Philipp Schwegler is a young German rotographer: here is his story and his terrific shots collected over the Bavarian Alps

by Nicola Zamperini

It's not so rare that an enthusiast is able to successfully enter the helicopter industry. There are many examples. And if you're 20, you're already chef of your family restaurant and thanks to your photos you're already are a name on social networks, that road can really be less steep.

We talked with the young German Philipp Schwegler, an example of how the right tools, the passion for helicopters and a breathtaking view of the Bavarian Alps may give rise to a real profession.

But Phllipp's future is not only in the camera lens, as he explains in the interview below.

Philipp Schwegler, who are you and what do you do for a living?

I’m 20 years old from Oberstdorf at the southern most point of Germany in the beautiful alps. I work at the time as chef on the mountain lodge of my parent’s at 2.000 m.

When did you start your effort as a rotographer?

I started buying last year for birthday a DSLR camera. Then I made my first attempts with landscapes of mountains and everything else I could get in front of my lens. Trough the mountain lodge of my parents I came the first time in contact with helicopters when I was 3 month old. Then I guess I started my passion for helos. And based on this I have now a good connection to the pilots and loadmasters of Wucher Helicopter and at fall, last year, I got the chance to get onboard with the crew for a whole day. That was the first time I realized that helicopter are a really good subject.

What is your favorite helo?

My absolutely favorite helicopter is the Airbus Helicopter AS350 B3 and all later versions. It’s an absolutely amazing and powerful helicopter and i love to fly them. A short while ago i get the chance to fly the beauty myself with a Flight Instructor next to me. It was an absolutely amazing experience. And i will never forget that day.

What kind of aerial work do you like the most?

I have no special favorite operation. I basically love every kind of mission where a helicopter can be deployed. Especially where a AS350 is involved in operation, no matters if it is a Helilogging, Slingload or Rescue mission.

What is your equipment?

I take my pictures with a Canon EOS 650D with 3 lenses a 10-18mm, a 18-55mm and a 55-250mm lens all with lens hood. All my pictures are taken in RAW, that means that I need to process all my pictures. For this I use Adobe Lightroom and, just for the watermark, I use Adobe Photoshop.

Do you think that social medias will help spreading the importance of aerial work?

Yes indeed. The social media reach so much people and in reason of this you can explain and spread informations about you and your job. That's of course the case of aerial work, social medias can be useful to explain the importance that amazing efforts and the real dimension of that kind of operations, especially in the mountains ore in poor accessible areas.

What are your dreams as a Rotographer?

I want to take some pictures of Heliskiing mission’s in the Alps and another is to make a Photoreport of a business day from the Air Zermatt Bell 429.

You're in your 20's: have you ever dreamed of becoming a helicopter pilot?

Ever since i can remember I just wanted to be a helicopter pilot. Since my childhood I had every week a helicopter around me. Back in january I finished my apprenticeship as chef and in reason of that I have a good back up for bad times. Now I'm gonna spare all the money I can get in order to to start next year in winter 2016-2017 my CPL-H training at NHeli in Sweden.