Keith is doing some great work with his Phantom and he agreed to an interview about how he got started and what he does. Be sure to visit firegroundimages.com or check out his youtube channel to see all of his awesome drone photography work with fires. Thanks Keith for the interview! Background
- Full time career firefighter in Bridgeport, CT for 15 years. - Own and operate a fireground photography business for 15 years ( www.firegroundimages.com). This is done while off-duty. - Recently added aerial photography by drone to my fireground photography business as well as to my non-fire photography. Why did you decide to start using a Phantom to shoot aerials of fires? - I always enjoyed seeing aerial views of major fires from news choppers throughout the years. I have been photographing fires traditionally for about 15 years now, and that was one view I obviously could never get. This was just a whole new take on fire photography for me. I would be able to get 360 views around the buildings (allowing you to see sides that might not have been accessible, or just too dangerous to get to), shooting at a higher altitude (allowing you to see the firefighting roof operations that you can't see from the ground if the structure has a parapet or the operations are taking place on the other side of the ridge from where you are shooting), etc. Gear currently being used: - DJI Phantom 1 - GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition - Zenmuse H3-2D Gimbal for video stabilization. - 600 MW Immersion RC 5.8 Transmitter for FPV - Immersion RC 5.8 Circular Polarized spiroNet Antenna - 5 inch LCD Monitor for FPV - I chose to use the Phantom because it seemed to be the best possible option for what I wanted to shoot. New to the RC field, it seemed like the most affordable, dependable, and could still produce the quality that I would want to publish. I have been using this rig for about 9 months now and have recently purchased a DSLR Pros Phantom 2 Sundance Edition Kit with a few added custom upgrades ( http://www.dslrpros.com/brands/sundance-aerial-kit.html ) Did you have any previous RC experience (if not, how did you learn to fly)? - I had no previous RC experience before purchasing the Phantom 1. Before ordering it, and while waiting for it to be delivered, I read and watched absolutely everything I could find on drones, quadcopters, and aerial photography. I still do this to this day. I would also speak to people who did have experience. This is how I met Justin. I purchased his first e-book which had a lot of great info for the beginner like me. Then I actually emailed him with a few questions and he was incredibly helpful and knowlegeable. Once the Phantom arrived, I started out small. I flew it around my back yard, at a low altitude, and with very small and slow maneuvers. Once it started to feel a little more comfortable to me, I would take it to a large open field and keep practicing with maneuvering and filming, only now taking longer and higher runs. I would take it back home and review the video to see how the different movements of the craft would affect the footage. How else could drones be useful to firefighters in general? - There is a tremendous amount of press out there now that outlines the MANY benefits that drones could have over firefighting and the emergency services. One example could be how the department that I work for used it to find hidden pockets of fire in a large commercial building the day after the fire. After having been ravished by fire, structures are left completely unsafe for firefighters to crawl through and search for hot spots. A large multiple story commercial building, like the one I have filmed in Bridgeport, CT ( http://youtu.be/eig7CMtf3w0 ), could have a 360 view by drone looking at all floors to see where master streams, or aerial streams should be directed. Another example could be to use them in Hazmat situations. For example, sending it into the hot zone to find a leak in a damaged rail car, etc. More examples could be in search in rescue. The possibilities are endless. Any tips or secrets for photographing fires in general? - It all starts with a scanner. Program a scanner with all of the frequencies of the towns that you feel you can access from your location. And then it's all about waiting. - Have your camera gear ready at all times (batteries charged, media cards formatted, etc). - Keep your eyes open on the fireground! Do not get tunnel vision. The fireground is a volatile environment. If you get to a scene early, you might end up closer to the action than you should. Police usually arrive quickly and will set up a safe perimeter for the public, but if you get there before they do, BE CAREFUL. Where you can find my aerial work: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIREGROUNDIMAGES Fire Photography which now includes aerials: www.firegroundimages.com and https://www.facebook.com/firegroundimages Non-Fire Photography Aerials: www.kmphotography.cc/Aerial-Views
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So far there is only 1 entry to the nano quad contest. The first entry is below. It is really good and you should try and beat it! I am going to add another prize for 2nd place - another Hubsan X4. If only 1 other person enters, they will get a free Hubsan X4 shipped to their door! Enter the contest and have some fun! A friend of mine on Facebook posted this video for me to watch. It was really cool to see the city I used to live in from a drone. I always meant to do one of these with the S800 but never got around to it. After I saw this, I was certain he used a camera without a fish eye lens like the Sony Nex5n. However, I read through the comments and it says he used the GoPro with a different lens attached! He was using a 5.4mm lens from StuntCams. I have been shopping around looking for a way to film without fisheye to get a different feel from my footage when I wanted it. This looks to be the best way to do it. I am going to order one of these lenses and I will keep you guys posted on how it works. I think when GoPro releases the GoPro 4 it will feature interchangeable lenses because it will drive the purchase of more accessories and they are a publicly traded company now after all! *** Update on the GoPro 5.4mm Lens mod. Turns out that link above is way too expensive and you can get the same thing for around $155 fromTHIS LINK: http://www.ostrc.com/collections/gopro-accessories/products/ost-10mp-5-4mm-replacement-lens-for-gopro Here is an excellent post reposted from this forum and I found it very helpful: " There are several online vendors selling "5.4mm GoPro lens" (which are flat lenses removing the fish-eye look from your GoPro) and they are selling them for $375 or in that ballpark range. First and foremost, these lenses (and the others of various focal lengths) aren't made for the GoPro. They are actually manufactured and advertised by the manufacturer as lenses for small security type CCD cameras. They do however fit nicely into the GoPro 3+ Black and Silver camera because the lens mount threading and size happen to be the same as is used in the CCD cameras they are meant for. These lenses do produce some nice, non fish-eye images when used with GoPro cameras. But if you are using the 5.4mm or higher focal length replacement lens on your GoPro and are flying it with a multicopter, make sure you have well balanced props, engines and so forth because this lens will magnify any jello effect on your footage from vibrations of the multicopter. Secondly, if you do decide to purchase one, you dont have to pay $375 or any such nonsense for this lens. All these companies are getting them from china for around $100 and if you look around, you can find them from one US vendor for around $155 or so. A vendor making $55 profit per lens for the trouble of ordering them in bulk from china is definitely a fair price. A vendor making $275 or more profit on the same lens is a total rip off. There is nothing wrong with making a profit, but one of the most well known companies that are selling these for $375 is trying to strong arm or threaten anyone else that is trying to sell these cheaper because he doesn't want to lose his easy money train (or perhaps be found out how much he has ripped people off for) and that reason alone prompted this post. And don't let that company tell you these are special made for them cause they aren't. In fact, here is the 3rd link I found on page 1 just Googleing "5.4mm ccd lens" where you can see a couple Chinese companies advertising the exact same lens for CCD cameras: http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchTex t=1%2F2.3+inch+F2.5+M12+10MP+CCTV+lens+5.4mm Finally, if you do decide to get one of these somewhere that doesn't charge $375 for them, be warned that there are 2 versions of the 5.4mm lens and getting the correct lens DOES matter. 1)The "IR" version is meant for putting on CCDs filming at night where there is a infrared light shining in the area - this is the WRONG lens and you don't want it for daytime shooting. If you purchase this lens by mistake, you will get footage that is bleached pink like this: 2)The "IR CUT" version is the CORRECT version that you want for putting on a GoPro to film in the daytime. " |
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