Photographer George Steinmetz takes aerial photos from the seat of a motorized paraglider, capturing spectacular views of the world’s driest places. Over three decades of zooming and snapping above deserts, Steinmetz has shot the Karnasai Valley in Chad, the Taklamakan Desert in China, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia and the driest continent on earth: Antarctica.

His latest book, ‘Desert Air,’ takes us to 27 countries in all, revealing some of the world’s most staggering geology – windswept striations, geometric alien worlds, people living on the edge of the inhabitable – all from a vantage point few have experienced before.

Steinmetz, born in Beverly Hills, first took to the skies after graduating from Stanford in 1979 with a degree in geophysics. His work has been featured in The New Yorker and National Geographic, and he’s previously published two other books: ‘African Air’ and ‘Empty Quarter.’