Pictures by # the Stormpilot

“The most intensive feeling comes right at the start. When the aeroplane suddenly accelerates and I’m pressed into my seat in the cockpit. First the front, and then the back wheels lose contact with the ground. No matter how often I experience this moment, it never feels routine.”

Santiago Borja
#THESTORMPILOT

Breathtaking photographs of thunder, lightning, storms, and other natural phenomena, captured by pilot Santiago Borja from his cockpit.

As a pilot, Santiago Borja flies around the globe every day, often coming up against wild storms and various types of turbulence. In case of such encounters, Borja the “Stormpilot” always keeps his camera in the cockpit, capturing breathtaking images of the very center of the storm—swirling clouds, up-close lightning bolts, a surreal ghostly glow, and somewhere thousands of miles below, the flickering of civilization in the rain. Santiago’s captivating aerial storm photographs, featured in a number of prestigious galleries, are brought together for the first time in this book, accompanied by lively and informative texts about the dramatic weather phenomena his photos reveal. For anyone captivated by life above the clouds and the violent beauty of nature, Borja’s images offer awesome insights into a tempestuous world.

SANTIAGO BORJA is a pilot, based in Quito, Ecuador. His “Storm Portraits” from the cockpit have won numerous awards and hang in a number of prestigious galleries worldwide.