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DJI drones temporarily banned in UK after reports of them falling from the sky

01 Nov

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority has banned a number of DJI drones from flights over human beings as investigations are carried out into the cause of some models falling out of the sky. Matrice 200 series models and the Inspire 2 have had temporary flying restrictions applied to them as they use the DJI TB50 and TB55 battery packs that are suspected of failing mid-flight.

The authority states that “a small number of incidents have been recently reported where the aircraft has suffered a complete loss of power during flight, despite indications that there was sufficient battery time still remaining.” While the drones in these incidents themselves have suffered damage from the incidents no third-party persons or property has been affected as a result.

The cause of the fault remains unclear at the moment, and not all of these models of drone seem to suffer from it, but investigators believe the common link is the batteries in use. DJI itself is advising customers to ‘fly with caution’ when using drones that use these batteries as it says they can show incorrect power levels. The company suggests users follow the guidance of the CAA ‘out of an abundance of caution’, and say they are working on firmware to fix the problem.

In addition to the temporary ban on flights over people the CAA has also suspended permissions to fly these models:

over or within 150 metres of any congested area;
within 50 metres of any persons;
within 50 metres of any, vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the SUA Operator or remote pilot of the SUA;
over or within 150 metres of an open air assembly of more than 1,000 persons; or
using EVLOS

DJI seems to have suspended sales on its website of the Matrice 200 series models. For more information see the DJI newsroom, and the CAA website.

CAA Safety Notice:

Civil Aviation Authority
SAFETY NOTICE
Number: SN–2018/009

Small Unmanned Aircraft

Issued: 31 October 2018

DJI Battery TB50 and TB55 In-Flight Power Failures

This Safety Notice contains recommendations regarding operational safety.
Recipients must ensure that this Notice is copied to all members of their staff who need to take appropriate action or who may have an interest in the information (including any ‘in-house’ or contracted maintenance organisations and relevant outside contractors).

2 Introduction
2.1 This Safety Notice supersedes and revokes Safety Notice SN–2018/008.

2.2 This Safety Notice applies to operators of multi-rotor small unmanned aircraft utilising DJI battery model TB50 or TB55, including all DJI Matrice 200 series (which includes the 200, 210 and 210 RTK platforms) and the DJI Inspire 2 (the “Affected SUA”).

2.3 A small number of incidents have been recently reported where the aircraft has suffered a complete loss of power during flight, despite indications that there was sufficient battery time still remaining. In each case, this resulted in the aircraft falling directly to the ground due to the immediate loss of lift with the remote pilot unable to control its subsequent flight path. The small unmanned aircraft were damaged upon impact, but the CAA has not received any reports of injuries to people or other property.

2.4 Investigation by the manufacturer has confirmed that this issue is not confined to any specific firmware version and is thought to be related to the batteries TB50 and TB55. The full details of the occurrences are still being investigated.

2.5 The purpose of this Safety Notice is to highlight the requirement for the SUA operator and/or remote pilot to be reasonably satisfied that the flight can be safely made (Air Navigation Order 2016 (ANO) article 94(2)), restrict overflight of persons at any height and to temporarily limit the scope of any operational authorisations issued to operators of the Affected SUA.

Civil Aviation Authority Safety Notice SN–2018/009

3 Compliance/Action to be Taken
3.1 This Safety Notice requires the following actions to be taken:

a) Provisional Suspension of Operations

i) In accordance with Air Navigation Order article 257 and 257(2)(c) operators of Affected SUA are hereby directed not to permit any flight that involves overflight of any persons at any height until further notice.

ii) In accordance with Air Navigation Order article 253, any element of a permission based on an Operational Safety Case (OSC), issued by the CAA to an SUA operator which permits the operation of an Affected SUA to be operated:

* over or within 150 metres of any congested area;
* within 50 metres of any persons;
* within 50 metres of any, vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the SUA Operator or remote pilot of the SUA;
* over or within 150 metres of an open air assembly of more than 1,000 persons; or
* using EVLOS

is provisionally suspended until further notice.

iii) These limitations will be subject to regular review. As soon as further updates have been obtained from the manufacturer, and the CAA is satisfied that this has been addressed in a satisfactory manner, the CAA will then issue a further update via the SkyWise alerts portal on the CAA website.

b) Emergency Services Operations

i) Due to the unique nature of emergency services operations, the privileges contained within General Exemption E 4506 (ORS4 No. 1233) may continue to be exercised whilst using the Affected SUA, provided that the potential risks highlighted in this Safety Notice have been considered within the decision to proceed and the overflight of uninvolved persons is minimised.

