Why We Became Vancouver Island Drones

Sep 3

Aerial sunrise view of the 1800s brick ammunition buildings on Coal Island, glowing orange in the early light with their reflections in calm water and the Olympic Mountains in the background.

We started this whole thing as Island Drones—an impulsive domain purchase, a borrowed Saturday morning, and the idea that maybe, just maybe, we could carve out a space filming the coastlines we love.

But as we kept flying, something became obvious:

Every frame we captured—sunrise over the Lagoon, mist at Thetis, tide-out mornings in Parksville, cliffside shoots in Shirley—was unmistakably Vancouver Island. Not generic. Not exportable. Not shot in some interchangeable coastal town somewhere else.

This is home.
And the name needed to reflect that.

So now you’ll see us as Vancouver Island Drones.

Same pilot. Same early mornings. Same fingers going numb on cold flights.
Just a name that finally matches what we’ve been showing the whole time.

**What Actually Changes?

Not much—and everything.**

A clearer identity.

People seeing our work should instantly know it comes from here—these beaches, these forests, this coastline.

A stronger local focus.

Westshore and Greater Victoria remain our home base. Sunrise flights, coastal cinematics, local businesses, builders, hospitality—this is our lane.

Better alignment for the business side.

If a café, resort, builder, or contractor in Victoria is looking for aerial photos or video, they shouldn’t have to guess where we’re based.

A grounded philosophy.

No upsells. No rigid packages. No agency buzzwords.
It starts with a conversation and ends with you getting the footage that actually matters.

What We Do (and Keep Doing)

Capture the Island honestly.
Warm light, wide coastlines, quiet mornings—this is the foundation of everything we shoot.

Create aerial photos and videos that feel like the Island.
Real places. Real conditions. No plastic stock footage energy.

Help local businesses look their best.
Sunrise shots for hospitality. Clean aerials for contractors. Cinematic reels that sell the lifestyle, not the drywall.

Document the progress that matters.
Builders, renovators, trades—your work deserves more than a shaky phone pic.

Same mission. Better name.

We’re still the small Westshore-based crew getting up early, checking airspace, watching the weather roll in off the Strait, and chasing that perfect window of light.

We just finally put the right name on the footage.

Vancouver Island Drones — the Island, from above.

If you ever want to capture your space, your project, or your favourite spot in the best light we can find, you know where to find us.