There are some things you just can’t photograph from the ground.
You can back up.
You can climb a hill.
You can stand on a chair. 😂
But sometimes you need to get WAY up there to really see the whole story!
And that is exactly why I love drone photography.
I’ve Been Flying Drones for 10 Years!
Drone photography isn’t something new for me.
I’ve been flying drones for about 10 years!
But honestly, my obsession with being up in the air started WAY before drones were even a thing.
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted to fly like a bird!
And I actually have a pretty big scar to prove it because, when I was little, I decided I should actually TRY to fly like one.
It did not work out for me. 😂
Hey, I was little, okay?!
Turns out humans don’t fly particularly well on their own.
Who knew?! 😂
But the dream never completely went away.
Someday, I would still love to become an actual pilot and fly a real airplane!
For now?
Flying my drone is about as close as I can get!
I get to put my camera in the sky, fly over places I’ve known my entire life, and see the world from a perspective I could never get standing on the ground.
And hey — the gas is cheap! I just charge the batteries! 😂
Over the last 10 years, I’ve watched drone technology change like crazy, but the thing I’ve always loved about flying has stayed exactly the same:
It lets me see the world differently.
There is something pretty incredible about sending a camera into the sky and suddenly seeing a place you’ve looked at a thousand times from an entirely different perspective.
And living in the Columbia River Gorge?
Well, I didn’t exactly choose this incredible playground — my parents did that for me!
I grew up here.
This is home.
I’ve been looking at these mountains, the Columbia River and this crazy beautiful Gorge my entire life!
And after all these years, getting a camera up into the sky still lets me see my own backyard in ways I never could from the ground!
Hood River Was Basically Made for Drone Photography!
Seriously.
If there were ever a place that deserved to be photographed from above, it’s the Columbia River Gorge!
One minute you’re looking across the Columbia River toward Washington.
The next, you’ve got Mt. Hood rising behind Hood River.
Turn the other direction and there’s Mt. Adams.
Then there are orchards, vineyards, little towns tucked between the hills, winding roads, waterfalls and the Columbia River running right through the middle of everything.
Seeing it from the air still makes me stop and stare.
There’s something about getting above a place you already know and suddenly seeing the entire landscape laid out underneath you.
It makes you see home differently!
Welcome to Hood River — Windsurfing Capital of the World!
But Drone Photography Isn’t Just Pretty Landscapes!
This is where it gets REALLY fun!
A drone can completely change the way I photograph an event.
I photographed and filmed my neighbor Letty’s 50th birthday party, and I also captured some of her husband Alex’s 50th.
A big birthday party is the perfect example of why I love combining regular photography and video with aerial imagery!
On the ground, I can photograph the people.
The hugs.
The laughing.
The ridiculousness.
The decorations.
The mechanical bull!
The little moments happening between people that you would never see from 100 feet in the air.
But then I can put the drone up!
And suddenly you see the WHOLE PARTY!
You see the property.
You see where everybody is gathered.
You see the landscape surrounding them.
You see the scale of everything.
It becomes an entirely different part of the story!
LETTY’S PARTY — DRONE VIDEO
And I love putting those perspectives together because the drone isn’t there to replace what I’m photographing on the ground.
It adds to it!
One gives you the emotion.
The other gives you the world around it.
Together, you actually get to remember what the whole thing FELT like.
Weddings and Elopements From Above!
Now imagine that same idea with a wedding or elopement in the Columbia River Gorge.
You can have a beautiful photograph of the two of you standing together.
Absolutely!
I want that photograph!
But now imagine another photograph where the two of you are tiny in the frame, surrounded by the Gorge, the Columbia River, cliffs, trees or mountains.
THAT tells you where you were!
It gives the photograph scale.
It makes the landscape part of your story instead of just something sitting behind you.
One gorgeous local example is The Griffin House in Hood River, a cliffside wedding venue with sweeping lawns, stone terraces and a ceremony lawn overlooking the Columbia River Gorge.
Imagine a tiny or big wedding surrounded by all of THAT scenery and then seeing the entire celebration from above!
Imagine saying “I do” with THIS behind you! 💙 A gorgeous outdoor ceremony setup at The Griffin House overlooking the Columbia River Gorge in Hood River, Oregon. A drone view would be amazing here!
Drone photography is also ridiculously fun for events!
Birthday parties.
Anniversaries.
Reunions.
Outdoor celebrations.
Festivals.
Big group gatherings.
Anything where there is more happening than one camera angle can possibly show!
I can be right in the middle of everything photographing the people and the moments, and aerial imagery can add those huge establishing views that show where all that chaos and fun was actually happening.
And sometimes that aerial photograph ends up being one of the coolest photographs from the entire event!
Because nobody standing at the party saw it from THAT perspective.
A drone can rise above a location, reveal a landscape, follow the shape of the river or pull away from an event until suddenly you realize just how enormous the setting really is.
Add those aerial clips to video captured on the ground and now you’ve got something completely different.
You’re not just watching what happened.
You’re being dropped right back into it!
Sometimes Bigger Really Is Better!
I will always love the close photographs.
Faces.
Hands.
Expressions.
Movement.
The tiny moments.
Those matter!
But I also LOVE pulling wayyyyy back.
Because sometimes the story isn’t only the person standing in front of my camera.
Sometimes it’s the person AND the place.
The party AND the property.
The couple AND the mountain.
The adventure AND the landscape.
Sometimes you need to see the whole thing from the sky!
And after 10 years of flying drones, I still get excited every time I see that completely different perspective appear on my screen.
Maybe that little girl who wanted to fly like a bird never really went away.
She just finally found a way to do it that doesn’t leave another scar. 😂
For now, I’ve got a camera in the sky, one incredible place to fly it…
and I don’t even have to pay for aviation fuel!
I’d say my parents picked one hell of a playground for me!
THE Columbia River Gorge! Windsurfing Capital Of The World!
Drone Photography & Video • Weddings • Elopements • Events • Adventure
Follow along on Instagram: @tobirosephotography for photography, adventures, weddings, events & drone work and @roseandlacebytobirose for boudoir & underwater portraits! 💙
Want to see what happens when my camera goes below the surface instead? Grab my free Underwater Portrait Guide.
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