Modern Travel Photography with Drones(DJI)
Travel photography and vlogging have changed significantly in the past few years with the enhancements in camera technology. Before cameras, travelers used to describe terrains and landscapes. They wrote poems about people and culture. They painted the land and rivers. But then we invented the camera.
Since the invention, Cameras kept getting better and better and more importantly smaller. Integration with the smartphone probably is the single most factor for the revolution in the travel industry. People visited places for taking pictures. This gave birth to a whole new category on Instagram. Now we are taking it to the next level with Drones.
Originally drones were used for spying and espionage. Drones could go where people couldn’t or shouldn’t. It has reached a stage where drones have become an integral part of military and surveillance. Just like GoPro created cameras for Adventure Photography, DJI is trying to do the same using Drones. But there are quite a few challenges to get started.
To know more about it, I had a conversation with Drone Photographer Uday Kiran. He addressed a few challenges he faced when he got started with drone photography.
Price
Drones are expensive. Really expensive. DJI Pro costs nearly Rs. 2,00,000.
There are affordable options like DJI Trello which costs only Rs. 10,000. DJI Trello is good for beginners to get into Drone Photography.
Permit
After the new law passed by the Indian Government, which went into full effect on Dec 1st, 2018, it’s mandatory for all Drone Owners to get their Drone registered at https://digitalsky.dgca.gov.in/.
Just like road transportation vehicles, Drones are also categorized based on their weight.
Nano < 250 gm
Micro 250 gm — 2 kg
Small 2 kg — 5 kg
Large > 5kg
However, you don’t need to register your drone if it’s Nano. So it’s important to check the Drone’s weight before making a purchase.
According to the new law, it’s also mandatory to take permission from the owners/caretakers of the area before shooting the areal view. This is to ensure their privacy is not violated.
And foremost one should adhere to No-Fly zones. Luckily the DJI App shows the areas where you are not allowed to fly the drones based on the public Flight database.
It’s important to understand what each shape and color means. Refer to the following image.,
Red is the restricted zone, Orange is the Enhanced warning zone and Yellow is the warning zone. It’s important not to fly anywhere on the map with these colors to stay safe.
Control
Assuming budget and regulations are taken care of, controlling the drone from crashing is still one of the biggest challenges which people tend to ignore before making a purchase.
It’s not easy to control a drone as humans are used to only driving linear vehicles. It’s hard to perceive height and depth while navigating. Wind also plays a bigger role while controlling lightweight drones. There are some great Official drone training programs, online courses, and of course youtube videos. There is a lot that can be achieved through drones. Flight patterns can be preconfigured and speed can be adjusted inflight. The possibilities are endless. It’s up to the pilot’s creativity to capture the best possible areal shots.
References
DJI Pro: https://amzn.to/36fVm87
DJI Trello: https://amzn.to/35cW0BO
Govt Registration: https://digitalsky.dgca.gov.in/
Official Training: https://www.indianinstituteofdrones.com/
Online Course: https://www.udemy.com/share/101yvABEoYeFhQRH0=/
