What West Bloomfield businesses film from the air
The Greater West Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce calls West Bloomfield the “lake township of Oakland County,” and that is what most aerial work here is about. A lakefront listing on Pine Lake, Walnut Lake or Cass Lake sells the frontage, the dock and the view across the water, and a drone shows all three in a way no ground photo can. According to the chamber, Cass Lake is the largest lake in the county and part of it lies in West Bloomfield.
The other half of the work is commercial. The chamber describes Orchard Lake Road as the main artery of the township’s economy, and the medical offices, professional buildings, restaurants and shopping centers along it and Maple Road need aerial photography that shows access, parking and how close they sit to the neighborhoods around them. Builders of custom homes also use repeat drone video from fixed points to document progress for owners.
Open airspace in the middle, controlled airspace up north
According to the FAA’s Class Airspace data, most of West Bloomfield is uncontrolled Class G airspace at the surface. Our checks put Pine Lake, Walnut Lake, Orchard Lake Road at Maple Road and the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital campus in Class G with no FAA facility map grid, so no LAANC is needed to fly up to 400 feet.
The north end is different. Oakland County International Airport (PTK), in Waterford Township, has Class D airspace from the surface to 3,500 feet MSL. When we overlaid that boundary on the Census township map, it covered about 15 percent of West Bloomfield along its northern edge, including the northwestern half of Cass Lake and all of Union Lake. FAA facility map grids there run from 0 to 400 feet, and most of the grids over Union Lake and many over the northwestern part of Cass Lake are 0. LAANC cannot approve a flight in a 0 foot grid, so those shoots need a separate FAA DroneZone request and more lead time. It is the first thing we check when a client sends a north-end address.
Lakes, neighbors and privacy
West Bloomfield’s shorelines are shared. Orchard Lake Village is a separate city almost entirely surrounded by the township, Cass Lake is split with Waterford Township, and much of the waterfront is private. We launch from the client’s property with written permission, keep the flight path over their parcel and the open water, and avoid hovering over neighbors’ docks or yards. Michigan’s drone law bars capturing images in violation of a reasonable expectation of privacy, and it makes that a misdemeanor.
Public land needs its own sign-off. West Bloomfield Parks manages 12 parks and facilities and nearly 600 acres, including the 6.8-mile West Bloomfield Trail, a former rail corridor that is part of the statewide Great Lake-to-Lake Trail, according to the parks department. We clear any park launch or commercial filming there before the shoot.
Light and seasons
Lake homes photograph best from late May into September, when docks are in, boats are out and the trees are full. Early October adds color along the shorelines. We favor calm mornings, when the water is flat and reflective, and late-day light for west-facing lots. In winter, snow-covered lakes can make a strong image for a listing, but short days leave a narrow window.
Planning a West Bloomfield shoot
Send the address, date window and what you need delivered. We check whether the property falls in PTK’s Class D, the facility map ceiling if it does, and who owns the launch site before we send a quote. See our Detroit drone photography services, including real estate drone photography and waterfront drone photography, or contact us to start.