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Nothing gives you soaring views of the landscape like a camera that is... soaring.
So with drone technology and Shawn Talbot's eye for visuals, it was guaranteed to be a feast for the eyes.
"Over the course of the last year and a half, I flew all over Kelowna," said Talbot.
"[I] cut it all together and made a neat little video as a tribute to my hometown."
But Talbot has built a career and a life around still photographs.
His favourite subject is landscape and he has travelled the world to capture nature's wonders.
His favourite places?
"China and Iceland – I've been to each five times," said Talbot. "So I'd have to say that there's a reason for that for sure."
His advice to anyone hoping to get good results with photos is framing.
"One of the main things when taking a photograph is to focus on what is the main subject," he said.
"If you've got a squirrel sitting there, don't have a tractor and the car in the background."
The best times of day to take photos, according to Talbot, are dawn and dusk.
Whether you have a good camera or not, he said, pay attention to the rule of thirds, which suggests you place your subject matter at the intersection of the imaginary lines that would occur if your photo was divided into three equal parts both horizontally and vertically. (You may want to look this one up)
"People generally try to put their subject in the centre of the frame, and that's not compositionally pleasing," added Talbot.
He also suggests people work with depth of field to make their subject stand out from the background.
"If I get the camera really close to you, it's going to blur out the background," he said. "You can also switch it to portrait mode to have that same sort of effect."
The Instagram factor has not been entirely great for photographers like Talbot. Now it seems everyone wants to go to the best spots and give it a go.
"Ten years ago I went through Antelope Canyon. I spent four hours by myself. I went back six months ago to check it out again and, honestly, it was like the Costco parking lot."
While his dream assignments usually involve landscapes, his bread and butter is taking great photos of buildings and properties – and he loves that too. As far as doing it well is concerned, the same principles apply.
"Great lighting, great composition and you need to engage with our subject," he said.
If you live in or around Kelowna and you want to feel good about it, make sure you check out the video above!
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