Robert Campbell

Aerial Photographer

Aerial photography combines two lifelong passions, photography and flying. I learned to fly at Oakland Airport in 1964 and started studying photography at San Francisco State in 1965. In 1968, I started shooting from the air and I’ve been doing it ever since. I pursued both careers. I ended up being an airline pilot for various small airlines and then when they’d get gobbled up or fold or whatever, I’d go back to being a photographer. In 1979, I just decided to be a photographer full time.

My speciality is what’s called oblique aerial photography. Oblique means off vertical, looking out the side instead of straight down, which is the mapping type. That’s a totally different type of business. I don’t do that.

I do most of the Port of Oakland’s aerial shots. I also work with the United States Army Corp of Engineers, the National Park Service and various engineering firms. Lately, I’ve been working on the Doyle Drive Project for the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco International Airport runway expansion. I do a lot of shipping photography of the container ships going in and out of the Golden Gate.

I do it pretty much myself. I fly a Helio Courier, a short takeoff and landing six-passenger airplane. I fly the plane with one hand and my feet and use several motorized cameras. I very often take a safety pilot who’s watching out for other traffic, especially when I’m flying low.

We’re just coming into the best time of year for aerial photography. I was just in the air last Sunday taking pictures for the Presidio Trust. We’ve been waiting for a good day to get the shot offshore with the Presidio in the foreground and San Francisco in the background. Sunday was the day. I live in Sonoma up on a hill, and have a view down toward Mount Tamalpais that gives me a good indication of how clear the air is. There’s a little airport up here, Schellville, where I keep my plane. It’s only about ten minutes from home. It’s a lot easier to fly out of here than say Oakland, where I’d have to deal with the control tower. So when I need to go, I just go.

I was born in San Francisco, and raised up in Twin Peaks. My family was one of the first families up on Twin Peaks, which back then was called Pneumonia Heights. It’s now become real prime property. So I grew up looking down on the Bay Area, with those stunning views. Maybe that’s why I got into the aerial business. I was always looking down on things.