I met up with Matthew and Kyla at Vision Air Services at the Halifax Airport for their engagement session on a Tuesday afternoon.  None up us had ever been in a helicopter before and there was a sense of excitement mixed with nervousness.  Our pilot Tim walked us through the safety details, including how to get in and out when the rotors are going, this was important because it was something we were planning on doing on Sambro Island.  Yes, you read that correctly, we were heading to Sambro Island with it’s beautiful red and white striped lighthouse.

We set out from Halifax and made our way toward Dartmouth where the three of us all live.  We did a fly by over Matthew and Kyla’s house which was pretty cool, and then we flew over to the Halifax side and dropped low enough to be seen by Matthew’s work before checking out the Citadel.  The Citadel is pretty cool on its own, but to see it from above it to truly see what an awesome structure it is.  Our course to Sambro Island took us down the coast and Tim was awesome not just as a pilot for Vision Air, but he was also extremely knowledgeable about the area, I now know a lot more than I did at the start of the session.

We approached Sambro Island and got a great look at the oldest Lighthouse in North America.  It was first lit in 1758 and didn’t become electric until 1988.  I personally love lighthouses and this is a nice addition to my list of visited lighthouses which includes the World’s oldest still operating lighthouse in Wexford, Ireland, but the Sambro Island Lighthouse is much prettier because that’s how we roll in Nova Scotia.

We landed on Sambro Island and hopped out after the rotor blades stopped spinning.  Tim (who is a photographer in his own right) made sure to land us in a place which would be good for photos (thanks Tim).  From the landing we took a little time to explore and find some places to take photos.  We were all a little surprised when Matthew’s phone rang on the island.  I don’t know why, but I certainly didn’t expect to have cell phone reception on the island.  He didn’t say it, but I bet Matthew felt pretty cool answering the phone and telling the person on the other line that he was going to have to call them back later because he was on Sambro Island, I know I would have.

Once we took a few photos and simply enjoyed the island, I hopped in the helicopter with Tim and we took some photos of Matthew and Kyla on the island from the air.  I know they seem rather small in these 900 pixel wide photos, but imagine it blown up in a huge canvas and on the wall, that would be amazing.

Kyla and Matthew hopped into the chopper and we took off for our second island.  I don’t know the name of the second island we went to, but it had 100% fewer lighthouses, but it did have a sandy beach.  Many people write their wedding date in the sand, but I don’t know anyone else who was able to photograph that from the air, do you?  I was literally sweating from writing that in the sand because it was so big, I’m just glad Matthew was cool with me writing ‘Matt’ instead of his full name.

We took off and made our way back to the airport.  We flew over the Bayers Lake area and Bedford on the way and what an amazing perspective it is to see everything from above.  Sure, you could look at the satellite view on Google Maps, but it’s just not the same, nor is their resolution very good for that matter, or you can get the newest satellite images for sale to have a great resolution views of any area.

I really can’t speak highly enough of the experience of flying in the helicopter for Matthew and Kyla’s engagement session, not can I speak highly enough of the people at Vision Air Services, specifically our pilot Tim who was an excellent pilot and guide for that matter.  If you plan on doing an engagement session like this, these are the guys you want to contact, and I’m the photographer you should hire to come along with you ;).

Here’s a look at our afternoon of awesomeness:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca