STUFF MEETS
THE PRO DRONE PILOT – AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR FOR DJI EUROPE – ON HIS SKYWARD RISE
I started building and piloting RC helicopters at the age of 10.
So I started very early with RC, and I still have some of my first aerial photography. I think I must have been one of the first people to attach a disposable camera to my RC helicopter and take a dronie! That photo of me still exists, and the one after is of a crashed helicopter…
I was fascinated by flying anything remotely – and attaching a camera blew my mind.
I remember the day I saw the first video of drones with cameras attached – Iwas so hyped that I couldn’t sleep for two days. My career has been a natural progression: I studied IT, became a professional photographer,thenwiththe drones all three things just came together.
Photography knowledge is important as a drone pilot.
I was apro photographer for10 years. Wedding photography was good training as you have to get the right shot. Having a good background in artistic photography – knowing what ISO, aperture and shutter speed to use, as well as which lens – certainly helped me. The DJI Mavic 3 Pro has three cameras – wide, telephoto and super-telephoto – and you need to understand when to use which. When you’re working at a high level for Hollywood DPs [directors of photography], they expect that you know the camera. They expect that you are at a level where you know the shutter speed required, for example – it’s not even discussed.
I’m able to keep calm under intense pressure.
The amount of pressure depends on the production; but when you get to a high level, everyone on set is watching what you do. Most shots need you to be super-precise, which comes with experience. I flew a drone live on ABC’s Good Morning America, where there was absolutely no room for mistakes as it was streamed to millions of viewers. The more pressure there is, the calmer I get – Igo into my own world and don’t let it touch me.
A high five from a director means a lot.
There are so many variables that can’t be controlled when you’re flying drones professionally – the biggest risk, obviously, being if you crash. But if you nail the sho
