Pioneers In Flight
I’m not quite old enough to remember the Wright Brothers first successful attempt at flight. That took place even before my time. I have seen the filmed footage of the event though, such as it was. I was fortunate to live through the late 1960’s and 1970’s experiencing first hand the thrill of America’s first manned space missions, including the climactic finale of the first moon landing in 1969. Amazing. Doubly amazing when you consider the technology of the time. Cell phones hadn’t even been invented yet! Rotary dial “land line” connected Bell Telephone rentals were the norm. Highly trained experimental aircraft pilots from the US Armed Forces provided the initial astronaut contingent. Later in the program, Shuttle missions were staffed with highly trained scientists in addition to these brave test pilots.
But I’m not here to tell you stories from my distant past. I’m here to tell you a small piece of the story of today’s revolution in human flight, the photographic drone. We’ve already covered some of the personal size photographic drones in other stories here on TheCameraForum. Here we present a short glimpse of one photographer’s struggle to master this new camera platform. Since that first eventful day back in 1902, men and women have continued to struggle mastering the skill necessary to lift off from the earth, escape gravity, and fly. I don’t know if you have ever experienced this challenge, but I have. It is not an easy skill to master…
One brave soul, Alan Goldstein is his name, is a professional photographer living and working in the Washington, DC area. Alan set out several months ago to master the tricky controls and develop the necessary skills to maneuver a small ‘copter drone equipped with camera to use in his client work. Sometimes challenging, sometimes difficult, and always entertaining is how I would describe Alan’s own challenge learning to fly. Today, Alan is capable flyer, if still not up to the professional level he aspires to be. Congratulations Alan, you are a whole lot further along the path than most of us. And thank you for providing great inspiration and entertainment for the rest of us who dare to try!
