Artbeats’ Top Selling Clips of 2014

This is our second annual roundup of the most popular shots sold last year. I’ll count down from number 10.

10. Churning Storm Cloud: D001-C043B
    Shot from beneath a tornado-warned supercell, these churning clouds made me want to run for cover. This is why I love shooting supercells, the cloud rotation makes for very unusual and beautiful shots. This huge storm produced a tornado about 15 miles to the south, too far away to reach in time to get a shot.
    

    D001-C043B: Time-lapse supercell storm cloud

9. Aerial of NYC Financial District: NYC209
   This footage was captured in 2006 but is still incredibly popular. Shot with the Sony F950 in the Gyron gyrostabilizer gimbal.

 

8. Colorado Supercell Storm: EST104
   Another tornado-warned storm, this footage shows impressive cloud rotation and is punctuated with a dramatic lightning strike. This clip is from the Epic Storms collection where you can find many more breathtaking storm shots.
   

   EST104: Swirling dark gray supercell cloud with lightning and rain over a prairie landscape, time lapse

 

7. Large Container Ship Flyover: 004-C078
   In the summer of 2010, Artbeats did a helicopter shoot of the beautiful coast of Catalina Island. On the way back across the water to LA, we saw this cargo ship steaming south. It is ironic that it became more popular than all the shots we took of Catalina. At 55 seconds in length, this is the longest clip in the top 10.
   

   004-C078: Close flight over a container ship in open ocean.

    

6. Highway Flyover: A113-C021C
   This lonely highway winding through a forest west of Providence, Rhode Island, was shot with a RED Epic in the fall of 2011. It is over 40 seconds long, which gives an editor lots of options for finding the perfect sweet spot.
   

   A113-C021C: Following a highway through a forest west of Providence, Rhode Island.

    

5. Washington DC Capitol and Mall: A122-C050B
   Flying south looking west over the Capitol building, this shot can represent political power, military might, an evening at the Smithsonian or traditional love of country.
   

   A122-C050B: Orbiting Capitol Hill at night; Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial in rear, Library of Congress in left foreground as clip ends.

    

4. San Quentin Reveal: DHJT100-09
   Opened in 1952, it is the oldest prison in California, located just north of San Francisco. This Maximum-security penitentiary has a stated capacity of 3,082 inmates, yet has a population of 4,233.
   

   DHJT100-09: Flying over the water and across San Quentin Prison yard.

    

3. Sunrise From Space: RBL217
   An image from the very popular Orbital 2 Collection, and a great way to establish the start of a new day. To see more images like these, view all three Orbital Collections.
   

   RBL217: Sunrise over Earth as if seen from space shuttle.

    

2. Sunlit Earth Limb: RBL205
   The popularity of this clip is due to its generic nature. Beautiful and timeless, the image can represent many things, from global concepts, to time-of-day to a background plate that can be layered with a satellite.
   

   RBL205: Clouds over sea and islands as if viewed from space.

    

1. Washington DC Capitol: A123-C030
   This beautiful daytime aerial shows the capitol dome surrounded by museums and other government buildings including Library of Congress, which sits in the foreground. This view clearly displays the height limit restrictions of buildings built in DC. We were thankful as this makes shooting the capitol dome easy from anywhere in the city. To see more Washington DC aerials, click this link.
   

   A123-C030: Dome of the US Capitol and surroundings, Washington DC