So you’ve just bought a drone for Christmas, flew it for the first time only to realize that getting those beautiful aerial sequences to look cinematic wasn’t that easy. Don’t worry; it’s actually not so complicated. There are just a couple of things to know and combine to bring your clips to the next level.
Some of you may have woke up early on Christmas morning to rush to the tree and unwrap your shiny new drone. Unfortunately, the unusually cold conditions in parts of the US meant that many of you were grounded.
It's not every day that a video interview keeps me interested, undeterred by distractions, the entire time I'm watching it. But this one definitely did, mainly because it involves something that probably 90 percent of little boys, one of which I used to be, often dream of: being an astronaut. And learning about taking photos in space is just icing on the cake.
Amazon is not the only company planning on using drones for shipping. Following the trend, Santa Claus enrolled the professional drone pilots from Team BlackSheep to expedite the massive gift delivery operation. Here is an inside look at the Christmas mission operated directly from Finland.
New York City is the subject of many photographers' photos. No matter the perspective, it’s hard to take a bad picture of the place. But Manhattan-based Humza Deas has been using a drone to take a series of images that show the city from a different view.
The winners of National Geographic’s 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year have been announced. This year, Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan comes away with the grand prize for his wildlife photo, “Face to Face in a River in Borneo.”
With Christmas right around the corner, now is the perfect time to be buying gifts for family, friends, and significant others. As drones continue to become more and more popular, it shouldn’t be a surprise that these will be one of the hottest holiday gifts for anyone who is into photography and videography.
Think studio lighting can sometimes be stressful? One adventure photographer tried it while freefalling at 125 mph for a skydiving photoshoot, complete with a Profoto flash.
A couple of weeks ago, I bought my first drone: a DJI Mavic Pro. I’d been eyeing one for months, trying to decide if it was worth it and if I could justify its use for my business. I pulled the trigger right after Thanksgiving, have been trying to learn all of the rules about using it, and have been studying for the FAA Part 107 test ever since. And there are a lot of rules.
This year has seen the number of people owning a drone grow like never before. That’s probably due to the units becoming more affordable and more accessible to use. One great example is the DJI Mavic, or more recently the DJI Spark. The latter is advertised as a drone you can take anywhere but still offers an excellent image quality, and that anyone can use.
These incredible, apocalyptic-looking photos, taken by Axel Sigurðarson, show the scenes that occurred during the eruptions in Iceland between August 29, 2014 and February 27, 2015.
A few days ago, I took my first ever flight over N.Y.C. and before even getting in the helicopter, I had a bunch of crazy awesome shots in my head that were ready to shoot and share with the world. After doing aerial photography for just over two years with my drone, I believe that I have acquired the eye to shoot from the sky.
As a newcomer to drones and drone photography, it can be a little overwhelming in the beginning. Learning all there is to know about maneuvering your new toy through the air is enough to give you a few grey hairs before you even get it off the ground. Once you’re up there, you better believe there’s some extra tension in your muscles the first few times you fly.
You've probably been there before: stuck in a creative rut. I know I have. It's easy to get into when you're shooting the same subject matter over and over again. Don't believe me?
I'm just starting to look into adding drone photography to my commercial photography services, so I've been trying to learn as much as I can about it when I have the time. Quick videos like this one usually teach me a thing or two, and they don't take long to watch. I'm all about learning something new while eating breakfast, editing photos, or even folding socks.
Do you own a drone? Have you thought about picking one up this holiday season? I can almost guarantee that you have been looking at something by the world leader in drone manufacturing DJI but what if I said you had options?
Maybe you are like me and you just settled into a new place and are looking for places nearby that you can shoot. After moving to a new location about an hour away from where I was living at home, I have been trying to keep up with all my shooting.
The FAA is slowly changing its position on drones in a recent special wavier that was granted to CNN for use of drones over large crowds.
Here are the big points in this ruling:
The drones do not have to be tethered as previously required.
