Hi Folks,
Chris Andrews gave us a talk on drone photography and said the following are some of the points he will be covering during the evening.
What is a drone
Well it could be a powerful piece of military equipment which can carry a payload as we have seen recently in the news.
However, from a photographer’s point of view, it is an aircraft that can also carry a camera for filming or taking photographs.
Chris explained with it he could get to take photographs from a different view and get shots in what would be considered impossible places.
The rules
Due to various incidences that have happened mainly the recent Heathrow Airport problems, rules for flying drones have been tightened up. One is liable for any damage or injury caused whilst flying a drone and insurance is optional. One needs to be registered to fly a drone costing £9 a year. One also needs permission from the Aviation Authority to fly a drone if any money is made from using it.
Where one is allowed to fly, various considerations have to be made, eg do not fly over the maximum height also whether people are around. Chris only flies it in the countryside where there are no people about.
Like in photography the equipment needed can mount up but Chris carries all the equipment in one bag. Batteries last about 20 minutes in flight and Chris carries three and considers that three is about the right amount for him. Batteries are not cheap at £65 each and they do not hold the charge for too long, so he has to check each battery level before going out.
Chris with a battery.
The drone Chris has picked is quite a robust one mainly so he has something left of it if it were to crash. There are cheaper ones which can be flimsy but the risk is they would probably not survive going into a tree.
Chris’s drone on show
There is not too much to go wrong with the moving parts of a drone but the blades seem to be the most vulnerable parts in a crash.
The makers DJI have supplied two sets of blades to cover this but so far Chris has not had to use them.
Along with the drone is a control box but to see the pictures from the drone in flight one needs a large screen tablet linked into the drone supplied software.
Coffee time where we could view the equipment
After coffee
Chris told us some of the things we need to consider before one starts to fly a drone.
At first one is nervous of controlling it but once one gets use to the controls it becomes easier.
At first Chris was more comfortable in taking an afternoon class on flying a drone where one is shown all the skills needed.
Although this chart looks a bit complicated it is really quite straight forward, said Chris.
This is what appears on the tablet
The camera setting are shown and can be changed
Take off is automatic for the first part of the flight
This is an abandon church near Chris to try out the flight
There are safety warnings that the battery may be running down etc.
Chris does his best to avoid having people around and got up before dawn last Saturday to take these two pictures for us to see.
Like in photography one tries to be creative. However, controlling the drone steady in what is the equivalent of using a tripod is a little more difficult and once set in that mode on the drone one must remember to change it before flying off. The drone tripod mode also drains the battery faster.
This shot was taken in the grounds of the drone training centre
Pitstone windmill the image shown in the heading.
Unusual view of White leaf near Monks Risborough
Chris points out the River Thame in flood
At the end of Chris’s speech he mentioned that after everybody had gone home last week he did this shot in the car park after the light painting session.
Two member’s that joined the club last week were also drone flyers and brought along some of their pictures.
I believe these were taken in the Derbyshire Peak District
A derelict listed cottage with a tree growing inside of it.
the Dales
Marsworth reservoirs
with pilot Steve in control
Thank you to Chris for doing the talk
Next week is
Winner on the Night Competition – 2
Tuesday January 21, 2020 from 20:15 to 22:15
Our second Winner on the Night competition night of the season.
There will be separate print and digital competitions. The digital section will have theme of “Shiny”. the print section is Open, so enter what you like.
There is a maximum of three images per member across the two sections, two prints and one digital or one print and two digital. Any print can be used again as an entry for the Chiltern Images Exhibition in May.
Our Judge for the evening is Amanda Wright from Ealing & Hampshire House PS.