Drone Photography Forum is Launched!

<p>Got to admit, I'm pretty excited! </p>

<p>Very excited to share some of my experiences with this baby. <br>

Thank God they engineered this with obstacle avoidance! <img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18301928-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="382" /></p>

<p>Yup, this should be good, clean fun!<br /><br />It's a sprawling topic - everything from classic photographic issues (exposure, lens choice, post processing, composition, rights, privacy) to the completely non-trivial areas of regulatory compliance, safety, commercial operations, insurance and educating the public about the technology. I'm hip deep in all of that, and looking forward to a gathering of some similarly interested and invested PN-ers.<br /><br />Now, which forum do I use when posting macro shots of my drones? :-)</p>

<p>oh, yeah...i like that concept....macro drone photography....you could be onto something there! </p>

<p>Now that there's a Macro Forum, get up close and personal, shoot, post, then fly back here and tell all about it. ;-)) I've got to admit that these things, drones, drive me nuts out there in the world. At the same time, I've seen some incredible results and creative use of the technology. You're right, it's not going away.</p>

<p>What? Not a single shot from a drone yet? OK, here's something completely pedestrian from a shoot the other day. Helping a client document some vehicles. </p><div></div>

<p>We live in New England (Boston area) does anyone have suggestions on location that they would like to see? We likely have just missed the peak foliage shots especially with the heavy rains this area got last night. If thinking foliage might have to head south. Thinking coastal - Chatham, Great Point Nantucket, the moors, then headed back north the Isle of Shoals, Acadia - which brings up a good question about policies of National Parks & drone flights? </p>

<p>About national parks: flying anything RC is now banned from all parks, and from all lands that the NPS administers (this now includes millions of acres of wilderness, rivers, coastlines, monuments, statues, etc). But in practical terms, obviously you're out in the middle of nowhere without the local park officials worried about you bothering or risking anyone, it's not much of an issue.<br /><br />In very specific policy terms, though: technically you CAN fly over NP areas, as long as you're not operating from them. Meaning, if you're standing outside the park's boundaries as you operate the drone, and are not taking off and landing from the park's grounds, you're sill in keeping with the rules. But that doesn't mean you'll be free of friction on the subject, so it's all about judgement and manners. <br /><br />All that being said, I've talked to operators who have simply approached the local park rangers and asked for permission, and received it when it's obvious nobody's really going to care anyway. But you're not going to get that permission in Yellowstone, or other very high profile places unless you work well in advance and make a very persuasive case (say, the park service is paying you to produce some documentary work, etc). <br /><br />As for colors: we just drove down out of Ontario, through Michigan, then Buffalo, and through western PA. The Canadian trees were hitting incredible colors a week ago. NY and PA were just getting started. Really depends on local micro climate, soil, tree species ... go hunting, I'm sure you'll find some good colors.<br /><br />And don't forget that once you're up in the air, the color options are quite different. Looking straight down at a tree that's mostly bare can actually be beautiful, because there will be a puddle of color on the ground all around it. That's the beauty of having the low-altitude aerial perspective - new creative angles really open up.</p>

<p>Glenn, you just go ahead and photo whatever you would like from up in New England. I have been wanting to visit, as I have never been - so I will happily view whatever you share!</p>

<p>So - if I were thinking of getting a drone, what do I want to look for? The options are overwhelming. </p>

<p>Soon to come to your neighborhood too, perhaps:<br>

<br /> https://www.dpreview.com/news/3354529492/swedish-court-rules-drone-photography-is-surveillance-and-requires-a-permit</p>

<p>Renee: Indeed, lots of choices on drone hardware and overall systems. It is, these days, very much like any other system, in that you're buying into a system rather than buying one piece of gear. It's a big decision tree to walk through, but you can start by asking yourself if you're interested in video production or just stills... and if stills, just web-friendly stuff, or are you looking at making large prints? Those things - just like with familiar camera/lens decisions - drive which type of camera you want to fly, and that drives the choice of flying machine.<br /><br />If you're new to it, it's pretty hard to go wrong with DJI's equipment. Their Phantom 4 is very nice, and their new (somewhat more portable) Mavic is just now shipping (so no practical experience yet), but looks very promising. <br /><br />If you go with something GoPro-based, remember that you're going to be looking at images taken through that sort of lens - which can be very frustrating to a photographer. Could go on for hours, but it will make more sense to talk first about your intended use and budget, and go from there.</p>

<p>I'm not too much into video at all. I would like to steer away from GoPro cameras if possible - we have one and the darn thing frustrates the begeebers out of me for many reasons.</p>

<p>As for a budget - well, certainly the less the better. No large print making unless i find myself really producing stellar results. My son in law has a drone - he uses his smartphone as a live view that sits atop the controller...are they all like that? I thought that was pretty awesome.</p>

<p>I must say that the one thing I thought was sort of funny is that there's been discussion on disrupting privacy with these things...with his, there is absolutely no sneaking up on anyone except those totally void of hearing. The thing is incredibly loud. No bride and groom would possibly want such a distraction hovering during the vows!</p>

<p>Renee: Any machine that's going to be of real interest to a photographer is going to support the use of an external smart device like an iPhone or iPad or other tablet so you can see what's going on. That's also where you'll get all of your telemetry (GPS, battery health, distance, velocity, flight modes, and of course the camera-related stuff like ISO, shutter, aperture, focus control, etc). <br /><br />And yes ... anyone talking about stealthy-drone-privacy concerns is generally talking from a perspective of no practical experience in the area! </p>

<p>October color along US Route 6 in northern Pennsylvania<br>

DJI Phantom 3</p><div></div>