Less than a year after the release of the X5S camera, DJI just introduced the new Zenmuse X7 with superlative specifications. The Chinese drone manufacturer is innovating so rapidly that it may be hard to keep track of all the new features associated with its ever-expanding product range. Let’s check what the main differences between the two cameras are and which one you should buy.
Chinese manufacturer DJI just announced a new technology to identify and track airborne drones. Dubbed AeroScope, this system takes advantages of all the telemetry data sent by the aircraft to give the authorities a detailed vision of the drone presence in a local airspace. This system is mature and has been installed at two international airports since April.
Recently DJI announced the Zenmuse X7 camera which is a Super 35mm equivalent that can shoot in 6K. Just about a year ago DJI also announced the Inspire 2 and the X5S which was a Micro Four-Thirds that could shoot up to 5.2K.
On-site at DJI's Los Angeles Zenmuse X7 media event, DJI also previewed a new software solution it's working on in order to help plan drone shoots during the pre-production stages. Currently under development, Project Vertex will allow users to build three-dimensional models of a location and to bring them back to the office for more accurate shot-planning.
When it comes to flying cameras, there's no doubt that DJI is at the top of the game. Alongside its consumer, pro-sumer, and professional cinema options, today DJI announced the Super 35-format Zenmuse X7. Designed to work seamlessly with the Inspire 2 drone, the X7 features a number of advancements to make it the perfect match for cinema-quality aerial video capture.
A few months back, I was getting the feeling that I needed to start traveling to see more of the beautiful world we live in. At the time it was just a thought until my buddy Tom Harmon called me up and asked if I'd want to go out to Oregon with him.
There aren’t many photographers whose work I keep tabs on consistently. I barely have time to keep up with all of my own work, so while I may follow some photographers on Instagram, that’s about it. One of those select few that I check in on is Benjamin Von Wong, and once I heard about his latest project for Nike, I was excited to check it out.
Motherboard obtained nearly a hundred pages of emails between the Federal Aviation Administration and federal, state, and local agencies through a Freedom of Information Act. This correspondence describes the exchange between the law enforcement officials and the FAA regarding the establishment of a no-fly zone over the protest area.
This one is for all you drone enthusiasts out there: you only have six days left to make that epic, viral video of the Statue of Liberty. New drone restrictions for the Statue of Liberty and other U.S. national landmarks go into effect October 5.
Always looking to try something different with his aerial videos, Vietnam-based Filmmaker Rufus Blackwell recently shared with me his latest project. His techniques combine motion control through planned waypoint missions, and then manipulating the footage in a visual effects software to mirror the ground in an almost "Inception"-like effect.
After many closes calls and inconclusive reports, a new incident involving a small hobby drone and two military Black Hawk helicopters might mark one the first drone to aircraft collision. Unlike many previous cases, this incident seemed to have left direct evidence.
As into the aerials as I am over here, Instagram has, believe it or not, changed the way I shoot. On my drone, it is only possible to capture landscape-oriented photos, which take up less space on a phone's display compared to a portrait-oriented image.
I have been flying my drone for just about two years now and am always looking to push myself to find new things to shoot. A year ago when I was in Nevada, I shot the ground of the desert with my Phantom 3 and was intrigued by the look and texture in the photo.
This entire summer for me has been hectic. Doing photography full time at the age of 23 is certainly awesome, but there is so much stress and hard work that comes along with it. Between work and my personal life, it has been extremely difficult to balance out my time to create my own content, but in no way have I let that slow me down.
Back in 2015, the “Throw-And-Go” Lily Robotics drone was building steam and making waves. Its Kickstarter campaign centered around its ability to launch out of water and to be thrown off a cliff to immediately rescue itself and follow its adventurer as they traveled quickly over any terrain.
There’s been speculation for some time now, but the wait is over. Today in Berlin, DJI made three major and exciting announcements about their line of drones. Specifically, they've introduced the new Mavic Pro Platinum, the new Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian, and an update to DJI Spark.
In 2013, a small quadcopter flew close to German Chancellor Angela Merkel who was attending an outdoor political meeting. A year later an inebriated federal agent crashed his Phantom in the White House perimeter. Fortunately, the drone did not damage Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden, but following this event DJI implemented the no-fly zone feature on its entry-level drones.
