Gallery: Drones capture stunning Milton Keynes shots
It could be said the future of aerial photograph is still…up in the air. The ever-growing industry has made huge advances in recent years and its increasing convenience has enabled the most pioneering of photographers to shower us with aerial masterpieces, writes Anthony Hornsby.
Behind every work of art, there is an artist to transfer creative initiative onto captivating canvases. In this instance the man behind the metaphorical brush is Adam Close of Drone MK. His fully licensed, Milton Keynes based aerial photography company has the capabilities to capture sides of your town, like you may never have seen before.
Adam very kindly agreed to talk to CitiBlog Milton Keynes about the future of aerial photography in general, the use of drones, how it could impact the Milton Keynes community and the creation of his company.
He says, “It is now more affordable and easier to capture aerial images, with the use of drones. You can purchase a drone fitted with a camera, from a little as a couple of hundred pounds.
“Aerial photography, I think, enables people to see their local surroundings from another perspective. I get a lot of comments on the photos I post online, asking where are these places? Or people saying how they didn’t realise these places even existed.
“Aerial photography has been around for many years, the main appealing aspect now though, is that it is more affordable and that it is not only easier to capture images but the quality of the images we can obtain are awesome.”
There are vast capabilities of gathering images from aerial points of view, some of which I’m sure are yet to be discovered. However, Adam sees several different avenues the technology his Drone MK company possesses could go down.
“The uses seem to been increasing all the time and expanding rapidly as the technology develops,” he explains. “We are currently waiting for the release of an infrared camera upgrade, which once available for the drone we use, may help in energy loss surveying as well as having potential emergency services uses.”
As for the advances in the technology already, Adam says, “It also helps in other areas such as surveying, search and rescue and data collection. It is safer to send a drone up in the air to survey a roof or building, rather than send a person.”
“Aerial photography has the potential to showcase businesses locations and sites, from a perspective which may not have been seen before.”
Adam started Drone MK by his own accord after experience in photography, he also enjoyed flying drones and decided to combine a passion with a pastime.
“I started flying Quadcopters as a hobby. I have always been interested in both flying and photography, especially with my father being a wedding photographer.
“I started posting footage online via Facebook and Twitter and it was getting a lot of interest with people asking me to take images for them. To take any aerial footage commercially, you have to get a permit from the CAA, (Civil Aviation Authority) and that is what made me decide to start Drone MK.
“The intention was never to make money from it, purely to enable me to continue to fly and get permission to fly in a variety of areas, but as the demand seems to be growing it is exciting to see how Drone MK will also grow.”
Adam has also taken his Drone as far away as Florida where he captured some spectacular images of the dream-like scenery the sunshine state has to offer.
The Quadcopter that Drone MK uses has a plethora of cutting edge technologies which enable Adam to achieve photographs of the highest quality, even in testing conditions.
He explains, “We use a Quadcopter which has four rotors and retractable legs, which means whilst in flight we are able to rotate our camera 360 degrees without anything getting in its way.
“We can use the Quadcopter with up to two users, one flying and one operating the camera.
“It has a micro 4-3 sensor, with a DSLR camera unit mounted beneath and an interchangeable lens, all of which can shoot video footage up to 4K standards.
“The drone also possesses a HD Live feed back to Monitors on the Ground, can fly over 50mph, is stable in winds up to 25mph and can get up to 18 minutes flight time from each battery.”
With Aerial Photography becoming ever popular, the need to contain and manage how people use their devises is of great importance.
Adam, whose Drone MK company is fully qualified to perform such photography, highlights the importance of flying regulations.
Adam says, “This is a huge thing at the moment as there are rules and regulations, but enforcing them seems to be the issue. Power used to be with CAA, but I believe it is now with the Police.
“To do any commercial flying you need to get a PfAW (Permit for Aerial Work) from the CAA. Without this you can’t get insurance and you shouldn’t be flying for any ‘gain’.
“To obtain this you need to complete a course, which has two elements, theory and practical. You then have to compile an operations manual which has to be submitted to the CAA for their approval, before they will give you a PfAW.”
However Adam informed us that: “You need no certificate or qualification to fly for fun, only need certification to fly commercially.”
With regards to privacy laws, Adam explains, “You should be flying at least fifty meters distance from any person, building or vehicle you don’t have control of.
“Privacy shouldn’t be an issue, as you would have to fly a lot closer than that to get a photograph which you could then identify somebody in.
“The only restricted fly zones in Milton Keynes are the prison and within 5km of Cranfield Airport.
“We use software called Sky Demon to check the airspace restrictions and we always check for NOTAM’s (Notice to Airmen) before flying.”
It is clear the future of aerial photography is still in its infancy despite already making noticeable technological advances.
However, the benefits it can potentially bring to many industries, all of which can be found here in Milton Keynes, are extremely exciting.
Aerial Photography has the ability to not only change the way we look at our city’s landscape, and indulge us in captivating imagery, but, also have an effect on things such as safety.
You can visit Drone MK’s website, Twitter and Facebook.