I'm Briden Spence — a certified drone pilot and outdoor creator based in Nanaimo. Aerial is my headline, but it's not the whole story: I shoot photo and video from the air and on the ground for the places and brands that make the Island worth exploring: resorts, tourism operators, properties, and outdoor companies.
Photography work from the ground: four photos. None of them are aerials. Tap any image to view it larger.
Most drone portfolios show you empty landscapes. Mine comes with a person who actually hikes, runs, camps, and bikepacks this Island, and who has spent years filming it for a growing audience that trusts him to show up and tell the truth about a place.
That matters for clients. I don't just fly a property or a coastline, I know how it will play as a Reel, a listing hero, or a campaign cut, because I make that content every week for brands. And I can cover a shoot on the ground too: gimbal walkthroughs, action and 360 footage, and stills, so a booking doesn't have to stop at the drone.
Before the drones, I ran a successful photography business for a few years. You can see that work at @bspence.photo on Instagram. I don't own a DSLR body or glass anymore, so I'm not selling DSLR stills work, but that grounding in photography is the eye behind everything I shoot now, in the air and on the ground.
Recent brand and UGC work in the outdoor space includes projects and partnerships in tourism, trail running, and gear. Winter 2026/27 is prep season: portfolio, services sheet, and showreel, ready to book when the weather turns.
Clear packages, no vague “content creation.” Aerial is the headline, with ground coverage to complete the story. Every booking starts with location, access, and airspace checked before we lock a date.
Hero aerials that sell the setting, not just the building. For lodges, resorts, campgrounds, tour operators, and destinations across Vancouver Island.
Show the lot, the water, the neighbourhood, and the approach in one move. Especially strong for waterfront, acreage, and unique Island properties.
The package most pilots can’t offer: aerial footage plus a creator who knows how to post it. Built for outdoor, travel, and adventure brands.
Not everything happens from the air. Ground coverage rounds out a property, trail, or brand shoot with the details, walkthroughs, and POV a drone can't get.
One-take indoor fly-throughs for resorts, venues, campers, and businesses, flown now with the DJI Neo. I have flown it in spaces as tight as the inside of a VW Westfalia, so small, awkward interiors are exactly what it is for: slow, smooth, cinematic reveals from the inside out.
Location, permissions, airspace, weather, and light. If a spot can’t be flown legally or safely, I’ll tell you early and suggest an alternative angle or location.
Shot list first, then room to chase the light. I carry the right camera for the job, from the sub-250g Mini 3 and Air 2S in the air to gimbal, action, and 360 cameras on the ground.
Edited stills plus video cuts in the sizes you actually need: widescreen for web and YouTube, vertical for social, and raw B-roll where the package includes it.
Picking the right camera is half the work. Three drones flying now, plus tiny whoop FPV drone training underway for dynamic FPV, and a ground kit for walkthroughs, POV, 360, and stills.
Registered aircraft for outdoor commercial-style work where image quality matters most: coastlines, properties, and tourism heroes.
Under 250 grams, so it opens up tighter and more restricted locations where a larger aircraft would be the wrong tool, while still delivering clean aerials.
Palm-sized and safe for indoor fly-throughs and close-proximity work around people and places. This is the indoor workhorse right now, flown in spaces as tight as the inside of a VW Westfalia.
A tiny whoop FPV drone I am training on for the next step beyond cinematic: faster, more dynamic FPV lines and movement the Neo is not built for. Not booking dynamic FPV work until it is client-ready.
For the shots a drone can't do: interiors, trails at eye level, POV, and detail stills. No DSLR in the bag anymore, this is the current ground kit.
Stabilised phone video for property walkthroughs, venue tours, and smooth tracking shots at eye level.
Rugged action camera for trail, bike, and water-adjacent POV, the angles a bigger camera shouldn't risk.
Shoot everything, frame it later. 360 capture reframed into standard or vertical cuts for social.
Advanced point-and-shoot for ground stills and detail shots, backed by a few years running a photography business.
Quotes depend on location, travel, airspace, and licensing. Fill this in and it builds a ready-to-send email. Nothing is sent until you press send in your own mail app.
Write to me directly, or find the day-to-day work on Instagram.
Based in Nanaimo, working across Vancouver Island, with travel quoted per project.
