Amid the daily deluge of bad news about the environment (Another species lost! Hottest year ever! Air pollution warning!) it’s easy to forget just how beautiful the planet is.

This film by Ben Sturgulewski of Sturgefilm takes the viewer on a breathtaking aerial tour of Alaska during the summer of 2014.

Sturgulewski is a director, cinematographer and storyteller who was born on a remote island in Alaska’s Aleutian Chain and now dedicates his life and work to the “exploration of the world’s wild side, and the people who call it home,” according to the Sturgefilm website.

Trust us, you’re going to want to watch this birds-eye flight in full-screen mode as you take in the splendor of the Land of the Midnight Sun. View Ensia homepage