Aerial photographs let us see things that may be hidden from us down on the ground, or show us that the layout of the land is quite different than we'd imagined.

These fantastic images were taken by Jason Hawkes, one of the country's best-known aerial photographers, for a new book called The Isle of Wight and Hampshire Coast From The Air.

He flew along the 34-mile stretch of coastline from Highcliffe on the Dorset border to Chichester Harbour, capturing everything from busy commercial ports to peaceful wildlife havens.

From his base near London, Jason travels worldwide to produce images for books, advertising and design.

He says: 'The pictures in the book were taken over three or four days back in July. I hired a helicopter and pilot and when the weather looked good we met up early in the morning.

'When I'm taking aerial pictures I fly with the door off and wear a harness.

'All the pictures are shot digitally with GPS plugged into the camera, so when I get back to base I can use Google maps to find out exactly what images I have taken.

'Technology means it's much easier now as I used to have to try to make wobbly notes in the helicopter as we went and then read them back afterwards.'

Jason adds: 'I've been doing aerial photography for 18 years now and I've done more than 30 books. I don't like the flying so much – although sometimes it can be fun – but going up in the air gives you a much more interesting perspective.'

The Isle of Wight and Hampshire Coast From The Air is published by Halsgrove, priced £14.99.