*A small bunch of cypresses and rolling hills in autumn in Val d'Orcia, between Montalcino and San Quirico d'Orcia*

Tuscany from Above: A Landscape Photography Journey

In Tuscany, photographing from the air offered another way to explore the landscape. Rolling hills, cultivated fields, winding roads and groups of cypress trees revealed relationships that were less apparent from the ground. The drone allowed me to look beyond familiar viewpoints and concentrate on the shapes and patterns within the countryside.

A Different Perspective

For this series, I photographed Tuscany’s autumn landscape with a DJI Phantom 4 Pro. Working from the air gave me the freedom to explore different angles, from looking directly down at field patterns to photographing across the hills from a lower viewpoint.

Height changes the way a photograph reads. A view from directly overhead can turn the landscape into an arrangement of lines, textures and colours. A lower, more oblique angle can preserve the layers of the hills and create a stronger sense of depth.

My aim was to choose the viewpoint that best expressed each scene.

Working with Light

Light was central to the photographs. Around sunrise and sunset, its warmer tones and lower angle helped reveal the contours of the hills and the texture of the fields. Shadows became part of the composition, adding definition and separating elements within the landscape.

The window of useful light varies with the season, weather and location. Rather than thinking of golden hour as a fixed period, I paid attention to how the light changed each scene and which compositions benefited from it.

Patterns, Lines and Composition

From the air, I found myself paying particular attention to patterns, shapes and leading lines. A road could guide the eye through a frame, while a group of trees could provide a focal point within a much larger landscape.

Changing the drone’s position helped me explore the balance between these elements. Sometimes the photograph depended on the wider setting; at other times, a smaller detail offered a more interesting composition.

The photographs in this collection were captured with the DJI Phantom 4 Pro, and the RAW files were processed in Adobe Photoshop CC.

Tuscany reminded me that returning to a place can be as rewarding as discovering somewhere new. A different viewpoint can reveal an