Perfect Adventure
Last year I got to fly in a hot air balloon for the first time. Not only was I invited as a guest, but I got to fly over my favourite Italian hill town at dawn, in the summer, with my Canon R5.
As adventures go it was basically perfect. I got to meet some cool people, briefly explored a world I knew nothing about, and I was able to make some pictures that made me really happy. It also made me realise what I’d been missing when it came to aerial photography.
From Balloon 52 in 2022 – Canon R5 – RF 24-70 f/2.8
Any remaining resistance I might have had to owning a drone evaporated in those minutes above Todi and I resolved to get one as soon as I could. I needed to make more aerial work (and drones are significantly cheaper than hot air balloons).
Last September I bought a DJI Mini 3 Pro. It took some hours of practice to get the confidence to start flying for clients, but since then it and I have been all over the UK.
Full Circle
Bringing the drone to Italy was something I’d been planning subconsciously ever since I bought it, (perhaps even beforehand). I’d been waiting for a chance to get back over that landscape since I’d first been bitten by the bug 12 months earlier. It felt like the drone was coming home, even though I’d never flown there before.
Not only did the drone give me the push I needed to get out and about before first light, it gave me both new opportunities and a new perspective on an area I’ve photographed extensively over the last 20 years.
Notes
After (nearly) a year of dronership, I can confirm that at times it has felt like the best decision I ever made, and there are times when it’s felt like a foolish waste. There have also been numerous occasions when I’ve wished I had a bigger one.
The Mini 3 Pro gets blown around a bunch and there have been a few times when I’ve had to land because it’s too windy. I’m also spoilt and while the camera is tiny, light, high resolution and stabilised, I have on occasion cursed its dynamic range in comparison to my other cameras, (none of which can fly).
The Mini 3 Pro is a phenomenal piece of kit, and has opened a door for me, one that I desperately wanted to walk through. I occasionally harbour a scheming thought or two, about moving up to a Mavic and seeing the jump in stability, flight time, and dynamic range, (as well as licensing, responsibility, and associated cost).
For the moment I’m content to try get better and be more artful with the kit I have.
Rockwell Moment
I don’t have affiliate relationships but it might be useful to know that I get my cameras (& drones) from London Camera Exchange, my film comes from Analog Wonderland, and Silver Pan Lab do the development and scanning.