Over the past few days I’ve been photographing aerial coverage of Google I/O from a fixed-wing aircraft, flying out of Marin and down over Silicon Valley multiple times a day. The assignment was coordinated aerial photography around Google’s campus — but spending extended time in the air over the Bay Area opened the door to capturing editorial frames of some of the region’s most recognizable locations: the Golden Gate Bridge, Apple Park, Alcatraz, Levi’s Stadium, and downtown San Francisco — all from above.
Editorial coverage distributed through AFP
Several of the additional aerial frames were distributed through Agence France-Presse (AFP), which meant a single block of air time produced both commercial aerial photography for the Google assignment and editorial photography for the AFP wire — work that ran in news outlets across the country. It’s the kind of dual-purpose flight that makes long aerial assignments worth the cost of the airframe.
Fixed-wing vs. drone aerial photography
A lot of my aerial work is done with FAA Part 107 drone photography — but for coverage of Silicon Valley campuses, large stretches of San Francisco, and Bay Area landmarks from real altitude, a fixed-wing aircraft is the right tool. Drones are constrained by altitude limits, airspace authorizations, and battery life. A fixed-wing lets me cover the entire region — Marin to Mountain View, Cupertino to the Embarcadero — in a single afternoon, with the perspective and reach you can’t get any other way.
The Golden Gate from the air
One of the rewards of an aerial assignment over the Bay Area is the chance to work the Golden Gate Bridge from multiple angles in a single afternoon — sometimes through marine fog, sometimes from directly above, sometimes from the Marin side looking back at the city. Light and weather change by the minute up there, and a few minutes’ difference can completely change the frame.
More frames from the flight
A few additional Bay Area landmarks and skyline frames captured during the same week of flights:
Bay Area aerial photography for editorial and commercial clients
I work with corporate, editorial, and news clients on aerial photography across the Bay Area and Silicon Valley — from tech campuses and large outdoor events to news features and architectural projects. Whether the job calls for drone, fixed-wing, or helicopter coverage, the goal is the same: an aerial frame that tells the story rather than just showing it from above.
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