Wishing for my Wings As a video photographer with more than three decades of experience, I have always been fascinated with aerial photography. It just looks so cool. I never tire of the perspective that altitude and movement gives us. Over the years, situations in the news, both good and bad, would sometimes call for pulling doors off of expensive and not so expensive rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft piloted by professionals to get just that perfect vantage point that captures the entire story in one field of view. The problem is these airborne story-telling solutions can also be cost prohibitive. Equipment options range from the low-end Robinson R22 that can be pulled out of a hangar with a simple hand truck to the high-end Bell Jet Ranger that requires FAA-approved camera mounts and certified pilots to fly them. Until recently, the need to secure aerial photography would easily cost thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. Even with the growing popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones), the price point was still too high. Drones were still the purview of the military or well-heeled commercial photographers who also have pilot certifications. The risk of inexperienced pilots running these still relatively expensive and unwieldy remote-controlled aircrafts literally into the ground was real.
So imagine my excitement when Chinese drone video camera-maker DJI introduced its GPS enabled Phantom 2 Vision+ v3.0, “easy to fly”, 4.5 pound quadcopter, complete with high-definition camera and 3-axis gimbal for capturing that perfect shot at a price point of less than $1,500.00! Finally, I was going to get my wings. I took delivery of my quadcopter even before DJI began seeking investors for its $10 billion valuation. Let’s see. Open area, check. Compass calibrated, check. Wi-fi connection between iPhone and camera, check. RF connection between controller and Phantom, check. GPS locks with at least 6 satellites, check. Green light on iPhone indicating “ready to fly,” check. We have main engine start. Go for throttle up. We have lift off of the maiden flight of UAV-EHAPR.
In a matter of no-time, I was piloting my drone and capturing some fantastic images that were being beamed back to my iPhone. On five different occasions I flew without incident until my 25-minute battery juice began to run low and I landed safely. I was ecstatic about all the high-flying possibilities and was ready to get to work. My business partner had reservations. She thought it was a toy and an accident waiting to happen. I reassured her that it most certainly was not a toy, it was a the wave of the future, we were ahead of the curve and it was well worth the investment. What could possibly go wrong?