I’ve thought about using a drone more than once, particularly in the context of landscape photography. The images they produce can be striking—viewpoints that feel almost impossible from the ground, opening up terrain in a way that isn’t available through walking alone.
A friend of mine recently started using one, and I can understand the appeal. There is a kind of immediacy to it: the ability to lift a camera above tree lines, follow the shape of a ridge, or reveal patterns in the land that only become visible from above. It changes what is available to be seen.
I did consider getting one.
A recent trip to Albania brought that question into focus.
My friend was able to send a drone over the Vjosa River, capturing an elevated view of the water cutting through the valley, with mountains rising beyond it. From the riverbank, my own view was far less expansive.
Without that option, I found myself looking for higher ground.
I ended up moving on to Tepelenë, a nearby town set above the river, in search of a vantage point that would give me a similar sense of elevation. From there, the landscape opened up in a different way again, with views looking down across the valley. The light had changed by the time I arrived, but the place itself became part of the experience. I stayed, walked, had coffee, and spent time there in a way that wouldn’t have happened if the photograph had already been made with a drone from the river below.
That search for a viewpoint, rather than an immediate image, is part of what I value about working from the ground.
For me, there is something important in the physicality of reaching a place. The time it takes, the movement through the landscape, and the gradual shift in perspective all become part of how I understand what I’m photographing.
A drone changes that relationship. It offers a position above the landscape without the need to be within it in the same way. While that is a powerful tool, I find I prefer the slower engagement that comes with staying on the ground.
For now, that is where I tend to work from.