My name is Raphael and I’m a 23-year-old photographer and student pilot from Germany.

In the summer of 2013, two good friends of mine and I rented two Cessnas and toured the American Southwest with our backpacks. We slept in motels, a tent or at the airports and I really have to say that it was amazing how hospitable everybody was, the US is a great country for private pilots!

Although it was our primary goal to do some hour-building, I took a lot of pictures along our way through California and Arizona. We started in the greater Los Angeles area and continued to Big Bear, Phoenix, Tucson, Sedona and, finally, Las Vegas. I think it’s amazing how many different landscapes you can discover by only visiting parts of only two states. We used a time-synchronized GPS-Tracker to precisely geotag the pictures afterwards. These are my favorite shots.

More info: Flickr

Our Cessna 172

Malibu Beach, CA

Point Dume, CA

Sherwood Country Club, CA

Thousand Oaks, CA

Thousand Oaks, CA

Newbury Park, CA

Los Angeles Intl. LAX, CA

Los Angeles Intl. LAX, CA

Catalina Airport, CA

Santa Catalina Island, CA

Santa Catalina Island, CA

Santa Catalina Island, CA

Santa Catalina Island, CA

Santa Catalina Island, CA

Sierra Del Oro, CA

Riverside, CA

Big Bear, CA

Woodlands, CA

Woodlands, CA

Yucca Valley, CA

Twentynine Palms, CA

Twentynine Palms, CA

San Bernadino County, CA

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Riverside County, CA

Riverside County, CA

Sonoran Desert, AZ

San Tan Valley, AZ

Theodore Roosevelt Dam, AZ

Horse Mesa, AZ

Yavapai County, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Seven Canyons, AZ

Seven Canyons, AZ

Yavapai County, AZ

Yavapai County, AZ

Yavapai County, AZ

Yavapai County, AZ

Peach Springs, AZ

Mohave County, AZ

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