4 Queries
4.1 Any queries or requests for further guidance as a result of this communication should be addressed to the following e-mail address: uavenquiries@caa.co.uk, with the subject line ‘Safety Notice – DJI Battery TB50 and TB55 In-Flight Power Failures’.

5 Cancellation
5.1 This Safety Notice will remain in force until further notice

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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A Quiet Collapse: Christopher Nunn’s ‘Falling Into the Day’

27 Sep

Christopher Nunn descirbes his photographic style as ‘quiet and simple.’ This rings true throughout his project, Falling into the Day, a look into the life of his friend David, an artist living with Alzheimer’s. Nunn answered some questions for us about his work – see a sample of images from ‘Falling into the Day’ and learn more about the project. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Hourglass Lamp: Grid-Free LED Powered by Falling Sand

20 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

hourglass diy powered lamp

Traditional timepiece meets inventive illumination in this human-powered hourglass lamp that draws its energy elegantly from grains of falling sand.

hourglass light large sized

Designed by Danielle Trofe, each fixture pivots around a central point so users can easily rotate the wood-and-glass core, thus refreshing the timer and turning the light back on each time it runs out.

hourglass table sized light

A larger and longer-lit variant comes in the form of a table, essentially an extension of the same design but in a multi-functional format.

hourglass and mushroom lights

Other works by Trofe include the above mushroom-shaped lamps (Mush-Lume), which is built from agricultural byproducts (including mushrooms) and seems to balance precariously on its base. These are scheduled to launch on Kickstarter next month.

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

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Posted in Creativity

Falling for Waterfalls

21 Oct

A small cascade at Kaaterskill falls in upstate New York. It’s important to balance the long shutter to blur the water, with the need for keeping the foliage sharp. While blending two exposures will accomplish this, I preferred to try and capture the scene in one exposure. Exposure was 1/3 second, f/22, ISO 100. EF 14mm f/2.8L II with EOS 5D Mark III.

While the northeastern Unites States isn’t a wealth of dramatic vistas ripe for the landscape photographer’s choosing, one thing we do have plenty of here are waterfalls. The list is endless- from Niagara Falls in northwestern New York, to the plethora of waterfalls that can be found in the Catskills and Adirondacks, to Great Falls in Paterson, New Jersey. These provide ample opportunity to photograph them, as many run year-round.

I always carry a few things when photographing waterfalls. I like to get that milky look to the water, and for that of course you need a long exposure and for that you need a tripod to hold the camera steady. Next, I carry a polarizing filter. This allows me to control reflections, whether they be from shiny rocks glistening with water on them, or to control reflections on the water in the landing pool. I also keep a chamois in my bag to keep the lens dry. Depending on how hard the falls are flowing, and how big the cascade, mist can be a problem. Finally, I keep a set of neutral density filters handy. As I mentioned, I like a nice, milky look to the water, and if there’s too much light, I won’t be able to slow the shutter down enough to get that look unless I use the filters. I generally keep 3, 4 and 5 stop ND filters with me.

Great Falls in Paterson, NJ. Photographing these falls in late winter, I was able to capture frost forming on the rocks from the spray. Exposure was 2 seconds, ISO 100, at f/22. EF 24-105 f/4L IS, with EOS-1D Mark III.

When photographing waterfalls, the first thing to consider, as with all subjects, is the light. I find photographing waterfalls in flat, even light, such as on an overcast day, to be ideal. Ultimately, you don’t want the waterfall in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight on a waterfall has a tendency to create such a high contrast scene that either your highlights are blown out, or your shadows are blocked up. Flat, even lighting allows you capture the full range of detail in the scene without losing detail in the highlights or shadows.

