It’s always good to get a bit of perspective, and sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in your work, friend and family bubble and forget about the rest of the world.

We’ve brought you Johnny Miller’s Cape Town drone photography before. This time, he’s expanded his series to include Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Durban as well.

Miller got wise to the fact that we often take things for granted and forget about the inequalities that actually exist all around us, whether we see them or not.

In April 2016 he started his Unequal Scenes project to challenge people’s perceptions.

Miller spoke recently with the BBC:

“From the minute you land in Cape Town, you are surrounded by shacks.”

“Literally, tin shacks surround the airport, which you have to drive past for about 10 minutes, until you reach the more affluent suburbs where privileged people (myself included) live.”

Mr Miller continues: “This is the status quo in Cape Town, in South Africa, and in many parts of the world – but that’s a status quo that I’m not OK with.

“To paraphrase Barack Obama, I believe that inequality is the defining challenge of this generation.”

His latest series of photographs, taken using a drone, starkly capture the divide between the rich and the poor in India, Mexico, and here at home.

Ixtapaluca, Mexico City

Santa Fe, Mexico City

Finding the best places to shoot drone photography takes Mr Miller a lot of research. “I identify where to take the photographs through a variety of tools … a combination of census data, maps, news reports, and talking to people.

Mumbai

“Once I identify the areas I want to photograph, I visualize them on Google Earth, and try to map out a flight plan. This includes taking into account air law, air safety, personal safety, battery life, range, weather, angle, time of day, and many more factors.”

The photographs of South Africa really hit home:

Lake Michelle, Masiphumelele, Cape Town

Papwa Sewgolum Golf Course, Durban

Casey Park, Johannesburg

Otto’s Bluff, Pietermaritzburg

Makes you think that maybe this capitalism thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

[source:bbc]