NOTES FROM FLYING A DRONE
I'm by no means what I would call an experienced drone pilot, but I have accumulated my fair share of flying hours, even if almost all of them have taken place under broadly similar conditions: in rural or natural environments, away from towns and people, in fair to good weather, with my little car nearby to provide shelter and, more importantly, power.
Even so, I have flown at all times of day, throughout the seasons, and over a wide variety of landscapes, from gently rolling hills to high alpine peaks. I therefore feel qualified enough to share, for the benefit of fellow pilots, some of the experience I have gained in pursuing aerial photographs worthy of something more enduring than a fleeting social media post.
What follows is, in no particular order, a collection of what the internet would probably call tips. I prefer to think of them as avoidable mistakes, usually born of one of three things: lack of experience (you can consider this brief text a wormhole-like shortcut to deeper knowledge), excessive trust in technology—which, one could argue, is humanity's greatest weakness at present, though I shall leave that for another occasion—or poor preparation, as is so often the case with complex undertakings, preparation is every bit as important as the task itself.
One final remark before beginning. I should confess that I have almost no interest in the moving image. Partly this is due to a lack of ability, but mostly it stems from a genuine lack of enthusiasm. Fairly or unfairly, I have come to associate video with the world of content creation, forever demanding more and more material while quietly siphoning off much of the talent and artistry that drew me to image making in the first place.
Don't trust the battery indicator
The battery indicator is precisely that: an indicator. It is remarkably accurate, but it is not infallible. It cannot account for sudden changes in wind speed or direction, unexpected drops in temperature, or unplanned power-intensive tasks such as saving high-resolution images wirelessly.
I would always rather land with twenty-five per cent of battery remaining than spend the last few minutes of a flight wondering whether my expensive flying companion is about to disappear beneath the surface of a lake or into the middle of an inaccessible field.
Keep moving
Your little quadcopter is capable of travelling surprisingly long distances, but I have always found it safer—and generally more enjoyable—to remain as close to it as circumstances reasonably allow.
Whenever possible, I would rather drive or walk to the next location than simply fly the drone there. Besides reducing unnecessary flying, it somehow makes the whole process feel more physical, which I count as no bad thing.
Prepare
Street photography is the reason I fell in love with the art of framing people and places in the first place. It almost seems to arise, in magical fashion, from pure serendipity, and the photographer sole task is to catch those ephemeral moments (even though, I’m inclined to think that even Webb and Pinkhassov and their illustrious peers do their fair share of planning, maybe just of a different, more esoteric kind).
Drone photography could hardly be more different.
If you have a particular image in mind, you should have a Plan A, a Plan B and, ideally, a Plan C. Know how to reach your location, where your alternatives are, how the light is likely to develop throughout the day, and how you intend to move through the landscape. If you are exploring somewhere unfamiliar, spend some time studying it beforehand rather than relying entirely upon improvisation.
We are fortunate—or perhaps unfortunate—to live in an age of satellite imagery, Google Earth and excellent sun-path applications. There is, more often than not, very little excuse for turning up unprepared.
I am deliberately avoiding the legal aspects of flying. Knowing the local regulations and respecting them should simply be taken for granted.
Arrive early
I have never considered myself a sunrise or sunset photographer. More often than not, I find harsh midday light or heavily overcast skies just as compelling.
Nevertheless, when I do set out in pursuit of a particular quality of light, I try to arrive well before it materialises. There are few things more frustrating than unpacking your equipment in haste while the light you have spent all day waiting for quietly becomes something else.
Happy accidents do occur, but rather less frequently than photographers often like to pretend.
Take more than one shot
If you believe you have found a promising image, spend a little longer working on it.
Try slight variations in height, composition, focal length and exposure. Digital photography has relieved us of the financial consequences of pressing the shutter one more time, while the screen on even the finest remote controller can conceal subtle flaws that become painfully obvious once viewed properly at home: a slightly soft corner, a distracting reflection, a touch of motion blur or a horizon that isn't quite level.
Moreover, the strongest composition is not always the first one that presents itself. It is worth giving your future self a choice.
Check your settings
This may be peculiar to certain manufacturers, but some drones have an irritating habit of quietly resetting camera settings under particular circumstances.
There are few disappointments quite like discovering that what you believed to be a RAW file is, in fact, a JPEG.
Before every flight I make a habit of checking the essentials: image format, exposure settings, focus mode and any other options that matter for the photographs I intend to make. It takes only a few moments and has saved me from more than one regrettable oversight.
Expect questions
I have always found it curious that people often regard someone carrying a professional camera as inherently suspicious, despite the fact that the smartphone in almost every pocket today is an infinitely more capable surveillance device.
If walking around with a camera occasionally attracts curious—or even hostile—questions, flying a drone almost certainly will.
In my experience, people generally fall into one of two camps: the curious and the concerned. Fortunately, the same approach tends to work with both. Be polite, approachable and reassuring. Explain what you are doing if someone asks. You are not doing anything harmful or illegal, and there is very rarely any need to become defensive.
Conversations with the authorities are, understandably, a little different. Having your documentation readily available—licence, insurance, identification and any other relevant paperwork—usually goes a long way towards resolving matters quickly and amicably.