"We're in the Okavango Delta, hovering about 500 feet above this lion," says the 58-year-old Haas, grinning as he recalls that afternoon in Africa. "And the lion looks up at the helicopter and me as if we were a large vulture or something. He just glared at us as if to say, 'I dare you to land. If you land, I will eat you up.' "

Haas did not, of course, land. But he did take the picture. And it's spectacular. The image is one of dozens of arresting shots that make up Through the Eyes of the Gods: An Aerial Vision of Africa, a just-released book of Haas's photos that was published by National Geographic Books. Though Haas still works full-time at Haas Wheat & Partners, this is the fifth photo book he's published in what he calls "a fascinating second career."

The current book, his first collaboration with National Geographic, contains images that, because of their unique aerial perspective, are unlike just about anything taken before of Africa's wilds. On one page, elephants wander along passageways that are hidden in tall swamp grass. On another, a series of rooftops in Lamu Island, Kenya, form a Mondrian-esque quilt of colors. On still another page, hundreds - maybe thousands - of flamingos are seen massed together. And then there's that lion, all alone on the sand.

THE IMAGES ARE IMPRESSIVE enough, but the story of how a business executive came to take them is equally so.

"When I first started taking photos in 1994, I literally did not have a camera," Haas says. He's sitting at a conference table inside National Geographic's Washington, D.C., headquarters, dressed casually in khakis and a blue shirt, his black hair styled in something of a pompadour. Strewn across the table are foreign-language editions of his new book. "So, I went to a photo shop and said, 'I want a simple, foolproof camera, because I want to record what I see on a trip I'm taking to Africa.' To have gone from that point to today, where I have a book out, published in 16 languages and stamped with the coveted golden rectangle of National Geographic, well, I feel like a rookie pitcher who just got into the World Series."