Welcome to a blustery, rainy September 2015 newsletter
It’s all go go go since passing my BNUC-s flight exams and becoming a qualified, licensed and insured UAV pilot….what a buzz, literally.
Since passing the exams, I have spent most of my photo/video time in the sky playing. It is amazing how incredibly different the world looks from up there and the opportunities for new-found destinations for great photos and video are endless.
I have spent 30+ years on the ground looking for new angles and places to photograph and now this opens up a completely new dimension…very exciting!
A couple of weeks ago I upgraded from the Phantom 2 quadcopter with Go Pro camera to the DJI Inspire 1 beast…wow, this thing is fast (up to around 60mph) and super-stable.
Review of the Inspire 1 to come soon…
Commercially, I have done a fair bit of drone work so far including:
- Filming a cruise liner out at sea as mentioned a while ago
- Videoing and photographing land for a survey regarding building work
- Looking for a lost dog (which was sadly found deceased on a railway line later)
- Filming a super cool water-park (in high winds)
- Yesterday, I was filming “Challenge Weymouth” for Channel 4 on British TV
The last job above was probably my most enjoyable yet, it was the second, hugely popular Iron Man competition in Weymouth.
I met with some cool video guys who work with Channel 4 who were very helpful and friendly and even allowed me to use their cordoned off area for take off and landing.
I filmed the swimming out at sea followed by some cool shots of the cyclists on the start of their 100 mile + ride and then finally some of the runners as they started the last leg of the Iron Man.
I was flying in 25mph gusts but my new drone, the DJI Inspire 1, held firm and produced incredibly stable footage. I now have some (hopefully) very exciting projects in the pipeline so it looks as though I will be in the sky for the foreseeable future.
However, aerial imaging really compliments ground stuff well too and it actually landed me a 2017 wedding booking as I promised to do some aerial footage of their day, weather permitting. They saw 14 other photographers!
Here is a quick edit of some clips I took at Nothe Fort a few weeks ago…this machine is superb!
So, this month…
- How to choose a printer
- How to recover lost photos
- Aerial filming in the Tate Modern art gallery
- SandMarc Armour Bag and Pole for Go Pro gear
- 10 vital tips for wedding photographers
- The best settings for landscape photography
- DJI Zenmuse X5 for the Inspire 1
- Camera gear for sale…
Top 5 Printers for Photographers
Printers have come a long way since I got my first Epson 2100 and Canon A3 printers. There is a lot to consider these days so Ink Express wrote this short guide to what they think are the top 5 printers currently on the market.
Choosing the right printer for you
How to Recover Lost Photos
Recovery software has been around since the start of digital photography but as time moves on and file types change, maybe your software is out of date or struggles with the files from all the latest cameras?
Check out this guest article from Rajni from PhotoRec Digital Picture Recovery:
Aerial filming in the Tate Modern art gallery
You may have read this on our blog already but this job was easily the most scary we have done with the drones so far. No GPS to guide the UAV, hanging art, people setting up their precious artwork ready for a huge exhibition and we were to fly two drones inside the arena…gulp!
Check out how we got on below and see the footage we took:
Filming with drones inside the Tate Modern Art Gallery
SandMarc Armour Bag and Pole for Go Pro gear
Got a ton of Go Pro gear rattling around inside your camera bag? This cool little roll up bag from SandMarc may help you free up some space and make it easier to carry.
Handy bag for Go Pro HD Hero cameras and accessories
10 vital tips for wedding photographers
Great guest article written by Sam Butterworth on wedding photography..well worth a read.
Ten quick but useful tips for the wedding photographer
The best settings for landscape photography
Another guest article from Jake Newell this time on landscape photography. Learn how to set up your camera for best results when shooting landscapes.
Camera settings for better landscape photography
DJI Zenmuse X5 for the Inspire 1
Every now and again, something comes into my life that simply rips the wallet from my pocket and swipes my credit card before I have the chance to realise what I am doing.
The DJI Inspire is probably one of the most popular aerial video/photo platforms right now which is why I bought one. It is fast, stable and the image quality is superb. However…
The 4K footage from this beast is amazing (as you saw in the video above…although only 1080p in that one) but I always thought in some instances the dynamic range wasn’t always as good as I wanted.
After all, I was used to filming and shooting with the lovely Panasonic GH4 which has a much larger M43 (micro 4/3rds) sensor giving great dynamic range and picture clarity.
So imagine my surprise and excitement when DJI announced this for the Inspire 1 late last week…all my prayers were answered in one very cool, neat and beautiful bit of kit giving me:
- 4K video from a much bigger, micro 4/3rds sensor just like the GH4
- 16mp high resolution stills
- Much better dynamic range
- Interchangeable lenses…
Heaven…
DJI Zenmuse X5 for the Inspire 1
Camera Gear for Sale
Lol. In order to now pay for this X5 from Zenmuse, I am selling off a lot of my kit that I don’t seem to use much now that my photography has taken a bit of a curve ball in direction.
If there is anything here that you want, we can work out the postage costs but please get in touch as soon as possible as I intend to put this all on eBay soon.
Nick’s second hand camera gear for sale
That’s your lot! I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and found the articles useful and I hope it “Inspire’s” you to get out and try something new with your photography.
Take care and see you in the next newsletter (and please remember to share this with your photo-mad friends: )!
Nick – All Things Photography
