Yi Sun, born in 1982 in China and moved to the UK in the millennia. Yi is a multi-talented individual with a rare combination of a scientific and fine art career. In 2009, with a highly competitive scholarship, Yi obtained a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge. He now leads his own research group at the University of Birmingham trying to design novel therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases.
From a young age, Yi showed a deep attraction to visual arts. This combines with his love for Mother Nature motivated him to become an aerial photographer. Yi’s approach to aerial photography is very academic, analytical with a sense of artistic romance. He strives for the best composition and is unafraid of using bold colour to provoke deep emotions from his viewers. He focuses both on untamed unmanipulated wilderness as well as modern human race’s influence on our planet. Through the creation of stunning photographic arts, he wants to raise the awareness of overlooked environmental issues and stimulate the love for our beautiful but fragile planet.
His photographs are usually created flying in light aircraft or helicopter with open or no doors. He has a signature style of shooting straight down at the landscape while the aircraft is doing spinning aerobatic manoeuvres. This often requires him to compose and execute images in a split second. Yi focuses on creating truly unique images. With the influence of modern abstract art, he uses simple but strong composition and colours. For this reason, his arts often has the visual appearance of contemporary abstract paintings.
Through decades of disciplined self-reflective process, Yi has become an internationally recognised aerial photographer winning many highly prestigious photography awards. Yi’s photographic journey took him to more than 30 countries including harsh desert, vast oceans, calm lakes, winding rivers, alien volcanic formations, vivid rainforests, and magnificent glaciers.
Exhibition:
2020 Solo exhibition “Earth’s Healing Scars”, The Bosham Gallery, UK
2020 Solo exhibition “Earth’s Healing Scars”, The Taunus Foto Galerie, Bad Homburg, Germany
Selected Awards:
2020 Earth Photo Awards and Exhibition Finalist, organised by the Royal Geographical Society and Forestry England
2019 The Prix de la Photographie Paris (Px3) awards, 1st Prize in Professional Fine Art Category
2019 Earth Photo Awards and Exhibition Finalist, organised by the Royal Geographical Society and Forestry England
2018 International Photography Awards (IPA), 1st and 2nd places in Professional Nature Category
2018 Earth Photo Awards and Exhibition Finalist, organised by the Royal Geographical Society and Forestry England
2018 Chromatic Photo Awards, 2nd Prize in Professional Environmental Category
2017 Neutral Density Photography (ND) awards, 2 categories 1st and 2nd Prizes, and ND Nature Photographer of the Year
2017 The Prix de la Photographie Paris (Px3) awards, 1st Prize in Professional Nature Category
2016 Px3 awards, overall 1st Prize in Professional Nature Category
2016 ND awards, 2nd Prize in Professional Nature Category
2015 ND awards, 2 categories 1st Prize and ND Fine Art Photographer of the Year
2015 Px3 awards, 1st Prize in Professional Fine Art Category
2015, 2016 & 2017 International Landscape Photographer of the Year (ILPOY) awards, included in the Top 101 photographs
2014, 2015 & 2016, National Geographic Travel Photo Contest, selected as editors' favourites.
Website: www.yisunphotography.com
Instagram: @yisunphotography