My introduction to altitude came as a boy growing up in Colorado, where every climb to a significant elevation was rewarded with a compelling view. Soon, the attraction of expansive vistas became impossible to resist, and year round I wandered upward at any opportunity.
Mountaineering and alpine skiing gradually merged for me, so that during my teens and twenties, I was constantly seeking new routes to 14,000-foot summits — sometimes with friends, sometimes solo.
Always at the center of each journey was the ineluctable sense of perspective, the panoramic scene that filled me with exhilaration and peace.
Moving to Maine meant leaving my beloved Fourteeners. And for a while, I was unable to consider Acadia National Park’s pink granite hills as mountains, although Katahdin, with its 4,000 feet of elevation above timberline, sort of fit the bill!
Before long, however, my predilection for altitude underwent an unforeseen change. A friend preparing for his seaplane rating asked me to come along on a training session — my first ride in a small, single-engine airplane.
That was thirty years ago, and from the moment we left the earth’s surface, I knew this experience was an altogether different way to view the planet.
Within a week, I began learning to fly. Within a month, I had soloed. Within a year, I was licensed and shooting LOTS of film every time I was airborne. Since then, the attraction of expansive vistas continues to be impossible to resist, as does my interest in documenting those incredible sights.
Gyro Geo Aerial Survey, LLC is the current evolution of those thirty years of being in love with flight — and of a lifelong affinity with altitude and the unique perspective it affords. For three decades, my aerial photography has served architects, engineers, contractors, bankers, realtors, insurance adjusters, publishers, journalists, artists, cartographers, ranchers, farmers, homeowners, and other individuals and businesses. I hope you’ll enjoy the examples of that work posted on this Web site and consider Gyro Geo for your next aerial photography and survey tasks. —Jake Planer
