When it works, it’s really cool, but it can certainly fail pretty miserably when the conditions aren’t quite right. Day to Dusk conversions now offered on real estate listing shoots. BTW, it’s all edited in-house – no outsourcing here.
“Twilight”
sUAS
Flight
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
I was, without a doubt, a bit nervous before my flight today. It essentially went against all my protocols up to now. Got some pretty epic footage though. Be on the lookout for the marketing videos coming out from the airport soon.
Why Do I Even Bother?
Drones. Drones! DRONES!! Seems like they’re everywhere. And, of course, anybody can just walk right in to most big box retailers and get one. Everybody’s a “drone pilot” now then, right. NO!!! Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. I try to follow the rules and regulations. Why? Because it’s the law. I’m not trying to be a goody-goody. I just don’t have the money to pay any potential fines that could come with breaking any of the current laws. That’s why it just chaps my a** when others around me blatantly break the rules. Or when others around me disseminate inaccurate information.
The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival is a big deal in my town. When I first began shooting photography for the festival, I used a drone. Drone (UAS) regulations didn’t exist back then. People (certain specific people as part of a bigger group of people) got bent out of shape and actually posted disclaimers that they were not affiliated with me. I actually got reported and the police shut me down. I have a letter of investigation from the FAA! I should frame it. Just to be clear, this was before any drone regulations existed! I wasn’t endangering anybody and was being as safe as I could be. It was too new, people got freaked out. Oh no, there’s this flying thingy. It’s spying on me! It’s invading my privacy! IT WAS A PUBLIC VENUE DAMMIT!
Fast forward 4 years and now there ARE regulations in place, but it seems that most people just don’t care. Should I give them the benefit of the doubt? Perhaps. But there are channels to check if folks are legit. Most are not. Or at least major parts of their operations are not.
I was told this year that I would be too close to an airport to fly a drone during the Apple Blossom Festival. Nope. Incredibly inaccurate. I fly here all the time and have a working relationship with the airport. It’s class E airspace. We’re not too close to an airport to fly a drone. It’s one thing if a local city/town declares an area a drone-free zone. Localities do that and I would comply. I have before. Laguna Beach in CA has such a declaration so I wasn’t able to fly there. I get it. There is no declaration in Winchester at Apple Blossom. But I was instructed not to fly. Fine, I wasn’t going to fly anyway.
Then I see multiple images from drone flights over the festival. At night! Flights at night are NOT covered by the new Drone certification (license) – Part 107, which is technically CFR 14 Part 107 for folks who don’t know. Flights over people aren’t covered either. You have to get specific permission (a waiver) from the FAA to do those flights. There’s an application process where you have to justify the operations and explain how you’d mitigate the risks involved. The FAA has a website that lists all waivers granted. Guess what, no such waivers exist in this area (at least for the folks who shot the images I saw).
The exception here is if you’re flying for recreation. I never understood this and have never agreed with it. It’s the same airspace – all drones should follow the same rules. All cars follow the same traffic laws. How is this different?!?!?!
WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?!?!?!?!?!
Rant over, as you were.
Just to be clear, this image was shot back in 2015 when NO regulations existed for drone flight. This is the image that started it all.
Part 107
So I just posted a response (quoted below) to a video that showed up in my Facebook feed, but then I removed it. Something about the time and placement of the response didn’t feel right to me, but I still feel that it needs to be said.
As more and more people earn their sUAS remote pilot certificate, the skies are becoming more and more saturated with “legal” drone pilots. And when I say “legal” I mean drone pilots who are allowed to be paid for their craft. Those flying for recreational purposes do still have rules to follow as well. And for the most part, those rules are essentially the same rules as the ones for licensed remote pilots (of course, licensed piltots have the added CFR 14 part 107).
I’ve gotten on my soapbox before and I’ll keep getting on it because I feel strongly about these rules and the safety of everybody involved. I’d also like to continue with my craft and grow it into a more successful piece of my studio, but it becomes increasingly hard to do with such blatant disregard for the rules and regulations happening all around me.
