Black Forest, Germany

The Black Forest doesn't look like it needs a drone until you're above the tree line and realize the whole region is one unbroken carpet of pine, broken only by the odd lakeside cabin and a thread of smoke rising through the canopy. Jim came here expecting a quick stopover between bigger shoots and stayed four extra days chasing the light through the trees.

Flying here is less about altitude and more about patience — the canopy is dense enough that a single gap in the pines can be the difference between a clean shot and a frame full of branches. Mornings bring a low mist that pools in the valleys and burns off within the hour, and Jim learned to have the drone airborne before his coffee was finished.

What stayed with him wasn't a single shot but the quiet of the place — no ridgelines to fight, no wind to wait out, just dense green going on longer than felt possible. It's become the trip he recommends to other pilots who've never flown over forest before.