“I wasn’t happy there, and my husband suggested
that I quit, but I hesitated. I thought, ‘How can I
leave? They need me, they love me.’ But within a
very short time, the agency fired me!”
While Julie pondered what to do next, Pat made
a suggestion that would change everything.
“He said we should look into aerial photography.
I thought it was the stupidest idea I’d ever heard,
but Pat convinced me to give it a try.”
Julie borrowed her mother’s Cessna 182 airplane
and a friend’s camera. Then she and Pat took off
from San Martin Airport with Julie in the pilot’s seat
and Pat taking photos.
“No sooner were we airborne when Pat was
criticizing my technique,” Julie laughed. “You’re
flying too high. You’re flying to slow. Yadayada. I
landed the plane and said, ‘Okay, you fly the plane.
I’ll take the pretty pictures.’ When we took off again
I started taking pictures. It was an epiphany. Before
we touched down, I knew what I wanted to do the
rest of my life.”
In 1995, the Belangers launched the 111th
Aerial Photography Squadron and eagerly began
looking for novel opportunities to provide aerial
photography services to prospective clients.
“I found that I like making cold calls,” Julie said.
She ventured into the offices of the San Francisco
49ers and the Golden Gate Bridge District. In each
case, she landed an assignment.
Julie’s father Irv lent a hand to help things along.
A client once told Julie that Irv walked into his
office like he didn’t need the sale. But when the
client didn’t place an order, Irv said he’d be a gosh
darn (not his real words) fool not to. Within two
days the client called and placed an order, saying
he’d rather buy the aerial photography service than
be a fool.
“Dad was the best salesman I’ve ever met,” Julie
said. “He had a ninety-nine percent success rate!”
During the early years of their business, the
Belangers managed their business from home while
raising their two daughters, Niki and Lacey. As
adults, Niki decided to join the family business
while Lacey (Haines) chose a public relations career
in Silicon Valley.
In 2012, the Belangers opened an office at the
San Martin Airport where they keep two Cessna
airplanes used for the bulk of their aerial photo
assignments. For low-altitude shots and other special
assignments, they rent helicopters.
The Belangers credit their success in part to a
willingness to evolve their skills to keep pace with
technology and expand their services to meet market
demands.
“When Google Earth came along, we used it to
our advantage to pinpoint a photo shoot location
without having to drive to it first,” Julie said. Before
developing its own aerial photography resources,
Google called on the Belangers to photograph
special areas for Google Earth.
Today their services also include high-resolution
mapping, 3D aerial surveys and aerial videography
as well as on-the-ground photography services
ranging from artchitecture to portraits. Daughter
Niki has also added wedding photography services
to the mix.
While Julie is fearless enough to hang out of a
helicopter to get the perfect aerial shot, she admits
that weddings scare her.
“I tried to talk Niki out of doing weddings,”
Julie said. “With a wedding there is no flexibility.
Photograph the wrong Grandma and there are no
do-overs. But Niki is fearless!”
Corporate customers
include IBM, Disney and
Google, among others.
Each assignment has
unique photographic
and logistical challenges,
from the Levi’s Stadium
(during construction)
and the Central Valley’s
giant solar energy fields
to the fiery devastation of
San Bruno following the
gas pipeline explosion.
“Over the years, we’ve
established a rapport
with local airport traffic
controllers by calling
ahead, letting them know
our flight plans and
giving them a heads up
before take-off. After the
San Bruno fire, the news
helicopters were kept at
2000 feet or higher above the site. We called our
contacts at San Francisco Air Traffic Control and
got permission to fly as low as 100 feet over the area
because we are trusted flyers and photographers.”
The Belangers’ passion for aerial photography
also inspired their involvement with the Professional
Aerial Photographers Association International. Each
has served as the organization’s president and Julie is
now its Executive Director.
The South County has been Julie’s home since
her family moved to the area in 1957, and she and
Pat plan to spend the rest of their lives here.
“Our assignments take us up and down the
California coast and to Hawaii. We make it a practice
to balance these assignments with time for fun,” Julie
said. “I couldn’t feel any luckier than having met my
husband, raised our girls, and worked side by side to
grow a business we both enjoy.”
G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E
MAY / JUNE 2015
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