- New website for Aerial Photography - whether you are looking or providing
- FAA gradually easing up on Drone regulations - paving way to licencing?
- What to look for when you want aerial photography
- Aerial Photography in the news
- Overshoot Photograph of the day
New Aerial Photography website
In the beginning there was the Internet (OK, we're skipping a couple of other minor worldly events).
Then there was Compuserve and AOL that you dialled into to get to the Internet and you were presented with a mass of articles and features on the Home page, all designed to keep you there.
Then along came Google with just a name and a search box. The Home page was uncluttered and you could find anything that you wanted. The algorithms got better, but the quantity of data grew and grew. Website owners could 'game' the results to get better listings. The "useful results" to "white noise" ratio dropped and is still dropping today and it is now getting harder to tie down what you are looking for. 'Googlewhack' was coined, whereby Google would only return one search result. Dave Gorman found that his name was such one result. Nowadays, a search for "Dave Gorman" provides nearly half a million.
It's time for a change, again, with specialist Directories pulling specific data and websites together to help you search.
Welcome to www.AerialPhotography.Directory
AerialPhotography.Directory allows specialist Elevated and Aerial Photographers to be listed together in one place and for potential clients to search for them. From masts to drones and full-size craft, everything can be found. There is no 'one size fits all'.
If you are searching for Aerial Photography, type in your Country and County, then you will get a list of providers, sorted by distance. You can see their skills and sample work.
If you are a Provider, then get listed here and start to get found. The website is still in Beta test, so for now it won't cost you a penny - free advertising in a specialist Directory! It doesn't get much better than that. We will be introducing a charge in 2015. If you pay commission to an Agent at the moment, then pay no more.
Do check out the website and let us know what you think. It is limited to the UK at the moment, but other countries are being added over the next few weeks, so if interested, drop us a line with your email and Country and we will let you know when your Country has been added.
It has only just been released, so you are one of the first to know about it. Bear with us whilst we get providers signed up...it's a bit sparse at the moment...
US announces that Movie Makers can start using dronesThe Federal Aviation Administration is announcing that it is granting permits to seven movie and television production companies to fly drones, an important step toward greater use of the technology by commercial operators, said attorneys and a company official familiar with the decision.
Click here to see the story on the Briefly.Today website.
ED: Canada is already welcoming drones, so this seems to be a move by the FAA under pressure from others to keep film making in the US and prevent the revenue going abroad. I'm sure that if the FAA had its own way, it wouldn't allow any Commercial Drone usage. It has dragged its heels thus far and it's pretty certain that it has been made an offer that it cannot refuse.
What to look for when you want aerial photography
Aerial Photography is terrific. It literally adds dimension to a photograph or video, makes it stand out and has more impact. But what sort of aerial photography do you need? What are the pros and cons? Can I do this and that with your craft? What's best value?
There is no 'one size fits all' for aerial photography. Each request has to be looked at individually and usually there will be at least one option. Manned craft are good for wide area shots, but are expensive. Masts are good for a cheap and cheerful solution where it is unsafe to fly, but are height restricted. Drones, kites and blimps are excellent for the middle ground but face restrictions on where they can operate. This web page will give you a visualisation of what can be achieved. Things to consider/ask the Operator
Then there was Compuserve and AOL that you dialled into to get to the Internet and you were presented with a mass of articles and features on the Home page, all designed to keep you there.
Then along came Google with just a name and a search box. The Home page was uncluttered and you could find anything that you wanted. The algorithms got better, but the quantity of data grew and grew. Website owners could 'game' the results to get better listings. The "useful results" to "white noise" ratio dropped and is still dropping today and it is now getting harder to tie down what you are looking for. 'Googlewhack' was coined, whereby Google would only return one search result. Dave Gorman found that his name was such one result. Nowadays, a search for "Dave Gorman" provides nearly half a million.
It's time for a change, again, with specialist Directories pulling specific data and websites together to help you search.
Welcome to www.AerialPhotography.Directory
AerialPhotography.Directory allows specialist Elevated and Aerial Photographers to be listed together in one place and for potential clients to search for them. From masts to drones and full-size craft, everything can be found. There is no 'one size fits all'.
If you are searching for Aerial Photography, type in your Country and County, then you will get a list of providers, sorted by distance. You can see their skills and sample work.
