Colby McLemore – 2023 June Speaker

Be a Unique and Creative Photographer – all for the cost of a drone

Show me the world in a way I have not yet explored will always get my attention. We spend most of our lives viewing the world from three to six feet off the ground while sitting or standing. Likewise, most beginning photographers shoot from these exact same heights because that is the easiest to shoot from by hand or tripod. If you want to photograph a unique image of animals or children, you are quickly taught to photograph them at eye level, and if you want to push creativity, shoot from the ground, looking up. And this same principle can be applied to any subject smaller than us.

Only in recent years have we been able to go in the other direction easily. While early photographers did photograph from balloons, and I can’t tell you how many photos I’ve taken from a tall painter’s pole, it has been with the advent of drones that things have become accessible to the general photographer. While it is much easier, it is still new enough that photographers are exploring this viewpoint in new and exciting ways. The news photographer’s competitions are being swept by them.

We’ll review various exceptional images to inspire you and then discuss how you can step into this new exploration while being safe and hopefully not breaking the law.