Drone lens to see above the treetops

 

About 80-100 feet above ground level in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 31, 2024

After a lifetime of composing pictures and viewing pictures from eye-level and using a viewfinder or digital screen, the experience of flying a sub-250-gram camera drone (not subject to FAA licensing; most places restricted to 400 feet or lower, according to published maps for drones) takes some getting used to. It takes time to gain reliable competence to launch and recover the pocket-sized quadcopter. And it takes time to know how to set the lens angle and the frame before capturing a photo or recording video clips. Although this model (Holystone hs175d) allows software and smartphone screen to show the camera's point of view, by flying blind with just the handheld controller and estimating the heading of the lens, there is less technology to coordinate and to slow down the set up, launch, and return to land. In addition, by not seeing what the lens sees, there is an echo of the roll-film era of photography, when it took a few days (or "1-hour photo processing" while you wait) before the resulting image could be seen.

Learning curve on this hobby drone camera

Being very light-weight with small battery, usable for 15 or so minutes per battery, and with modest lens and small digital sensor to capture the images, best results come from several tips discovered by practicing. (1) Abundant light falling from side or behind the lens puts the scene in best view to record detail and mostly accurate colors. (2) Preflight visualizing the launch site and center of the photo to compose before releasing the shutter gives more deliberate photographic results, and it reduces in-air dithering as the battery runs down. (3) Before launching (checklist): unfold controller grips and antenna, power it on. Unfold drone struts and power the drone on. According to the manufacturer steps: pair the controller to the drone, activate the compass (involves a long-press button, then rotating on two different axes), then wait for lights to change from red to lime-green (signal that GPS signal is found). During this minute or two, decide the lens position (0 to 90 degrees relative to the horizon). Since the full travel from pointing straight ahead to straight down is about 45 presses of the controller button, a landscape is best about 5 or 6 clicks under the horizon (straight ahead) position. For subjects very much in the foreground, maybe 14 to 16 clicks will frame everything best. Then reset the gyro and finally unlock the motors so they can spin and so that the auto-launch button can put the drone at a 6-foot hover position. (4) Tripod in the sky is one way to imagine the drone camera: launch and then, like an elevator, go straight up (rather than traveling laterally to hard to reach spot, say) to take pictures at different altitudes (beginner mode caps the ceiling at 100 feet/30 meters, a distance from the pilot that still allows the drone's lens/heading to be seen). Rotating the drone 2-clicks of the joystick will move the center point of the photo frame about 20 or 25 degrees, thus allowing a sequence of shots that overlap. (5) Limitations are good to know, too: wind that is able to move the treetops is too much to fly in. Rain also is ill advised. Extreme heat or cold diminishes the battery power, too. Even with minimal wind, lots of light, and moderate air temperature, though, being too hasty to pivot the lens and then shoot the picture can give tipped horizons, since it takes a second or two to regain level composure. In other words, whether recording moving or still images, it is important to turn the drone and then wait a few moments before pressing the record button on the controller. (6) Landing (checklist): Normally, the GPS launch point is faithfully homed in on, but sometimes unexpected puffs of wind, or a particularly hazard-filled site calls for extra care to ground or to catch the drone - being ready to make micro-adjustments before finally pressing the Auto-land button and then after reaching the ground and props no longer spinning, turning off controller and turning off drone, folding the four struts of the propellers and then returning to the storage/carrying bag.

Seen all together: the drone photographer arrives at preferred launch site, free of overhanging branches and wires, and so on. The person unpacks controller and drone to prepare for (auto) launch. Once in the air, the pilot quickly presses the altitude stick to elevate straight upward. Once at the chosen height and pointing the lens at the center of the composition, the photographer waits for two seconds so the drone settles relative to the horizon, rather than tipping to one side or the other. Snap a photo, then 2-clicks of the joystick to rotate away from the first center point. Wait 2-counts to settle and then snap the next photo. After enough shots are recorded, then the drone comes down the way it rose: straight down the invisible elevator shaft. At eye-level, press the auto-landing button to make a soft landing and turn off controller and drone. Elapsed time to unpack, launch, ascend, snap a series of shots and/or video clips, descend and reach the land could be 8 to 10 minutes all together.

