Using Drones as an Addition to My Landscape Photography

During my latest trip to the Faroe Islands I noticed how many tourists were flying drones. Drones are very popular, and rules for flying become more strict by the hour. I wonder why people like to fly a drone; is it just to fly, or to make films? I use it for landscape photography.

When I watch the videos of Mads Peter Iverson, I love the way he uses a drone for showing the magnificent landscapes in his videos. But he is also using it as an extension for his landscape photography, and after a long thought I finally decided to buy a drone myself. Luckily I got an opportunity to buy an old drone from a friend, to first try it out. And I must admit; it is really fun to fly.

Just flying a drone may be fun, but it has no real purpose for me. Since I am a photographer, and not a filmmaker, I wanted to use it for my landscape photography. It could bring new perspectives, just like I witnessed in the videos from Mads Peter Iverson. And yes, flying up to the legal limit of 120 meters (in the Netherlands) delivers wonderful birds eye views of the very well-known landscapes I photographed so many times before.

From that high you can see wonderful patterns in the land, invisible when standing on the ground. Looking at the drone photography on the internet, I see a lot of photos shot straight down to the ground, of winding roads, or farm fields with abstract lines, or rivers that flow snakelike through the landscape. I do love these photos, and I do enjoy looking at these often wonderful photos, but it is not my kind of photography.

Although I must admit I flew a few times above the legal limit – who hasn’t done so, once in a while? – it did not add much value for the kind of photos I like to make. But I discovered something else; I could use the drone to shoot a landscape from a higher perspective. I don’t mean flying up twenty, forty or sixty meters, but only a few meters higher. The perspective that would be similar if I climbed a rock, or a tree, to see the lines in the landscape that otherwise would be hidden from view.

These higher position also give the possibility to shoot from a place that cannot be reached. Above water, or a swamp, or behind a hedge that always blocked my view. The drone makes it possible to take a completely different position and shoot a sunset or sunrise with a completely new vantage point. Isn’t that wonderful?

What I love about a drone is not flying high, but to keep a low altitude and shoot a photo that doesn’t scream “drone footage”. I enjoy it when a viewer is surprised when he of she finds out I made the shot with a drone. Often I won’t go higher than ten or twenty meters, and sometimes I tend to descent to a few meters to “stand” right in that moorland, or swamp, or river, or a dangerous place, like I had on the Faroe Islands. It keeps me safe, while I still can take that photo.

Although for me these kind of photos show the benefit of a drone, I do like to get up much higher once in a while. I shot a waterfall in the French Auvergne from a bird eye view that is a great addition to the photos I already took in previous visits. And even in that occasion I did not had to fly higher than forty meters or so.

For my trip to the Faroe Islands I exchanged my huge DJI Phantom 3 Advanced for a smaller DJI Mavic Pro 2, which fits in my camera bag. I flew during weather situations that were quite scary, but I ended up with some nice photos that gave a wonderful view of those amazing islands. I also filmed some footage, but it is clear that I am not a filmmaker at all. The film about my masterclass in the French Auvergne is very clear about that; it is far from perfect.

I am exciting to shoot more landscapes with the drone, and I hope a lot of those pictures will blend in seamless into my regular landscape photography.

Do you have a drone? If so, what kind of photos do you love to shoot? Or are you just a pilot who loves to fly? I love to read about it in the comments below.