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In the previous article I wrote about the basic disadvantages and limitation of the drone: it depends on batteries, has limited range, flight altitude and speed, all of which put it at a disadvantage compared to shooting from a manned aircraft. Granted, the drone is a very different tool to a manned aircraft, but I compare the two to emphasize that the photographer should be aware of the advantages and limitations of each option when planning a shoot. This time, I would like to discuss...

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So far, I've offered nothing but praise for the drone. It's a remarkably cheap and widely available tool. You can fly it anywhere, get infinite perspectives and unique compositions. It can easily hover in place to shoot long exposures or wait for the right time to shoot. It will venture where no human will, be it through toxic gases or scorching lava. And it is so much fun. But the drone has its disadvantages and limitations, and that is the subject for today. Discussing these...

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  In the previous articles in this series, I elaborated about the advantages of the drone, specifically that the drone offers more compositional opportunities, is cheap to run, portable, available anywhere and able to hover in place. In this article I'd like to conclude the discussion of the drone's advantages by mentioning its ability to hover in place and its most fun facet: its fearlessness in the face of danger.   Ability to hover The ability to...

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In the previous article in this series, I elaborated about the compositional advantages of the drone compared to land-based shooting. I claimed that the drone offers infinitely more compositional opportunities, which results from the fact that the photographer isn't bound to the ground. This allows better perspectives and separation of the compositional elements. On this article I'd like to talk about two more advantages of shooting with a drone, which particularly relate to the...

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In the first article of this series I explained what drones are, how they are built and controlled by the user. The next question to naturally arise is "why does one need a drone?". What is a drone good for, and why should you get one? The answer to this question is long and complicated, but could be summed up by saying that a drone gives the photographer opportunities for shots not achievable in any other way. That's quite the statement, but I stand behind it strongly, and I intend...

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Ever since I started shooting landscapes, I was fascinated with aerials. There's little doubt that aerial photography offers a very different perspective on a landscape, not to mention the excitement one experiences when witnessing nature from a bird's eye viewpoint. I have written extensively about the good and the bad, as well on the reasons for shooting aerials in the first article of my series about aerial photography. But drone photography is VERY different to being up there...

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In mid 2019 I traveled to Argentina to shoot the total solar eclipse that took place July 2nd. This was going to be my first total eclipse experience, and I was very motivated to make the most out of it. Northern Argentina is quite a ways from home - about 20 hours in the sky - but several things about this specific eclipse made it worth the effort. First of all, the path of totality was going through the Argentinean desert - a vast place full of photographic potential - which allowed my...

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In early 2019 I had a fantastic trip to South East Asia. After 13 years without setting foot there (a bit of a frightening number – the last time was before I ever held a DSLR!), I was getting a serious itch that had to be scratched. I was craving the feel of Asia, its food, wildlife and landscapes. When I found the right partner to join me, I jumped on the opportunity and booked my flights. While this wasn't purely a shooting trip (I also spent time in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong...

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In November of 2018 I did a trip to Africa, and spent three days photographing mountain gorillas in Uganda. It had been a long while since I'd last photographed animals. I started my way in the photography world shooting wildlife, but for many reasons I quickly became obsessed with landscape photography and went on to devote most of my time, attention and resources into this field. I have been wanting to revisit wildlife photography for ages, and when two friends of mine mentioned they were...

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In the first part of this series, I talked about shooting Kilauea's lava surface-flows using a drone. In the second part, I talked about shooting the lava with a DSLR from the ground. In the third, I talked about shooting from a dedicated lava-viewing boat. I'd like to finish this series with a short article about shooting the lava from a helicopter. I will also try to sum up the lava shooting part of my Hawaii trip, and survey how it ended up being published. I was very...

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