Photographer pilot shares incredible photos from the cockpit at 37,000 feet

AMSTERDAM – Christiaan van Heijst, a Dutch Instagram-famous cargo pilot, has a treat for his followers on social media in the shape of incredible photos of thunderstorms, blinding sunrises, and the Northern Lights.

The pilot, who is famous for his travel blog and photography, has racked up 8,000 hours of flying time.

The 34-year-old flies the Boeing 747-8 and -400 cargo planes and takes photos of the incredible views he enjoys from the cockpit.

Van Heijst has a 58K subscriber on his Instagram account.

Here’s what the Dutch pilot has so far shared with on the social media:

Overflying the Bay Area in the middle of a clear night. The city of San Francisco with the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the city of Oakland are clearly visible. #sanfrancisco #sfo #california #oakland #alcatraz #usa #night #nightphoto #photoaday #photodaily #photography #photoart #photooftheday #flight #flying #piloteye #pilotview #instagood #instaphoto #instapic #instaview #nikon #d800 #jpcvanheijst

A post shared by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Jan 16, 2017 at 1:51pm PST

The bright milky way is slowly setting over the Pacific Ocean, with the city lights of San Francisco and the Bay Area of California in the distance, on our flight from Anchorage to Los Angeles. The billions and billions of stars that form our Galaxy are visible as a milky band along the night sky, hence called the milky way. For about 6 months of the year, the night sky is facing the galactic core; the brightest part that gives the best photographic opportunities for long exposures. #galaxy #nightphotography #nightsky #night #stars #star #milkyway #sfo #sanfrancisco #california #usa #boeing #747 #cockpitview #flightdeckview #cockpit #view #avgeek #aviation #flight #flying #instagood #instaaviation #instagramaviation #instaphoto #instastars #instanight #jpcvanheijst #nikon #d800

A post shared by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Oct 18, 2016 at 9:10am PDT

A long exposure shot over the dark Sinai peninsula in Egypt. When the air is completely stable, sometimes its possible to make photos with extremely long exposures so the camera can catch every bit of light that’s out there. Far away cities, camp fires and settlements on the ground, but most of all the countless billions of stars that paint the sky high above. At certain times in the year, we can look into the core of our own galaxy, which shows like a long band of ‘milky’ light, hence the name Milky Way. A huge concentration of so many stars and nebulae that all are spread out over distances our human brain can simply not comprehend. #stars #milkyway #nightlife #nightphotography #nightshot #milkyway #galaxy #nightflight #egypt #longexposure #longexposure_shots #aviation #flight #flying #jpcvanheijst #nikon #d800 #instasky, #instagramaviation #avgeek #space #photography

A post shared by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Sep 24, 2016 at 11:27pm PDT

A massive display of St Elmo’s fire on our windscreen during our night flight over the Brazilian Amazon. Caused by the huge buildup of static around the airplane from the clouds around us, it shows a bright purple and pink corona discharge of luminous plasma around the windscreen and other parts of the airplane. Normally quite harmless, but it could potentially indicate an impending lightning strike on the cockpit windows. #stelmosfire #airplane #aircraft #boeing #boeing747 #747 #cockpit #flightdeck #weather #nature #cloud #cloudporn #crewlife #pilotviews #avgeek #aviation #flight #flying #static #storm #lightning #instaweather #instagramweather #instaaviation #instagramaviation #instadaily #instagood #instaphoto #jpcvanheijst #nikon

A post shared by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Sep 27, 2016 at 10:41pm PDT

Another shot of my colleague Luca’s last flight last week. While we left Montreal behind us, we begin to prepare for the Oceanic crossing that’s up ahead. A nearly full moon guiding the way, some faint Northern Lights far up North and the dim light that signals the beginning of a new day. A perfect last flight. #flight #aviation #airplane #cockpit #pilot #femalepilot #nightflight #moon #moonlight #boeing #boeing747 #747 #instagramaviation #instadaily #instalike #instagood #flying #jpcvanheijst #nikon #d800 #canada #people

A post shared by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Aug 5, 2016 at 4:30am PDT

Overflying the amazing landscapes of Turkmenistan on a beautiful spring day. Blue and turqoise lagoons and lakes, white puffy clouds and dry sand dunes for as far as the eye can see. #turkmenistan #desert #türkmenistan #landscape #landscapephotography #ocean #lakes #water #nature #landscapelover #photoart #artphotography #piloteye #pilotview #world #aerialphotography #aerialphoto #instagood #instalandscape #instaphoto #nikon #d800 #jpcvanheijst

A post shared by Christiaan van Heijst (@jpcvanheijst) on Apr 13, 2017 at 8:53am PDT

The pilot-photographer used these cameras equipment to take mesmerising pictures.

• Nikon D850
• Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye
• Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII
• Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6

In 2016  Van’s first photo book ‘Cargopilot’ was published and became a major success with three print runs within one year.

This article was originally published on Business Insider.