Colin Smith of PhotoshopCAFE teamed up with Adobe Principle Creative Director, Russell Brown, and the Canon USA team to photograph the solar eclipse in Casper, Wyoming. In the nearly 16-minute behind-the-scenes video, we get to see some of the equipment Canon Explorer of Light Ken Sklute was using to capture the eclipse with the rest of the Canon USA team.
After eight months of work I finally finished this project: an aerial tilt-shift hyperlapse of Miami. The idea was to produce something different. Time-lapse videos are very common these days and most drone operators can make a decent hyperlapse with their drones.
About a year ago I was drinking in a bar in Leicester, England. I got chatting to a gentleman who I sort of recognized from various events I'd attended in the past. After a few drinks, I discovered he owned a helicopter. At this stage, I was a bit worse for wear and thought it would be a grand idea to ask if he'd like to fly me above our hometown to take a sunset cityscape.
After the release of the new DJI Spark and its ability to fly without a remote, it is believed that DJI has the technology for anybody to fly. Steve Kampff and I decided to put this concept to the test comparing DJI's Intelligent Flight Modes to the Manual Capabilities of the user.
Amongst the drones available on the market in 2017, the DJI Spark is surely not amongst the top ones in terms of files quality. The sequences it creates are quite difficult to color grade in postproduction and thus it makes it hard for videographers to mix the clips with footage from another camera. However, there are ways to improve what you can get out of Spark’s videos.
The rumor mill is going strong with the potential release of the Phantom 5. Forum experts and unverifiable sources estimate that DJI will announce the new version of its best seller drone sometime in September of this year. Due to the lack of official information, we can only speculate at this point.
After about two years of doing aerial photography, I have decided that I will share one of my little secrets for finding a location to shoot. A lot of people tell me that my aerials are really cool, but not too many ask how I find these places.
In a bit of a surprise, a blog posted today from Lensrentals explains the different options of drone systems now available for rent, including a short list of rules and tips for flying for both recreational and commercial use. While I've seen many requests online from people asking where they could rent a drone for a one-time shoot, most companies have stayed away.
According to an internal memo published by sUAS News, the U.S. Army is asking to terminate the use of all DJI products, including cameras and software “due to increased awareness of cyber vulnerabilities associated with DJI products.” This unusual request leaves a lot of unanswered questions such as the nature of the threats and the reason behind of this global ban.
As a U.S. citizen, I have to abide by the laws of my country; As a drone operator, I have to abide by the rules of the FAA, just like anybody else. Yesterday I was at a wedding in New York when I found out President Trump was venturing to his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey for a 17 day vacation.
Earlier this year, the Japanese Experiment Module (KIBO) on the International Space Station (ISS) installed Sony's a7S II mirrorless camera on its exterior. The a7S II is known for its gorgeous 4K video capabilities and wide dynamic range.
The drone manufacturer DJI just launched a free photography contest via its official Facebook group. The theme of the competition is based around water. Post a picture related to the ocean, beach, river or lake to win the latest Spark drone and the Osmo mobile gimbal. Each contestant can only submit one picture. The contest is live until August 10th.
Flying a drone often enables the possibility of getting some really unique and arresting shots, but it also takes a fair amount of skill or even a second operator on a dedicated camera controller to pull them off. These five simple shots will give you similarly excellent results with minimal effort.
In this article, we'll go through the best sources of inspiration to plan a successful photography drone trip to a place you have never been to before. This is not an easy task, as unlike landscape photography, not everything has been photographed from a drone point of view, so just searching the usual photo sites doesn't always give you good results.
Back in July of 2016 when my daughter was a mere glimmer in my eye, I read Alex Cooke’s excellent article on shooting drone portraits. I was immediately transfixed by this new (new to me, anyway) concept. Some 12 months after first stumbling upon Alex’s article, I have a seven-week-old at home, and my travel photography has come to a halt (at least for a while).