It was inevitable.

It was inevitable.

I’ve been avoiding touching drones, and aerial photography/videography. Not because it’s not cool, and not because I didn’t see a business case for it, but because I saw this as another rabbit hole down which I could throw money and time. I already feel a bit strapped for time to devote the care and consideration necessary to all sorts of other photographic pursuits, so adding another major excursion to my repertoire seemed kind of daunting.

But, I kind of had to do it. Video, or other types of moving pictures, like gifs, have just become such a major portion of the imagery landscape that I didn’t think there was any escaping them. I’ve tried to embrace video production as a way of providing a branding medium to customers. Being able to show what a company does in moving images can be very powerful, and I just had to do it. 

And, once you’ve embraced moving images, the next logical step is aerial moving images. Since I don’t have ready access to a helicopter much anymore, there was really just one way I was going to have my eye in the sky, and that was with a drone. So, especially given the incredible capabilities of drones these days, it was inevitable that I’d move in that direction.

Further, aerial footage is a staple of a genre that I want to move in, which is Real Estate/Design/Architecture. Being able to show an aerial perspective, particularly given all the water-property in the Kitsap area, was just a must-have. So, I did it.

I did my research. I got recommendations. I made a purchase. I studied for the certifying exam (FAA Part 107 certification, which will be MANDATORY for all commercial drone ops after Sep of this year). I bought a simulator capability and practiced up. I talked an experienced drone operator into walking me through my first couple of flights. I investigate insurance options, and bought a $1M liability policy (it has “collision” too). And, I’ve been practicing in a local (legal) field every day so I can get up to speed on aircraft systems, how to employ the cameras to best effect, how to string maneuvers together into an efficient choreography to get footage, how to best use the automated features of the system, and how to just develop an efficient workflow with the drone.

Now, I just need a couple of customers. More to follow…