Recent content by mdurbanek

This forum is a great resource. Follow links for flying tips, battery care, showcases - see what others are producing. If you want to drive yourself crazy, read some of the threads on pricing - although that might dissuade you from entering the business! Also, you can learn a lot from YouTube...

These guys are not the bottom - they're subterranean. The fact is, whoever takes this project is actually paying Droners and rewarding them for their arrogance and greed.

R. Perry - your posts have been among the more articulate and interesting reads on this forum. I'm only a few years behind you in age, but my phone keeps ringing and after all - photography isn't digging ditches. So I agree with your quest to improve your photography. Then I suggest you start...

I have addressed this before, but the topic requires revisiting. A couple of years ago during a job walk at a winery, the manager and I were standing in the rear of the project, close to the two-story fermenting building. Suddenly a helicopter roared overhead from behind the building. That...

Thanks. When I was starting out, I knew of a famous Landscape photographer (David Muench) and the “Grandaddy” of architectural photographers (Julius Shulman) were based in close proximity to me in Southern California. Both of them were gracious enough to give me a chunk of their time to answer...

Definitely visit the firm's website, study their work and the approach their photographers take. Study several other firm's work, looking at viewpoints, lighting, optics, & framing. When your viewpoint is not that high (say 15-50 feet, give yourself plenty of room to crop so you can straighten...

The longer you wait, the dirtier the roof will get - especially with so much smoke in the air. Then, if the fog rolls in, you'll get condensation producing inevitable streaks from the dirt/smoke, and some low places where it will pool somewhat. And when it finally rains you'll be spending hours...

The most recent release of Camera RAW (13.2) has a pretty cool resolution booster through the Enhance function (control+click). I haven't made a print with it yet, but the computed image size basically doubles. Also, I've had good success with my architectural subjects by stitching panoramas...

Understanding that this is an old thread, I had a new experience last week with DJI's Unlock. I obtained an authorization from DJI a few days before the shoot near a non-towered airport. I showed up at 8 AM and couldn't fly. Then I noticed on my phone, the authorization didn't start until...

Is that the Metrolink EMF in Colton? I shot the new Crenshaw/LAX Railyard last year for a consortium of the design/construction/engineering companies. The project is less than 300' from the runway 24R approach and only 1 mile from the runway itself. The project had incredible potential for...

Back in the 70's when I started out as a photographer, we would call the local flight school ahead of time and they would have the Cessna's passenger door removed before we arrived. Much easier than shooting out of that window, but it was somewhat unnerving the first time up. And cold in the...

It is an old thread, but I never bothered to check out the DroneGenuity web site. First thing that jumped out to me was the overall poor image quality of their opening slide-show portfolio. And two of the videos show clean horizons that are not close to level. For crying out loud - run a gimbal...

I'm familiar with the area. I'm not seeing any restrictions on the DJI self-unlocking page. It is within The vast Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area, but I have flown in many different parts of the SMMNRA with no problems from DJI. Just keep a sharp eye for low-flying planes and...

Amen. DJI has cost me on three separate occasions, once in Class G and two instances where I obtained LAANC approval. DJI’s self unlock showed no restrictions the day before each flight. And no TFRs. Their support staff has eventually been able to get me flying in a few days, with no admission...

Helicopters freak me out. Three weeks ago, the manager a non-towered airport told me he does not approve drone flights. Which struck me as odd, since I didn't ask for his approval, I just wanted to notify him of my plans to photograph a business 1 mile away and well off of the take-off/approach...