Paris, France

Though I’d encountered his remarkable aerial photography a number of times during the past decade, I was completely blown away when I received a gift copy of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s tome Earth From Above as a speaker gift at the AIGA conference in Vancouver five years ago. Two years ago, Ev and I experienced Yann’s work in a large outdoor exhibit installation of 150 prints in Melbourne (an exhibit which will come to New York in May and June of 2009). Yann’s unique views of our planet aim to inspire people to think globally about sustainable living. Read about the upcoming New York show here. Visit the official websites of Yann Arthus-Bertrand here. Download 2000 incredible wallpaper images here.

Images (© Yann Arthus-Bertrand): 1) A mangrove swamp near the town of Voh in New Caledonia, a group of Pacific islands covering 7,000 square miles (18,575 square km)—nature has carved a clearing in the form of a heart. 2) A worker resting on bales of cotton, Thonakaha, Korhogo, Ivory Coast. Cotton crops occupy approximately 335,000 square kilometers worldwide, and use nearly one quarter of all pesticides sold.