@deonmitton Deon Mitton In the selfie-dominated world of Instagram, Deon Mitton is an exception. The professional pilot and amateur photographer captures the essence of flight, from beautiful landscapes to desirable airplanes, and pretty much everything else that makes us love to fly. "I appreciate the beauty of things from above," said the former Silicon Valley executive who made the switch to professional seaplane pilot earlier this year. Although many of his posts are of seaplanes, he also flies helicopters and has an affinity for bushplanes, such as this de Havilland Beaver in the High Sierra STOL Drag Annual Fly-in (above). Mitton said most of his international flying has come as a direct result of meeting people on Instagram. That includes this flight in a Pipistrel Virus around Oslo (right). 74 | AOPA PILOT August 2018