Drone images has revolutionized the artwork of taking photos arguably as a lot because the invention of the digital digicam, creating awe-inspiring views that go nicely past what us meager ground-level dwellers may ever think about.
The 2013 launch of the primary industrial images drone, the now-discontinued DJI Phantom, took images to epic proportions, however has additionally led to what I believe is the largest false expectation in photographic historical past.
Think about it, when are you ever going to see the world from these magnificent heights? I can consider simply two conditions: in case you’re fortunate sufficient to be sat in a window seat of a flight or in case you’re paragliding; it simply does not occur.
For me, the fantastic thing about images is about displaying the viewer what’s really there. And sure, drone images clearly depicts actuality, however it’s not our actuality. I would like my viewers to know what it was wish to have been standing in my sneakers – and it’s what I wish to expertise after I take a look at different individuals’s pictures.
After all, photography is all about creating connection – and you could argue that, since none of us has ever seen the world as a drone has, that this connection is lost, or at least falsely implied.
Another angle of the drone photography ‘lie’ is what seems to be the new standard for what’s considered a good image. Nowadays there’s a mad obsession with capturing everything from 500 feet and unless a picture was taken from a small buzzing, flying machine, then it doesn’t deserve to be shared.
What’s wrong with good old ground-level perspective? Have we forgotten that there are so many fascinating angles down here, too?
I guess this all plays into the Instagramification of photography where everything has to be bigger and better: more saturated, more contrasty, more moody… but that’s a whole other opinion in itself.
My point is, while drone photography is impressive, mind-blowing, awe-inspiring and all the other wordy adjectives I can think of, it only exists on a screen. And what’s more disappointing than building up an expectation of a place based on these incredibly scenic viewpoints you’ll never actually see?
Drones did take our beloved craft to new heights, quite literally. But let’s not forget that the true photographic experience is grounded in what the human eye sees and the emotions that this perspective transmits.
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