Jeffrey Milstein, Statue of Liberty.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein‘s aerial photos offer a view of New York City that few residents are able to experience. Using a high-resolution camera, Milstein takes to the skies, hovering above the city in a helicopter to capture stunning bird’s-eye shots of the city’s best-known landmarks.

An exhibition featuring the photos opens this week at Benrubi Gallery in New York that provides new perspectives of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Jeffrey Milstein, Stuyvesant.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

From the air, striking geometric patterns are revealed, such as the elegant, symmetrical design seen in the residential development known as Stuyvesant Town. In Milstein’s work, such grids offer comforting reassurance that despite the chaos of our modern world, city planners continue to do their job with grace and style.

Jeffrey Milstein, Times Square.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

“My earliest aerial photographs were taken while flying a rented Cessna 150 around Los Angeles as a teenager,” the artist told the Telegraph. “I was fascinated by how everything looked from above.”

Jeffrey Milstein, Columbus Circle.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Despite those early artistic endeavors, Milstein’s later work has mainly focused on capturing airplanes in flight. Now, the photographer is once again taking to the skies, shooting from an altitude of 1,000–2,000 feet.

Jeffrey Milstein, Bryant Park.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

“I was interested in documenting the patterns, layering, and complexity of cities, highlighting airports, container ports, recreational facilities, and residential and commercial developments, all of which grow organically over time and are connected by roads and arterial highways like a living organism,” Milstein told the Telegraph.

Although an airplane would be cheaper, the photographer shoots from a helicopter because they can fly slower, and lower to the ground. To capture each shot, he dangles out of the helicopter’s open door with his camera mounted on a gyro stabilizer.

Jeffrey Milstein, Washington Square Park.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

In addition to his aerial views of New York, Milstein has taken similar photographs of Los Angeles and Miami, and has done a series of aerial views of cruise ships.

Jeffrey Milstein, Midtown.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein, Empire State Building.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein, Museum of Natural History.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein, Financial District.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein, Grand Central Terminal.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein, Times Square.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein, Chrysler Building.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein, Metropolitan Museum.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

Jeffrey Milstein, Times Square.
Photo: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex.

“Jeffrey Milstein: NY LA” will be on view at Benrubi Gallery, 5231 West 26th St., New York, July 9–August 22; and at Kopeikin Gallery, 2766 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, July 18–August 22.