Over the past 5 years I have shot many level view (Elevated
Photography) shoots from various cherry pickers – for clients who are
developing apartment blocks throughout Melbourne. Clients use the images to render in the
potential views to their advertising and marketing material and for building
permit applications. The most requested
format is a panorama, and I also provide the individual images. I have access to a 25 meter spider lift that
can get in and out of even smaller locations that a truck based cherry picker. This
means that it can be driven down narrow paths to reach courtyards or traverse
through construction sites to reach a central location. The elevated Photography service is quoted
per job and is usually carried out in fine weather unless otherwise requested
by the client. 90% of the time there is
two parts to the shoot, one during the day and a dusk shoot. The best time of the year for a dusk shoot is
during the summer months when they last longer and the sky is usually clear. I
use this app to make sure they cherry picker is on time and no additional
time is wasted.
During the past twelve months I have been hard at work
gaining all the relevant licenses and certificates to operate a UAV for
commercial purposes. This will all be complete in august 2015. It
will add drone photography services (UAV Photography) to my business. I don’t expect it to replace the cherry
picker but in some cases it will. I
spent some time researching the different UAV’s on the market and decided to go
with the Mikrokopter brand on a Freefly Cinestar 8 frame. It has the ability to fly waypoints around a
subject and even shoot panoramas automatically.
So how will this add to my
service? Well in most locations in
Melbourne I will be able to shoot level views in areas where the cherry picker
was not able to, and shoot aerial views otherwise not visible. I will also be able to rise higher than 25
meters with less cost than 25+ meter cherry pickers and cranes. All these factors are dependent on a safety assessment
of each location. It will also depend of
legal factors such as “you can’t operate within 3 nautical miles (5 kilometres)
from aerodromes” “you can’t operate within 30 meters of people” to name a
few.
Added to my Aerial Photography Services I will have every
part of the sky covered. From 10 feet to
10000 feet. I am not just another drone
operator in Melbourne I am an established aerial photographer with a large client
base. More important than the machines
that I use to get the shots is my ability as a photographer to take the best
shots, often in high stress situations.