Los Angeles - helicopter
Nataly Osmann

If you ask me about my favorite shot my instant thoughts will probably be about the one we had to shoot above the hills of Hollywood. It’s adventurous and romantic and really reminds me of a scene from James Bond film. And now read on for more details.

Almost every shot is a little story. But the story of this particular one is very unusual. Till the last moment Murad kept the whole shooting process a secret. All I knew was we were going to fly on a helicopter up above the wonderful city of Los Angeles.

Photo: @muradosmann

Photo: @muradosmann

There was a small airfield right next to the Venice-Beach where we were welcomed by the owner and who right away started entertaining us with different stories and showing us his planes and helicopters. He really surprised me by the fact that in their flying school they allow 11-year-old students to fly planes by themselves.

Right at the end of the airfield I noticed two very cute little helicopters. They had a see-through floor and seemed like they were completely made of glass. That was really impressive. We were introduced to a massive Afro-American guy that happened to be the most experienced pilot in the state. He had huge arms, which for some reason inspired me with confidence. Only some seconds later I looked him in the face and notice his big white smile and lots of tiny wrinkles around his eyes.

I had to leave to change into my glamorous dress, which one could easily wear for the Red Carpet event. All this preparation for the shoot could easily be compared with the Oscars ceremony. When I got back to the helicopter I notice our pilot unhinging the doors. To my shocking ‘what was he doing?’ Murad replied that we were going to fly without the doors.

After recovering from shock and realizing that I didn’t really had a choice I comforted myself with the thoughts that a good shot is worth much more than just flying on a helicopter without any doors… A little bit later I had been told to almost completely unfasten my seat belt too, as our mission was to lean out of the helicopter right at that moment when we were above the unforgettable Hollywood sign.

Was it terrifying? You bet! But that was a fear of anticipation for something really great. I have to warn you shouldn't repeat such stunts, this is really dangerous, this is NOT cool, and it wouldn't get you more likes on your social network page, I just want to share with you one of the hundreds of stories about the creating process of a photo for our project.

Photo: @muradosmann

Flights above the Hollywood Hills are restricted because you fly over Hollywood stars’ mansions. We were realizing that we only had few minutes to fly to the legendary sign and take a picture.

As we were approaching the Hollywood sign I could hear Murad talking to the pilot asking him to stop. It was time for me to lean out of the helicopter to take a shot. I shut my eyes and held my breath and tried to lean out. Murad almost had to get out from the helicopter to shoot at the right angle, so he stood on one of the chassis bars. Helicopter flew up to the cherished Hollywood sign as close as possible, and we had a few seconds while it was hovering above it. I was counting to myself: "One, two, three, four, five...» in order not to think about what was happening. And then quickly climbed into the cockpit. The helicopter took a sharp turn flying away. Then I heard Murad’s voice: "The shot has failed". And we’d understood that we would have to do another round. Just a few seconds left. Our helicopter made another U-turn and flew back to the sign. I was petrified but I really wanted all this beauty to be seen in the picture. I looked at the pilot he was absolutely calm chewing a gum and singing some rap. It made me feel a bit more relaxed. We approached the sign again and I leant out again even further this time, praying for a good shot. "One, two, three". Then Murad voice: "Got it!" I got back to the cockpit and felt a relief then started looking out of the window.

Photo: @muradosmann

We were flying back to the sign and Murad spoke into the microphone that we were need take another shot. I reached with my arm to Murad and leant out of the helicopter. My heart was beating in time with the helicopter blades; I couldn’t look down. I was really scared. I couldn't neither catch Murad's hand nor even turn around. The wind seized all my body; I couldn't move. We almost reached the sign. It was time to take the photo and the helicopter hovered above the hills. Finally, I groped Murad's hand and he took some shots. Then the helicopter started to move and made a U-turn. Murad looked at the shot and told from the backseat, that it failed again, and we had to go for another one.

Our pilot was listening to some music and it seemed to me he wasn’t paying any attention to what we was going on behind him. In response to our request to turn around one more time he smiled and reminded that we only had 3 minutes. Both of us got ready. Murad leant out of the helicopter by more then a half of his body standing with one foot on to the helicopter support bar. I leant out too, praying to myself for my seat belt to stay fastened. I got Murad's hand and for a few seconds I was unable to take my eyes off the hills, some sort of magic happened. I realized how symbolical was this place. That somewhere below lived people we often see on the screens of our TV sets and in the cinemas. Murad quickly took a picture, called me back to the seat and the helicopter immediately turned around and flew away from the hills. I only had a chance to look back and to see the hills disappearing.

Where are we right now?

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