacLean/ Landslides Aerial Photography. Site design © 2010-2025 Neon Sky Creative Media