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Aerial Photography

Skylens allows you to get aerial photography at ground floor prices! Better quality aerial photographs for Public Relations, Estate Agents, Building Contractors and Civil Engineers.

Services

Commercial: Used by property developers, commercial estate agents, highways planners, surveyors, contractors, archeologists, Skylens High level images are perfect for recording before, during and after pictures.
Set-up time is minimal, with remote pan, tilt and zoom on the camera, to capture the best image during different stages of the project.
In addition to still images we can shoot video using a 3CCD camera to ensure high quality results produced onto DVD. We find this is ideal to show a property to a client when they are not able to attend a viewing.

Residential: High value residential properties are shown at their best with Skylens. Flat one dimensional photographs can be transformed into exciting panoramic views, showing a property and it’s surrounding estate in context. The high resolution colour images are perfect for sales brochures, property particulars and websites.

Events: Open air events come to life with Skylens. From agricultural shows to sports events, we capture the action from a high level, to bring the excitement of the day back to the ground with fantastic results.
Birds eye view – Whether it is 60 feet or 600 feet from theSkylens balloon, the drama of any outside event is enhanced with high level close-ups of the action. (subject to CAA approval/regulations)
Ideal for press and promotion – Event organisers and the media are always looking for pictures that are uniquely different.

Roof surveys: Get a close-up view of the roof of a building without the expense and hassle of hiring a cherry picker and then hiring a photographer. We provide the whole package.

Archeology: Again the Skylens mast or balloon are ideal for photographing an archeological site to provide reference images and show the outlines and positions of objects on the site that are not visible from the ground.
The balloon can be used anywhere on the site as it can be walked around on a body harness, causing no damage or wheel tracks to the ground. It can even be used from outside the site itself to gain the images.

Many, many more……….

With an eye for what makes a great high level shot, Skylens get the right picture every time.

About Us

Skylens is an established company based in Telford, Shropshire, a central location for the motorway network meaning we can offer a true UK wide service.
The company owned and run by qualified photographer Paul Watkins (B.A hons) was set up in 1996 to provide a selection of photography for businesses, public sector and other organisations, meaning we have years of experience taking low and high level pictures that sell.
Ground controlled aerial photography using the skylens telescopic mast or tethered helium balloon, produces high quality photographs at a fraction of the cost of conventional aerial photography. The high level images show properties in 3D perspective and provide a unique birds-eye view.
We provide a professional reliable service to our clients and with our experience, we will advise the best photographic approach to achieve the desired result.
Skylens can provide a complete property photography service, providing quality eye-catching images of the exteriors, both high level and ground level. Also the interior images can be produced to provide a complete package.
With our experience in the photography industry over the past 20 years we have the experience using film and now digital camera equipment to produce quality images that will catch the attention of clients and produce results that sell.

Technology

Skylens uses digital camera’s to give professional results meaning the images can be provided on site immediately after the shoot.
The masts are generally used where images up to 26metres are needed and the blimp usually between 15m and 60 m.

Mast: The masts we use are pneumatic and each has a remotely controlled camera mounted on a pan/tilt head giving a live view on a laptop either in the vehicle ground station or on site with the portable mast.
The Skylens masts-systems can be set up virtually anywhere, from city centres to the middle of nowhere. When in use the vehicle based system takes up no more road space than the vehicle itself occupies, which in areas where space is at a premium is vital. This gives us a big advantage over trailer-based systems that need a number of parking spaces or a much larger area to be used.
The images are viewed real-time on a ground station screen allowing full control of pan, tilt and zoom and exposure on the camera.
Still images and video are available from the masts, using a 3CCD mini DV camera to ensure high quality results.

Balloon: We use a specially designed tethered helium-filled balloon that is a combination between a kite and a blimp to provide a stable camera platform.
This means that we can fly in most areas with no noise to disturb neighbours and we can stay airbourne at a suitable height until we get the exact picture that is needed, unlike aircraft that are very limited by time and height restrictions.
The balloon images show the properties in their setting not just the roof as most aircraft shots do.
The balloon can be also used in area’s where vehicle access is limited such as archeological sensitive sites at heights from 20 feet. The live image can be viewed on a ground base station for the balloon before taking the image to ensure the correct image is obtained.
At Skylens we ensure that our equipment is maintained, insured and kept up to date ensuring that the images are perfect for your needs.