In a Silent Way / Miles Davis
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Got my first DJI drone out today and took the below photos with it. Some of the best HDR photography at 48 pixels via AEB. One of the first drones of DJI. A classic camera on it. Three photos from it processes in Photomatix Pro 6.
Above, above the downtown area of our town New Albany, Fve miles east of the 270 outer belt around Columbus. We’ve lived here since 2015. Moved from Palm Desert, California. The bottom shot, above our current neighborhood. From 300’ above the neighborhood. Many modern painters might see the patterns in the below. Representative of the nation. Or, the times we all live within. The neighborhood shot represents much more today than just above my neighborhood. It could be above so may neighborhoods in America.
Today, using a drone has an implication to it. The word drone is connected to sophisticated warfare today as most of us know. With this in mind, the Chinese drone company DJI has been in the target eye of American government. Things have changed greatly since I first started using my Mavic Air 2 drone in 2020. I could fly it anywhere above anywhere in Columbus without any restrictions.
Now, five years after I first started flying drones, things in the drone world have changed. Perhaps the greatest change has been the connection of the word “drone” to killing and destruction. Rather than creativity. Or perspective of the world.The use of drones for creativity has been close to shut-down by federal regulations. Some that make sense (close to airports) some that make no sense (not over a groups of people). Or, over natural wonders of nature and ecology.
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The result?
The fear of drones has limited where drones be flown.
Access denied to an entire “above” of drone pilots to share their perspective of the world. Above the world from independent creators.
It’s an important freedom. Like many of these freedoms. it’s seldom fought in the lightness of transparency but rather in the depths and shadows of the bureaucracy.
Yet behind all of the battling between the Chinese and American government, the greatest recreational drones have provided new perspectives and views of the world to billions of people around the world. The new medium of above for seeing the world. These views have been like the views of independent filmmakers. Recreational drones = Independent filmmakers.
In effect, they were made by people with little thought of economic compensation. How much information have DJI users been contributing to China? And does it matter for a grand perspective of the world captured and shared with others?