20 Years Above the Ground: Aerial Photography by Gil Stose Photography

For the past 20 years, Gil Stose Photography has had the privilege of seeing the world from a different angle.

Long before drones became common tools for photographers, aerial photography meant climbing into a helicopter, lifting off, and trusting a mix of planning, timing, instinct, and experience. It meant open doors, strong winds, changing light, headset communication, and a narrow window to capture the right image before the moment passed.

That kind of work teaches you quickly.

You learn how to read light from the sky. You learn how buildings, coastlines, neighborhoods, construction sites, farms, waterways, and events change when seen from above. You learn that aerial photography is not just about height. It is about perspective.

For two decades, Gil Stose Photography has been capturing that perspective through both helicopter and drone photography. Each method has its own strengths, and each has played an important role in telling visual stories from the air.

Helicopters were where it began.

There is still nothing quite like photographing from a helicopter. The view is wide, the movement is fluid, and the possibilities feel open. From that height, you can capture large properties, commercial developments, shorelines, industrial sites, towns, estates, and landscapes in a way that simply is not possible from the ground.

A helicopter allows the photographer to move quickly across distance, adjust position in real time, and work at altitudes that give a true sense of scale. It is ideal for larger projects, regional views, waterfront properties, mapping-style images, and scenes where the surrounding area matters just as much as the main subject.

But helicopter photography takes preparation. The flight path matters. The time of day matters. Weather, sun angle, haze, shadows, reflections, and wind all affect the final image. There is no standing still in the sky. You have to be ready before you ever leave the ground.

That preparation has been a major part of Gil Stose Photography’s aerial work over the years. A strong aerial image does not happen by accident. It comes from knowing what the client needs, understanding the property or subject, planning the angles, watching the light, and making quick decisions once airborne.

Then drones changed the industry.

When drones became a serious photography tool, they opened the door to a new kind of aerial work. Suddenly, it became possible to capture lower-altitude views with incredible control and detail. Drones made aerial photography more flexible, more efficient, and better suited for many projects that did not require a helicopter.

For real estate, construction progress, roofing, land development, events, inspections, marketing campaigns, and small business visuals, drones offer a practical and powerful solution. They can hover, move slowly, frame precise compositions, and capture angles that are difficult or impossible from a helicopter.

A drone can show the front of a home, the shape of a property, the relationship between a building and its surroundings, or the progress of a job site over time. It can fly lower and closer, creating images that feel both elevated and personal.

Gil Stose Photography has embraced drones not as a replacement for helicopter work, but as an expansion of what aerial photography can be. The right tool depends on the job. Some assignments call for the speed, altitude, and range of a helicopter. Others call for the precision and access of a drone.

Knowing the difference matters.

After 20 years in aerial photography, experience becomes one of the most valuable tools. It helps determine when to fly, how to frame a subject, what angles will be most useful, and how to avoid common mistakes. Aerial images can look impressive simply because they are taken from above, but effective aerial photography goes further than that.

It needs purpose.

A good aerial photograph should help the viewer understand something. It might show the size of a property, the location of a business, the progress of a construction project, the beauty of a coastline, or the layout of land. It might help sell a home, document a development, promote a destination, or preserve a moment in time.

The best aerial images are clear, composed, and useful. They are not just dramatic. They communicate.

That has always been the goal at Gil Stose Photography.

Over the years, aerial photography has changed in major ways. Cameras are sharper. Drones are more advanced. Editing tools are better. Clients have more options and higher expectations. But some things have stayed the same.

Light is still everything. Timing still matters. Composition still separates a quick snapshot from a professional image. And experience still makes a difference.

Twenty years in the air means seeing how places change over time. It means photographing properties before and after development. It means documenting communities, coastlines, buildings, landscapes, and projects from angles most people never get to see. It means understanding both the technical side of aerial photography and the human side of what clients need from the images.

Aerial photography is often about more than a beautiful view. It can be practical, strategic, and deeply valuable. For a real estate agent, it can help a listing stand out. For a builder, it can document progress and quality. For a business, it can show location, access, and scale. For a property owner, it can capture a place in a way that feels complete.

From helicopters to drones, Gil Stose Photography has built 20 years of aerial experience around one simple idea: show the subject clearly, honestly, and from the strongest possible perspective.

The tools will continue to evolve. Cameras will keep improving. Drones will become more capable. New technology will create new possibilities.

But the heart of the work will remain the same.

It is still about seeing the shot before it happens. It is still about understanding the client’s goal. It is still about knowing when the light is right, when the angle works, and when the image finally says what it needs to say.

After 20 years of photographing from above, Gil Stose Photography continues to bring experience, care, and a trained eye to every aerial assignment.

Because sometimes, the best way to understand a place is to rise above it.

The Cliffs Club house

Aerial photography by Helicopter or drone.