High Flying Profession
Photographer Gives A New Perspective to Real Estate Industry
by Karen Rosenberg Caccavo
For Gannett Newspapers

Lee Ross knows Lower Hudson Valley real estate from a perspective few others do -- about 1,000 feet above the ground.  And what's even better, he shares his unique perspective in photographs for those on terra firma. As an aerial photographer, Ross has been taking pictures of the region for almost two years.     Most of his clients are in the real estate industry -- developers who want documentation of projects in process, marketing tools to attract tenants for their developments, evidence for legal disputes or decorative displays to hang on the wall.    ``At any moment in time, a site will look a certain way and then never look that way again," says Ross. ``I record a project over the course of months or years."    

For example, Ross started photographing the Ramapo Landfill Remediation Project in Hillburn two years ago when he got the feeling that ``something big was going to happen there." His instincts were right. Disputes erupted.    One hundred and sixty photographs later, he has the only photographic record. ``These pictures would be extremely valuable in the event of a legal dispute," says Ross.    ``Aerial photos are a great marketing tool," says Robbyn Fritz, marketing director of Montebello Pines in Montebello. ``I can try to put into words how lush our 240 acres are -- about the trees and ponds. And some prospective buyers choose to hike it, but Lee's photos describe  the development much better. Only a bird gets to see what he shows us."    A photograph from the air also shows more graphically than a map just where the buildings and roads are situated. For this reason, Ross' photographs of the Fair View Corporate Park in Elmsford during construction and, eventually, completed, may be used by the developer for a marketing brochure.    

The builder of Wallkill Town Plaza in Orange County used an aerial photo to show potential tenants just where their new stores would be located in relation to other stores in the area.    Ted Campbell, Indiana-based aerial photographer and president of the 220-member Professional Aerial Photographers of America, does work for fast food restaurant chains who literally want ``snapshots" of their stores  and their surrounding areas to assess their viability. Photos of intersections near the stores allows marketers to count the number of cars stopped at a light and perhaps likely to stop at the store. An even closer look tells marketers the age and value of the cars being driven and they may develop opinions about income levels and spending patterns.    With its tremendous value as a documentation tool, aerial photography is also an art form. Ross is not surprised when asked to make blowups of his photos for proud homeowners. ``Sometimes when I am in the air photographing, I see a beautiful home and property and take pictures. I then approach the homeowner and offer them the photo -- as a work of art for the wall, a business card or greeting card."    

Unlike most members of PAPA, Ross is not only a licensed commercial pilot, but thinks of himself as a pilot first and a photographer second. ``I've been taking photos since I was a kid," says Ross, ``and I enjoy doing that. But I love to fly. Aerial photography helps support this love."    Ross finds, for example, that if he can sell just one speculative photo of a home, for example, it will pay for a few hours up in the air. For a speculative photo, he charges $125.    The question Ross gets most often is, ``Do you take photographs at the same time you are piloting the aircraft?" Ross' answer is an emphatic, ``No."    Legally it's permissible," he says. ``Under certain conditions, a plane flies itself. But I don't do it." Instead, Ross pilots the plane to the site, then transfers command in the dual control cockpit to his copilot. He then shifts the front seat back, props open the plane's window, and shoots rolls and rolls of film. He finds that without the responsibility for piloting, he can change lenses, change film, and focus on his photography.    After taking his photographs, Ross pilots the plane back to the airport.    According to Nevada-based aerial photographer Jimmy Garrett, the biggest challenge to this type of photography is keeping the camera steady. Ross' technique is to never set his shutter speed slower than 1/500.    Other than that technique, and setting the camera focus to infinity, Ross finds shooting in the air not much different from shooting on the ground.    Not that he does that much these days. Instead, unlike the typical photographer who does aerial work as a sideline, Ross tries to stick exclusively to aerial work. But occasionally  clients ask him to take photographs on solid ground.    ``Nick Badami of Ritangela Construction Corp. in Bardonia had me take some aerial photographs of his paving work. He also needed some additional ground pictures to complete the documentation of his project. And asked me to do them. That's what I call low altitude aerial photography," says Ross with a chuckle..

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