This is a top-down aerial photo of a fever of cownose rays approaching a school of menhaden fish taken approximately 100 yards from the coast of Southampton, NY USA. It is the direct result of the greatest conservation gain I will witness in my lifetime.

As a drone pilot, artist, and conservationist, I have spent my past seven summers documenting and capturing the intense increase in marine life in the North Atlantic off the coast of New York. On this day, which also happened to be my 50th birthday, I was amazed to see so many cownose rays. We had just experienced a westerly swell which often makes the ocean much clearer than normal. The wind was from the south which created very calm conditions. The sun was bright, and the skies were clear which allowed light rays to diffuse through the water and light up the bursting sand clouds below. Conditions could not have been more perfect and with my beach chair and umbrella I was set for shooting all day.

I have only spotted one or two of these cownose rays in this region within the past 3 years. With great excitement to see a fever of rays, I carefully watched them traverse the shoreline for hours. When they crossed paths with a large school of menhaden, the fish scattered in a uniform manner creating an incredible visual tale, which I was ever so ready to capture.

Menhaden fish are often called the most important fish in the sea. A small, plankton eating oily fish, which are rarely eaten by humans. They are omnivorous filter feeders, feeding on plankton and algae which also makes them an essential part of the Atlantic ecosystem.

In 2012, in response to menhaden’s numbers having fallen about 90% in three decades, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission enacted the first large coastwide catch limits on the fish. The fish stock soon rebounded dramatically, and brought increasing numbers of sharks, whales, rays, seals, dolphins and other marine life closer to the coast than they’ve been since the middle of the last century. Just ten years ago we never saw such a show from the beach, now it is a daily occurrence to see whales breaching and lunge feeding, massive schools of fish, sharks and dolphins jumping, often literally just 300ft from the breakers. This is by far the greatest visible conservation gain I have seen in my lifetime, and it is more clear each year that the commission’s action is achieving its ambitious conservation objectives.

Marine life is most active all along the coast in my town (Southampton, NY, USA) in the early morning hours. I set out at sunrise, and fly from beach to beach along a 15 mile stretch. I search for large schools of bait fish that will attract predators. In the case of this photo, the cownose rays do not prey on bait fish, rather they prefer bottom dwelling invertebrates. I spend most of my Summer days repeating this pattern.

Flying drones give me a perspective I can only imagine from the ground. It was a new field when I began, so there was much to explore from a bird's eye view. It definitely satisfies my creative desires, curiosity, and often sparks my adrenaline.

I would have to say the very first unique photo (at the time) was a close up sunrise photo of a local lighthouse lantern room back in 2017. Once, I looked at the image I knew in my heart and in every cell of my body I had found my purpose in drone photography.

Fine art drone photography focuses on creating visually compelling, conceptually driven images intended for artistic expression. It prioritizes aesthetics, emotion, and narrative, often aiming for gallery display or personal artistic portfolios. Whereas regular drone photography typically serves practical or commercial purposes, such as real estate, surveying, event coverage, or social media content. The goal is often functional, capturing clear, informative images rather than evoking artistic responses.

Solly Levi was one of my first mentors in the drone industry. He is an internationally renowned fine art photographer based in Brighton, UK, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He specializes in wildlife and landscape photography, with a particular focus on African subjects, and is celebrated for his dreamlike, colorful, and compositionally striking images. He truly helped catapult my editing to the next level, and he will always have a dear place in my heart.

My next major project will be featuring aerial views of New England in Autumn when the New Hampshire forests turn into captivating and colorful landscapes, and our coastal marshes turn a golden hue.