Commentary—Bring On The Photo Drones

Though camera-equipped drones aren’t about to put any of the photographers I work with out of business, I look forward to their ongoing technological evolution. That has nothing to do with the costs involved, though hourly helicopter prices continue to get steeper, or the photo work itself. It comes down to one issue.

Safety.

Scrapyard Media founder Brad DiMaggio captured this image using a photo drone during the 2023 Midwest Challenge offshore race in Sheboygan, Wis.

The longtime chief photographer for speedonthewater.com, Pete Boden doesn’t mince words. Though he accepts the inherent danger involved in shooting from a helicopter flying close to the water at 80 to 90 mph, he readily admits it exists. He’s honest with himself.

As he should be. A few years back during a photo shoot off Southwest Florida, a helicopter carrying Boden crashed in the water. No one died, but the pilot sustained significant injuries and Boden lost all his camera gear.

A couple of years before that while shooting the now-defunct Four Horsemen Poker Run in Wisconsin, the helicopter carrying Boden crashed into the Fox River immediately after dropping him off on the shore. The pilot was killed.

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