Tom de Waart is a Pilot and Travel Photographer Whose Photos You Need to See

By
Robin S
-

Being a pilot is an amazing career for people who love to travel for a living. It’s not easy to become one, but when you do, you get the opportunity to see places you probably never would otherwise.

Pilot Tom Franklin de Waart decided to share what he sees with the rest of the world through travel photography that you can see on his social media.

“My name is Tom Franklin de Waart. I am a semi-professional travel and landscape photographer and a pilot based out of Hong Kong. I try to fly around the world not only for work but also on my time off. This allows me to capture the finest landscapes and those valuable travel moments. Capturing a place and showing its vastness is my goal and therefore sometimes I need multiple tries before getting the required result,” he said in an interview for Travel and Destinations.

Make sure to follow him on Instagram if you want to see more!

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The Quiver Trees. Beautiful sunset at the Quiver Trees, I enjoyed my first night on the road sleeping right next these beauties! The quiver tree is also known for looking upside down because the "leaves" look somewhat similar to roots. This tree has a long history of beliefs that it will bring good luck to anybody that worships a tree and nurtures it. Since diamonds are very rich in Namibia, people say that if one of these trees is dug up, one will get diamonds in their lifetime, but since these trees are blessed nobody wants to dig them up. . . . . . . . #nikon_asia #nikonnl #mynikonlife #nikoneurope #nikonhongkong #dronepals #namibia #voyaged #african_portraits #natgeo #natgeotravel #bbctravel #travelanddestination #beautifuldestinations #artofvisuals #earthofficial #traveltheworld #discoverearth #visualsofearth #earthpix #quivertree #worldnomads #travelawesome #artofvisuals #exploremore #earthfocus #wonderfulplaces #living_destinations #createexplore #passionpassport

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New York morning rush. I took this photo 2 weeks ago in New York and went out before sunrise to this amazing spot. Knowing it was going to be cold (-15c) I knew I had to be persistant and keep going, because to take a photo like this you need multiple photos. Also the bridge I am standing on had the subway going over it, creating lots of vibration, so everytime one was crossing the photo was unusable, eventually I managed to get the required amount of photos but wanted to get the full orange morning glow, however I couldn’t deal with the cold anymore, so I only caught a glimpse of the sweet orange. Morale of the story, it was pretty damn cold!!🥶 . . . . #newyork_ig #newyorkcity #longexposure_shots #nikonasia #loves_nyc #beautifuldestinations #artofvisuals #nightphotography #voyaged #nikonnl #travelanddestinations #newyorknewyork #topnewyorkphoto #nightphotography_exclusive #rsa_night #citykillerz #night_excl #night_shooterz #way2ill #super_photolongexpo #night_owlz #citybestpics #longexpoelite #longexpo_addiction #mynikonlife #agameoftones #nycityworld #nycprimeshot #nycviews #what_i_saw_in_nyc

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The Gods Falls. From all the photos I had taken in Iceland, this one probably stays my favourite. The amount of work that went into the composition was immense. Nonetheless so much fun, the challenge of these much photographed places always comes down to giving it your personal touch, and with the help of a friend traveling together with me and some neutral density filters we managed to get a very unique and quality shot (IMO). . . . . . . . . #nikonasia #nikonjapan #nikonnl #mynikonlife #nikonmea #earth_focus #superphoto_longexpo #globalnightsquad #visiticeland #travelanddestinations #beautifuldestinations #voyaged #amazing_longexpo #earth_shotz #tlpicks #wonderful_places #worldnomads #earthfocus #earthofficial #iceland #longexposure_shots #artofvisuals #cnntravel #earthpix #icelandtravel #agameoftones #travelawesome #ourplanetdaily #longexpo_addiction #longexpoelite

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Solheimasandur Stranded in the middle of nowhere, rotting into perfection. I miss Iceland, I wish there was more time in the world to come back to all this place, but there is so much to see. Mmm maybe I should take some time to explore this incredible volcanic island again in the near future!! Anyone keen to tag along?😜🙏🏻 . . . . . . . . . . #nikonnl #nikonasia #ig_iceland #wonderful_places #longexpoelite #longexpo_addiction #earthfocus #earthofficial #ourplanetdaily #longexposure #worldnomads #tlpicks #earth_shotz #earthoutdoors #earthpix #discoverearth #voyaged #depthsofearth #artofvisuals #awesome_photographers #stayandwander #beautifuldestinations #travelanddestinations #nightphotography #night_excl #night_owlz #icelandtravel #iceland #cnntravel #mynikonlife