If you are a Provider, then get listed here and start to get found. The website is still in Beta test, so for now it won't cost you a penny - free advertising in a specialist Directory! It doesn't get much better than that. We will be introducing a charge in 2015. If you pay commission to an Agent at the moment, then pay no more.
Do check out the website and let us know what you think. It is limited to the UK at the moment, but other countries are being added over the next few weeks, so if interested, drop us a line with your email and Country and we will let you know when your Country has been added.
It has only just been released, so you are one of the first to know about it. Bear with us whilst we get providers signed up...it's a bit sparse at the moment...
US announces that Movie Makers can start using dronesThe Federal Aviation Administration is announcing that it is granting permits to seven movie and television production companies to fly drones, an important step toward greater use of the technology by commercial operators, said attorneys and a company official familiar with the decision.
Click here to see the story on the Briefly.Today website.
ED: Canada is already welcoming drones, so this seems to be a move by the FAA under pressure from others to keep film making in the US and prevent the revenue going abroad. I'm sure that if the FAA had its own way, it wouldn't allow any Commercial Drone usage. It has dragged its heels thus far and it's pretty certain that it has been made an offer that it cannot refuse.
What to look for when you want aerial photography
Aerial Photography is terrific. It literally adds dimension to a photograph or video, makes it stand out and has more impact. But what sort of aerial photography do you need? What are the pros and cons? Can I do this and that with your craft? What's best value?
There is no 'one size fits all' for aerial photography. Each request has to be looked at individually and usually there will be at least one option. Manned craft are good for wide area shots, but are expensive. Masts are good for a cheap and cheerful solution where it is unsafe to fly, but are height restricted. Drones, kites and blimps are excellent for the middle ground but face restrictions on where they can operate. This web page will give you a visualisation of what can be achieved. Things to consider/ask the Operator
- What are your restrictions?
- If it's raining, what happens?
- Are you insured for commercial use? Can I see a copy of your insurance?
- Are you allowed for fly commercially in this Country? Can I see your Certification?
Be prepared with the following information for starters
- Location(s). Postcodes are good as we can look the location up on Google Maps for safety checks.
- Date(s). Fixed (e.g. a wedding day) or flexible if the weather is not good?
- A rough idea of what you want. Masts are very good at timelapse, drones not so as they tend to fall out of the sky when the batteries run out
- Do you want post-processing as well or just the stills / raw video delivered?
Aerial Photography in the News
Aerial Photography has been in the news over the Summer - and not all of it good. Especially with the availability of the DJI Phantom and similar Ready To Fly (RTF) craft, anyone can pick up one from a gadget shop, attach a GoPro and chuck it up into the air, conveniently ignoring the consequences of 1Kg of craft plus spinning blades dropping on someone or a road / railway.
Some headlines from this year:-
Anfield stadium matchday drone footage prompts Civil Aviation Authority to issue advice
Man arrested for flying drone near U.S. Open venue
'River of blood' after drone 'hits' Australian athlete
On the upside:
Drone Images Reveal Buried Ancient Village in New Mexico
Read all these and more here.
Overshoot Photograph of the day (well, Newsletter)
In the Summer, I was asked at very short notice to help out with a School Project at Soham, Cambridgeshire. The three schools in the village had come together to create a giant poppy using the schoolchildren wearing specific colours. At the last minute, they had been let down by the aerial photographer and I stepped in.
This poppy was the culmination of a lot of hard work and they didn't want it to go unnoticed. Safety restrictions meant that I could not fly directly above (or, in fact within 50m of) the pupils so I opted for a flight about 100m away from the base of the poppy with one of the schools in the background.
Here is the result
Here's the local Newspapers' take on it
http://www.elystandard.co.uk/news/gallery_1_000_pupils_come_together_to_create_human_poppy_1_3650062
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/SLIDESHOW-Sohams-primary-schools-come-together-to-form-giant-human-poppy-20140620130322.htm#ixzz35POJgJkn
Soham Museum has an exhibition featuring the photographs and other aspects of the project this autumn. Do pop in if you are in the area - and don't forget to enthuse over the aerials!
That's it for this Newsletter. Do check out the new www.AerialPhotography.Directory and give it a go. Please feedback any issues or bugs and also suggest any features that you would like added.
