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An aerial view of a sprawling residential suburb. Rows of similar houses with grey roofs are arranged in a strict grid, separated by straight roads and small green gardens.

Photographer Benedict Redgrove's aerial shots pack a mighty Cold War punch

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Date
27 August 2012

If you’ve ever harboured secret desires to become a spy then you’re in for a treat care of Benedict Redgrove’s espionage-inspired photographs. The international man of mystery (how does he take those aerial shots?) has been amassing a large body of images that evoke the thrill of cold-war plots and international missile crises. The combination of panoramic aerial photographs of US suburbia sat alongside similarly lofty desert-scapes seem to drag those decades-old narratives into a modern context, echoing the east-west tensions with which we’ve all become so familiar.

Quite apart from the political narrative, Benedict’s images look incredible and offer a breathtakingly open sense of perspective to our terminally land-locked species.

An aerial view of a vast, dense urban sprawl under a hazy sky. A wide motorway cuts through the grid of residential streets, filled with slow-moving traffic.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

An aerial view of a sprawling residential suburb. Rows of similar houses are arranged in a tight, repetitive grid separated by straight roads.
Above

Benedict Redgrove: New Work

A large, white rocket rests on a metal support frame inside a bright, industrial hangar. The sleek, pointed vessel is divided into sections, with some internal components visible through gaps in the casing.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

A large white rocket engine section rests on a grey metal support frame. The outer casing is open at both ends, revealing the complex internal machinery and nozzles.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

A light blue vintage van parked in a bright, white warehouse. The side of the vehicle reads “TELEVISION DETECTOR” and a long black antenna is mounted to the roof.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

A blue hovercraft sits inside a bright, white warehouse. The side of the craft features the text “NRDC” and “HOVER SR-N1”.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

An aerial view of a vast, arid landscape. Jagged, dark grey mountains transition into sandy plains carved with winding dry riverbeds.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

An aerial view of a vast, arid mountain range. The landscape is a series of jagged, grey-brown peaks and deep valleys under a hazy sky.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

An aerial view of a vast, arid mountain range. The rugged terrain is composed of deep ridges and dry valleys in shades of grey and brown.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

An aerial view of a sprawling commercial district with several mid-rise office buildings and vast car parks. In the distance, a flat, hazy landscape stretches towards the horizon under a bright, washed-out sky.
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Benedict Redgrove: New Work

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About the Author

James Cartwright

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James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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