looking north near the Grand River, Ah-Nab-Awen Park & the Ford Presidential Museum

Reasons to record the land and people from above the treetops

Before the invention, proliferation, and interest in pictures and video from the air, it was only airplanes and helicopters (and hot-air balloons) that made this birdseye perspective possible, limited to those with a big budget or good connections with pilots and photographers. But in 2024 there are now many tiers in quality of drone camera available new or used, suited to a variety of purposes and abilities. Some are made to be fool-proof with pre-programmed menus of pictures to take. Others allow the pilot to make most control decisions, just automating the orientation to horizon (remaining level) and the launch/landing phases of flight. The camera itself often is similar to a "point and shoot," leaving the composition frame and altitude to the flyer, but the exposure and shutter and ISO (sensor responsiveness to light values) are auto-determined. In this article the camera is on a hobby drone of around $200 new and weighing less than the FAA license limit of 250 grams. For the purpose of learning to fly and to visualize things to photograph from the birds' point of view, this UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) is entirely satisfactory. For profession filmmakers, though, it falls short in many ways.

Unlike the visual frame at ground level, being now up in the air the context suddenly is many times wider and deeper. So the pictures taken at 30 or 60 or 100 feet put the horizon farther away than the ground-level or rooftop window height. For face-to-face subjects or macro details, there is no benefit from a drone camera. But for big cultural terrain, large patterns and relationships, and "establishing shot" introductions to a place, the viewpoint above ground level is superior. Even large indoor spaces can sometimes benefit from a lens that is 20 or 40 feet above the activity, below.

Besides the content recorded from the air, another benefit is the comparative one: the viewer may already have on-the-ground experience of a place or a subject matter, but by layering this new perspective onto that first-hand, up-close knowledge, the person now gains a point of comparison, thus making the earlier vision become a comparative one: knowing it in stereo instead of in mono.

Some aspects of a subject or a place may simply be invisible or too big to appreciate in the eye-level scale of encounter. Only by having the (aerial) distance can the scale of a thing be understood. For example, some things can best be grasped from the air, such as a massive factory complex, port facility, campus, or site of natural (or human-caused) disaster.

Finally, there is freshness and novelty that comes from seeing something from an unaccustomed standpoint. Even if it is something as well-known as one's home or workplace, that deep familiarity can make the thing uninteresting, ordinary, and rarely perceived objectively. But by seeing it from the air, now it becomes unfamiliar and some of the contours and connections to adjacent things come to life.

In conclusion, whether it is a hobbyist keen on flying or one keen on photography (or both) or it is someone with professional interest in drone photography (city engineer, military corps, land surveyor, social scientist, historian, novelist or journalist), the practicality of having an "eye in the sky" now makes uses for drone photography relevant in day-to-day operations and routines. It can answer old questions and lead to new questions. It can be the instrumental knowledge for decisions today, but also be of value when future generations look back to explore our moment by using UAV archives like these. So, more and more drone photography should be encouraged and supported for immediate benefit and for future uses, too. 

CAVEAT: like anything else human-created, this visual tool can be used not just for good, but can also be abused for bad purposes. So, infrastructure that a terrorist or far-away government may want to scrutinize with a view to harm should have special protections so that imagery is not online readily findable.

Living high and living low near the Grand River

Lighted north-south passage under the bridge protects campers from prevailing west wind

 Fall colors point to the winter nights ahead for the many downtown residents living outside of traditional housing for private or for group residence. Shelters may not always be full, but some prefer their own company no matter what the weather may bring. Day centers allow warming up, as do public places like the bus terminal and library. When the problem is heat of summer, not cold of winter, then the same public places and a few dedicated "cooling centers" also are open in the heat of the day.

This photo is from October 2023 in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. The juxtaposition of one of the multi-story condominiums or apartment rental buildings puts the thin fabric of 21st century tents in stark contrast. With many gaping cracks in the USA system of social, medical, mental health, financial and educational support, even relatively secure members of society can go through a series of unfortunate events and have no fixed abode; sometimes sleeping in car or truck and other times losing even that piece of personal property. Perhaps some segments of the city dwellers in ancient Roman also went through loss of means, of property, of dignity, too. But for 2023's "richest" country it seems impossible that cities and also rural areas across the continental USA and indeed in all states and territories count among their residents so many who are visibly unhouses; and many others who "pass" (not visibly unhoused).