As I mention in the post, I’m not perfect and don’t claim to be perfect. Granted, you can get some amazing imagery with drones these days, but that doesn’t mean “get the shot at all cost.” I don’t have the additional cash on hand for potential fines from the FAA. For me, I’ll continue to follow the rules as best I can. And I’ll keep plugging away on my little soapbox when I see fit.
On the one hand I enjoy watching well-done video and this is certainly well-done. On the other hand he, being an FAA sUAS remote pilot, should know better than to fly in some of the conditions depicted in this video. Completely against part 107 regulations. Granted, I’m not perfect, but it burns me up that FAA remote pilots are not really following the rules they agreed to when applying for the license. Of course, my rant is negated if waivers were granted.
This is the photo that got the attention of the FAA back in the Spring of 2015. They never saw the photo, but did receive a report from the local police about my flight . This incident is why I’m so very careful these days and advocate for safe, law-abiding flying.
Sneak Preview
Alright folks – set your DVRs and TiVos and whatever else you high-techy techies use. Next Thursday 8-9pm EST – “Saving Place, Saving Grace.” Cedarmeade Studios’ debut on PBS. Well, it’s not MY debut, but it kinda is for my aerials except that I did just win an award for aerial cinematography. Anyway…it’ll be cool to watch it. You can get a sneak preview of it and meet the filmmakers this Saturday (1/7) at The Barns of Rose Hill. I’m going.
Here’s every link I could find about the film:
- Picture Farmer Films (this is the production company)
- Holy Cross Abbey (this is what the film is all about)
- Indiegogo (you can support the film)
- Sneak Preview (another link to get tickets for the sneak preview)
One of the few still images I took while filming near the river. | Order a print of this image or others like it.
Last Sunrise
I made it up for the last sunrise of 2016. This is a photography blog so that’s enough words.
The scenic Colonial Parkway runs along the James River. | Order a print of this image.
Maiden Voyage
Well, So far so good. I took the new Mavic Pro out for its first flight this morning and was impressed with everything about it. It’s easy to set up, unassuming and is incredibly easy to fly (as I expected having used DJI products for almost 3 years now). Its image quality is incredible for as unassuming as it is. It’s ultra portable and the battery lasts forever. It doesn’t take the place of my Inspire 1, but is simply another tool in the toolbox for this massive gear head.
Sunrise over Winchester (processed from a single RAW photo). | Order a print of this image.
Organic Creativity
Photography is one of those things that can truly have an organic component to it. I often venture out with a specific shooting goal in mind and almost always become inspired on site to be creative based on whatever situation presents itself to me. It’s simply part of the creative process. I gotta figure out how to teach that in the classroom.
I was there to shoot Fall foliage.
Tuscarora
I always wondered what BFE looked like – now I know. What an awesome place. A bit of a hike to get there, but so worth it in the end. Look for more images like this hitting the marketing material of visitwinchesterva.com.
Sunset from Eagle Rock along the Tuscarora Trail right here in Frederick County, VA just west of Winchester. | See more like this here.
X5 FTW
I was cleared for takeoff this evening. Yep, I filed my first (and second) flight plan. It’s kinda surreal for me that I’ve made it this far. When I got my first aerial camera, it was so new that there weren’t really any regulations for it (which explains all the images in my collection that I can’t really shoot these days). It’s crazy how fast the governemnt moved on this set of regulations. But I’m always about what’s next and that usually spells trouble for me being a gear-head and all. I have to separate myself from the ever-growing community of “dronies” who are basically shooting with the same super-wide-angle-infinity-focus camera that everybody else has. That’s not good enough for me anymore. Not after tonight’s flight.
Can you appreciate what’s slightly different about this aerial image? | Order a print of this image.
Use It…
Not quite official, yet. I still have to be vetted by the TSA, but I’m over the hump to being an officially certificated Remote Pilot by the FAA. At least for the next 24 months. No rest for the weary though. I have to remain up-to-date on everything. Use it or lose it, right?
What a relief!
Cedarmeade Studios 