'Poolside Tanning,' East Boston, Mass. 2012. (Alex S. MacLean)

Everything may seem chaotic while on the ground, but from high above the United States, landscapes — from fields to flyovers — appear perfectly organized into grids.

This unique perspective is what Alex MacLean’s photo series of aerial landscapes aims to convey.

“I try to understand what underlies the patterns within a photograph, which often tells a story about an environmental process or cultural values,” MacLean told weather.com.

An architect-turned-photographer, MacLean has flown his plane over much of the country to document the landscape.

MacLean got his pilot license while he was in architecture school and used his pilot skills for site analysis work. After he received several commissions to photograph different parts of the world, he began to notice the unusual patterns that “lent themselves to dynamic images about natural and built forms.”

(PHOTOS: Amazing Aerials of Beaches Around the World)

The Massachusetts-based photographer takes his photos, while flying the plane himself.

“The process is as simple as opening the window of the aircraft, handholding the camera, and framing the picture while the aircraft flies along on its own,” he explained.

When he is shooting, he hopes for smooth air and good light. “Weather is very much a factor in my photography, primarily by affecting the quality of light, which is modified by cloud cover, humidity and dust,” said MacLean. “Direct sunshine versus cloud cover very much affects the color and brightness range within a scene. Likewise, winds, turbulence, and temperature affect the environment in the cockpit, thus affecting how well I can stabilize the camera and hold an image within the frame.”

MacLean has taken aerial photos all over the U.S., but his favorite place to shoot is anywhere he hasn’t been to.

“I generally like photographing places I have never seen before and trying to understand both the settlement and its natural forms and how they relate to each other,” he said.

To see more of MacLean’s work visit his site and his Instagram account.