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Under the bridge. Peace returns in the early hours of the city of Fenghuang in China. Where incredibly loud music is ruling the streets, the mornings are completely opposite poles, with nobody around. Finally able to enjoy the rustic view of an ancient Chinese city. . . . . . . . . . #nikonasia #mynikonlife #nikonhongkong #nikonjapan #earthoutdoors #earthpix #beautifuldestinations #artofvisuals #travelanddestinations #tlpicks #worldnomads #discoverearth #earthofficial #earthfocus #ourplanetdaily #awesomeearth #awesome_photographers #passionpassport #stayandwander #wonderful_places #voyaged #chinatravel #chinadestinations #cnntravel #folkscenery #china #nikonjapan #nikoneurope

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Oahu’s road into the mountain. When driving this road you don’t realize how stunning it looks when seen from above. The views after a long hike which turned out to be a 9 hr return hike (yes we did the long way up) did pay off. Me visiting this place for the second time, but this time I had completely different weather. Great to see it in these conditions as well! . . . . . . . . . . #travelawesome #beautifuldestinations #artofvisuals #voyaged #tlpicks #nikonnl #discoverearth #alohaoutdoors #earthfocus #earthofficial #havealohawilltravel #earthpix #cnntravel #ourplanetdaily #zoomnl #passionpassport #awesomeearth #remotexpeditions #hawaiitag #stayandwander #zoomnl_landschap #hawaiistagram #folkscenery #travelanddestinations #mynikonlife #nikonasia #lethawaiihappen #worldnomads #nakedhawaii

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Pink beach of Flores. We were advised to not go to the official Pink Beach spot by our boat crew since they were claiming the sand isn’t as pink as it used to be. They said they knew a better beach, although smaller still contains the real pink color, and it was a success. Why is it pink? The beach gets its unique colour from microscopic organisms called Foraminifera. They produce a red pigment of the coral reefs. That's why locals call it the Red Beach. When the small pieces of the coral combine with white sand, it creates the soft pink tint, which is visible on the shore. #passionpassport #voyaged #travelanddestinations #artofvisuals #wonderfulindonesia #earthpix #livefolkindonesia #tourtheplanet #theimaged #globalcapture #nakedplanet #awesomeglobe #beautifuldestinations #discoverindonesia #visualsofearth #wonderful_places #bestvacations #tlpicks #dronepals #earthfocus #discoverearth #ig_color #natgeotravel #traveltheworld #lonelyplanet #stayandwander #getlost #indonesia #flores #pinkbeach

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Mysterious forest. NOTE❗️: this is a panorama Zhangjiajie National Forest is one of the most unreal places I have traveled to. I enjoyed 4 days in the park and was exhausted when I came back home, this is because I refused to use the cable car lift carrying thousands of tourists up and forts, therefore I hiked a lot. Another reason why I did this is because I didn’t want to miss any opportunity for a great landscape photo, since China isn’t allowing lots of location apps I couldn’t fully prepare my trip and locations. Also having some time to yourself in nature is always nice. Another very important aspect of hiking in this photo is that the last cable car going down is prior to sunset. This gave me the full viewing platform all by myself with one other photographer, this did mean that I had to hike down about 1,5/2 hours in the dark on slippery slopes, being eaten alive by musquitos. This shot is taken just before sunset. The whole day it was horribly cloudy and it didnt looked like the sun was going to reveal itself, however miracously it did and the clouds suddenly faded. Perfect! This gave me the beautiful moody vibe I wanted to see in this mysterious landscape! #passionpassport #voyaged #travelanddestinations #artofvisuals #chinadestinations #earthpix #beautyofnature #tourtheplanet #theimaged #globalcapture #nakedplanet #awesomeglobe #beautifuldestinations #natgeoyourshot #visualsofearth #wonderful_places #mynikonlife #tlpicks #nikonasia #earthfocus #discoverearth #natureperfection #natgeotravel #traveltheworld #lonelyplanet #stayandwander #zoomnl_landschap #china #avatarmountians #nikonnl

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70 islands. On a beautiful scenic flight over the Rock Islands of Palau with the doors off I was able to take some very clear and crisp shots, this is the picturesque area of the protected 70 islands preserve which is off limits to any outside visitors, except rangers and conservation teams. Due to the fact that these islands are being used by turtles as nesting grounds. Palau is positioned in the Western Pacific Ocean and is made up by a chain of 200 islands, but only 8 are permanently inhibited. The people of Palau are very proud and protective of their beautiful grounds and oceans since they know they are surrounded by beauty that is known to no other, it’s no wonder that the rock islands of Palau are listed as UNESCO World Heritage. #passionpassport #voyaged #travelanddestinations #artofvisuals #earthpix #awesome_earthpix #earthofficial #cnacelebrateasia #globalcapture #nakedplanet #awesomeglobe #beautifuldestinations #natgeotravel #wonderful_places #mynikonlife #tlpicks #nikonasia #earthfocus #discoverearth #natureperfection #nikoneurope #traveltheworld #lonelyplanet #stayandwander #nikonnl #unescoworldheritage #palau #earthofficial #natgeo #roamtheplanet

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