The Salt Series: Tom Hegen’s aerial photography of salt production across Europe

"The production of sea salt is one of the oldest forms of human intervention in natural spaces,” says Hegen, “but we rarely ask where it actually comes from and how it is being produced.” With the use of a drone, Hegen was able to fly above some of Europe’s largest salt production sites and reveal the intricate process that many take for granted.

The images that feature in The Salt Series were taken with the camera pointing directly downwards. The resulting photographs combine vivid colours and geometric shapes to create a series of abstract stills that fall somewhere between art and photography. "I am attracted by the abstraction that comes with the change of perspective; seeing something familiar from a new vantage point that you are not used to. A drone just enables you to see more."

Hegen is one of two winners of the DJI Drone Photography Award and will join Markel Redondo in exhibiting his work at theprintspace gallery in April.