Thomas Haywood Aerial Photography

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Thomas Haywood Aerial Photography

Drone Pilot, approved by the CAA to fly commercially for Aerial photos and films. Insured with liabi

Photographer based in Edinburgh, Scotland, covering General, Commercial, People and Landscapes

25/06/2026

One of the pleasures of travelling around the country is stumbling across scenes you weren’t expecting.

This beautiful canal view near Skipton combines industrial heritage, waterside living and Yorkshire countryside in a single frame.

It’s also a reminder that great photography isn’t always about the main subject. The surroundings help tell the story.

For tourism businesses, property marketing and place promotion, showing the wider setting can be just as important as showing the building itself.

Have you discovered any hidden gems on your travels recently?

24/06/2026

Most people see a construction compound.

I see a story of how a major railway upgrade comes together.

This aerial view shows part of the TransPennine Route Upgrade works at Heaton Lodge Junction near Mirfield, one of the busiest and most complex railway locations in Northern England.

Images like this help project teams and stakeholders understand site logistics, progress, access routes and the relationship between the works and the surrounding area.

Aerial photography is often associated with marketing, but its value for construction and infrastructure projects can be just as important.

Sometimes one photograph explains more than pages of reports.

What stands out to you when you look at this image?

23/06/2026

A photograph can show you what a bridge looks like.

A video can show you why it matters.

This aerial film of the Findhorn Viaduct begins hidden behind the trees before gradually revealing the full structure and the landscape around it.

That simple movement provides something a still image cannot always achieve, context.

You see the scale of the viaduct, its position within the valley and how it connects with the surrounding environment.

For engineers, planners, heritage organisations and infrastructure managers, understanding that wider picture can be invaluable.

Do you prefer a still photograph or a video when viewing a structure like this?

22/06/2026

Lochore on Midsummer’s Morning, looking more like a millpond than a loch.

These two photographs were taken just moments apart, yet they tell slightly different stories.

The first uses the overhanging branches as a natural frame. It draws your eye into the scene and creates a sense of being hidden within the landscape, almost as if you’ve stumbled across a secret viewpoint.

The second removes that frame and lets the loch take centre stage. The result feels more open, expansive and peaceful.

Neither is right or wrong.

One of the simplest ways to improve your photography is to ask yourself:

“What can I use to frame this scene?”

A few steps left or right can completely change the mood of an image.

Which version do you prefer, framed or open?

19/06/2026

A great example of why photographers and drone pilots spend so much time watching the weather.

These two images show Drummochter Summit under different lighting conditions.

📷 Image 1: Flat light from an overcast sky
✔ Consistent colours
✔ Detail visible throughout the scene
✔ Excellent for surveys, inspections and mapping

📷 Image 2: Dappled sunlight breaking through the clouds
✔ More depth and contrast
✔ Stronger sense of scale
✔ Creates mood and atmosphere

The location hasn’t changed.

The drone hasn’t changed.

Only the light has changed, yet the feeling of the image is completely different.

Which version catches your eye first?

18/06/2026

10 June at Drummochter Summit.

The 17:25 Inverness to Glasgow Queen Street, 1T92, passes through one of the most dramatic railway landscapes in Scotland.

Inter7City set HA16, powered by 43128 and 43179, approaches beneath the drone before it climbs away to reveal the vast Highland scenery surrounding the line.

Moments like this show why aerial filming is so effective. The train tells one story, but the landscape tells another.

A classic Highland railway scene.

17/06/2026

Seeing a construction project from the ground is one thing.

Seeing it from the air is something completely different.

Drone imagery helps reveal the true scale of a site, showing progress, access routes, materials, working areas and how different parts of the project fit together.

Regular return visits create a visual timeline, making it easy to see how a project evolves from start to finish.

It’s often only when you look back at previous flights that you realise just how much has changed.

How often do you document progress on your projects?

15/06/2026

Riddle me this…

Two giants cross a Highland valley side by side.

One was built for iron horses more than a century ago.

The other carries modern traffic through the Highlands every day.

Beneath them, one of Scotland’s biggest transport projects continues to take shape.

Where am I?

Aerial photography has a unique way of revealing the bigger picture, showing history, engineering and landscape all in one frame.

Leave your guess below.

11/06/2026

Pitreavie Castle from a completely different perspective.

These images show an aerial mapping project created using a DJI Mini 5. The outputs include an orthomosaic map, a georeferenced site overlay and a Digital Surface Model showing changes in elevation across the estate.

This type of mapping can be used for:

📍 Estate management
📍 Planning applications
📍 Historic building records
📍 Drainage studies
📍 Environmental monitoring
📍 Land surveys

What surprises many people is that this survey was flown manually. With careful planning and accurate flying, a lightweight drone can produce mapping data with impressive levels of detail.

Aerial mapping creates a permanent digital record that can be measured, analysed and compared over time.

10/06/2026

A favourite moment from a recent Highland filming trip.

Just after capturing a DRS freight train and the LNER Highland Chieftain passing near Dalwhinnie, the drone climbed to reveal this incredible view across Loch Ericht.

What stands out is how transport and landscape coexist so naturally. The railway, road, village and loch all weave together through one of Scotland’s most spectacular settings.

Sometimes the wider view tells the best story.

What catches your eye first?

Address

Edinburgh

Website

http://www.thomashaywood.com/

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