Originally shared on Instagram on December 29, 2025. Photography and story by Mark Middleton.
I love flying the drone over Europe—if for no other reason than how different it feels from home. Where I live, a 100-year-old building is something special. Here, buildings can be 700 years old, and you can feel that age in the stone, the streets, and the way the city holds its shape.
This view is over Porto, following the curve of the Douro River, which has carried people, trade, and wine through this region for centuries. Porto grew wealthy on commerce and shipbuilding, but it’s best known for Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river, where the great port wine lodges have aged barrels in cool cellars for generations. I’ve always enjoyed port wines, so being here—seeing where they come from, walking the riverfront, watching the light change over the terracotta rooftops—felt like a full-circle moment.
The bird in this frame wasn’t planned or staged, but I love how it adds a bit of drama. Honestly, flying in Porto can be nerve-wracking. Every time I sent the drone up, the gulls seemed to take it personally—swarming, circling, and coming uncomfortably close. It almost feels like they’re trained to protect the city’s airspace.
Still, moments like this are why I travel with camera gear wherever I go. Porto is layered, historic, and alive—where wine, water, and centuries of human history meet under one incredible sky.
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