Described in the language of computer studies, this problem of no roof over one's head is the result of at least three categories of failure. One is "hardware"; that is, places and physical standards of minimum care, wellness checks, and so on. Another is "software"; that is, policies and organized groups of people, but also social institutions both religious and secular to serve those lacking an address. Finally, there is "heart-ware"; that is the often unwritten rules, expectations, reward and punishments woven into the relationships, attitudes and ideals of the society. In 2023 USA the overpowering celebration of youth, consumerism, and rugged individualism all contribute to "making invisible" people who do not fulfill these models. A person who is no longer youthful, who has no discretionary income to spend, and who does not strive to be some kind of Epic Hero does not attract praise or even validation of their identity and place in life. 

Millstone of 1834 is silent witness to early years

Coarse millstone at bottom center testifies to long Grand Rapids

Year after year, in cold weather or hot, people brought their grain to the mill near this location on the Grand River to run it through the rough surface of the rotating millstones to produce flour suitable for baking bread and other skillet or oven-made treats. Doubtless there is a full story about how the stones came to be (quarried locally, or transported ready made from another location) and how builders harnessed the river before its flow was controlled and it rose and fell with weather and seasons of the year. As well as stones and building, there is probably an interesting story about how a miller or millers gained training and experience before arriving on the scene. Once all the elements were in place, there remained only the matter of spreading the word among settlers and travelers passing this way that milling services were now in operation. Then with bags or bins of grain for the milling to produce flour, the farmer or merchant had to protect the grain in some sort of container before making use of it, day after day.

Looking at the silent stones in their present location near the east wall of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, overlooking the once untamed, unharnessed river, it is hard to imagine all the years these stones rotated while tons and tons of grain passed through to be transformed into flour. Countless souls were raised on the flour from these stones, from earliest solid food until the person's deathbed and the last morsel of bread tasted on this side of mortality. This one piece of technology was a common denominator for a majority of  local residents and those who bought the ready-ground flour that was distributed to stores in the surrounding county or counties. The sound of grinding stones and associated waterwheel machinery will have been the soundtrack to many people living nearby. Some of the particular facts are recorded on a bronze plaque attached to the stones on display.

FIRST MILL STONES (transcribed text, below)

 ...brought to Grand Rapids and placed in mill on Indian Mill Creek about 1834, removed by John Ball for a horse block in 1867 and donated by his heirs to the Kent Scientific Museum. Tablet placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

In the age of gas-powered automobiles transitioning reluctantly to electric vehicles, the mention of Horse Block may be baffling. Judging from the height of the mill stones, Mr. Ball took the decommissioned geological mass as a convenience to step from ground level up to a position closer the the horse's saddle, hence the name 'horse block'.

In this artifact intersects so many features of modern and ancient life. The connection to grain hearkens back to the Fertile Crescent where wild forms of wheat and barley trace their origins and the association of calorific surplus with permanent settlements, law codes and armed forces under the command of religious, political, and/or military heads. Hand in hand with grain cutting is grain grinding, first at the household, "as needed" scale, but later in organized and mechanized scale. Thousands of years later, the lessons of best grinding stone, best sources of power, and best varieties of grain for a given soil and temperature condition all came together in these stones at this place at this time. Prayers for [Lord God, may thou] "give us our daily bread" may be far less often spoken in 2022 than in 1822, but bread still does figure in to many city residents' routine variety of foods eaten throughout the year, although almost all of the flour is baked in factories and a few local bakeries, rather than by hand at home.

Even when the service life of these gritty stones ended, they were still useful to Mr. Ball and his horse for many years. By looking at traces of long-ago times like these mill stones some of the people and the lives they lived comes back to life. In this way the material culture that lingers long after the original makers and users have gone can accompany later generations into years to come. Not only does a little of the past live now in the present, but the reverse may be true, too: some of today was already existing when those long-ago people went about their business, following their routines, adapting to innovations that appeared, and dreaming of some indefinite time ahead that they themselves would not live to see but which their efforts - whether wise or foolish - would have consequences among people alive now in 2022.