Drone photography isn’t always just about scale, emotion, or texture. It can also include the stories behind the shots. I always want images to share a story or perspective with my audience, but there are also times when the way I capture the shot is just as meaningful as the subject it’s depicting.
These images, each taken by a drone, are examples of just that. The stories behind them are equally as interesting as the final visual products.
Check out these seven shots that are favorites here at Extreme Aerial Productions. While we do plenty of drone photography in Phoenix, our home base, we’ve also been able to take incredible photos all over Arizona and beyond. We hope you’ll appreciate the narratives of how these photos were taken as much as we enjoyed working on them.
*Looking for Phoenix drone companies or aerial photography in Arizona? Contact EAP today!
Image 1: It displays “Rio Verde” spelled out, so what’s the big deal? Number one, it was our first approved nighttime flight with a drone, and a wonderful group of volunteers originally wanted a shot of a painted tee-box promoting the Rio Verde area. This blossomed into a Christmas shot of glowing luminaries on the green of their favorite hole. Number two, it took ages to set up and came out so well, representing a true combination of imagination, effort and tech.
Image 2: This is an awesome picture and a first-ever in Prescott, Arizona. We were privileged to photograph the city’s famed courthouse at night. Working in conjunction with the filming office, our FAA waiver, and cooperation from local stores, we were able to take a night shot of the Prescott Courthouse, which was built back in 1916. Many hands make light work, and it took a whole lotta help to pull this image off! It’s one of my favorite landmark shots ever, especially of historic Arizona.
Image 3: Here we’re focused on mood, textures, and vanishing lines. This shot of The Estancia Club with Pinnacle Peak Mountain in the background was shot in 2016 and racked up 1.2 million views on Google Plus before Google Plus vanished. The view inspired me to really push the drone photography element on my own time after client engagements.
Image 4: This image is a fun one for me because it features vanishing lines, verticals, and a huge crane that looks striking against the sun. This shot was taken for a construction client, and we managed to capture the building at just the right moment, with the sun shining beautifully behind the crane. This was photographed in restricted airspace using our FAA approvals.
Image 5: It’s an iconic shot I have always wanted to take, but due to airspace, PGA, and golf restrictions, it took us a while to get the approval we needed to fly and film the famed 16th hole at the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Having been a spectator there for years, capturing this shot was a personal bucket list item for me.
Image 6: This one displays a relatively new type of project for us, as we only recently received our night waiver. Since then, our professional drone pilots have been capturing drone images at lots of evening events. Filming fireworks, frozen and in movement, is a challenge. We were excited to take our skills to the next level and capture long exposures while mid-flight.
Image 7: This last image shows my most recent and favorite shot, of sunrise at the Wigwam resort. This image shows the landscape just as I saw it, and it barely required any work post-flight. It has water reflections, amazing color, and leaves me with a sense of calm whenever I look at it. Confession: It's also the first image I have ever put on my desktop as a screensaver.