Aerial views of Toronto

When I put together last week's piece on the top views of Toronto, there was a heavy bias toward public access areas with photo-friendly environments. But, of course, there are other ways to catch great views of the city. The vantage points from balconies and rooftops are, no doubt, familiar to us all. But, when it really comes down to it, the most interesting (sweeping) views of a city are almost always from the air.

Even for nail-biting fliers like myself, the prospect of capturing aerial views of my city and those that I travel to are always enticing. And, the act of shooting often distracts me from the most stressful parts of the flight: take-off and landing.

Most of the photos below were taken from commercial airliners on their way into Toronto, but a few are from smaller planes or helicopters (the closer and sharper the view, the less likely it is from a jetliner). For more of the latter, check out the slideshow at the bottom, which has lots of helicopter shots of the city or this prior post.

If you'd like to try your hand at shooting from a commercial jet, try to book a seat away from the wing, bring a camera with manual functions (or aperture and shutter priority programs), shoot with fast shutter speeds, and remember to bump the contrast up in post processing (otherwise the photos will be extremely hazy). And, remember, the best time to shoot what's down below is when the plane is banking.

Photo by dvanvliet.

Photo by Duke 360째.

Photo by w0nko.

Photo by Kevo89.

Photo by photosapience.

Photo by neuroticjose.

For more shots -- some of which are just downright stunning -- have a look at the slideshow below. There's a few that are of the planes themselves, but the quality of the images makes them a worthy addition.