Next, you need to consider the look of the water you want. While I prefer that milky, fantasy-like look, you may prefer more detail. Try a variety of shutter speeds to see what works best for you. I find 1 second to 30 seconds works well, but much will also depend on how much water is flowing over the falls. More water rushing faster will not require as slow a shutter speed as less water flowing at a slower pace will.

I hiked up these falls in mid-winter- a treacherous, icy hike that almost resulted in injury! This was the base of the tallest cascade, frozen almost solid. It pays to visit these locations year round to get different perspectives. Exposure was 1/20, f/16, ISO 100. EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye with EOS-1Ds Mark III.

Waterfalls change with the seasons. In the spring, when snow is melting, waterfalls will be fuller and faster flowing. Some waterfalls only flow at this time. Others run year round, but the amount of flow changes. And in the winter, depending on the climate, some falls can freeze into columns of ice that create an entirely different spectacle. It pays to revisit these falls at different times of year, to take advantage of all of the opportunities a particular waterfall presents.

One last thought: While many of the waterfalls I’ve photographed are easily accessible, many others require some arduous hiking. Try to get as much information as possible on a new location before going there, and be prepared for anything.

This was another small cascade that I found on the way up to the upper falls. These smaller cascades present great opportunities to really create dynamic compositions, layering the foreground, middle ground, and background, and using the leading lines of the water. Exposure was 1 second at f/16, ISO 100. EF 16-35mm at 16mm with EOS 5D Mark III.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Falling for Waterfalls

The post Falling for Waterfalls by Rick Berk appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Why are my Buildings Falling Over? A Short Guide to Perspective Distortion and Correction in Photography

07 Aug

A guest contribution by Misho Baranovic, co-developer of the Perspective Correct app and author of the iPhone Photography DPS eBook .

Perspective Photo1

I’ve read a lot of perspective correction articles over the past few days and my head is spinning from the technical explanations, illustrations and equations. In this article, I’m going to keep it simple and talk about the role that perspective plays in photography.

What is Perspective?

Perspective is one of the many ways that the human eye can judge depth within a scene. Perspective is something that we can see with one eye (monocular) rather than two (binocular). It refers to the angle and location of parallel lines within a scene. The eye registers depth when parallel lines start moving towards each other (converging). An example would be standing on a straight road, looking down the road, and noticing how the road narrows as it gets further away from you.

Perspective Photo2

In art and photography, Linear Perspective refers to the way lines are drawn and captured to show an objects perceived size within space. In short, how we translate real world depth into a flat picture. Linear Perspective is made up of two basic concepts, the horizon line and vanishing point. The horizon line represents the viewing angle of the observer. Vanishing points are the point (on a horizon line) where parallel lines meet (converge). For example, the point where the two sides of the straight road meet (as shown below).

Perspective Photo3

One of the key visual cues in Linear Perspective is that vertical lines and edges remain vertical in the scene. The only time you would have vertical lines coming together is if you are trying to show a triangular or pyramid shape within the scene, like the angle of a building’s roof or the shape of the Eiffel Tower.

Perspective Photo4

Since the start of photography, camera and lens makers have focused on replicating the visual cues of Linear Perspective in order to make photos look as ‘true to life’ as possible. Nearly all modern lenses are rectilinear – they capture straight lines in a scene as straight lines in a photograph. Whether wide angle or zoom, DSLR or iPhone, lenses are designed to keep lines straight, which helps the eye judge depth within a two dimensional scene. The fisheye is the most popular non rectilinear lens as straight lines are shown as curved from the extreme field of view.

Perspective Distortion

For this article I’m going to focus on only one form of photographic perspective distortion – perspective convergence or keystoning. This form of distortion is very common across architectural, street and travel photography. It’s most often seen when tall buildings ‘fall’ or ‘lean’ within a picture. This distortion has become so common that most people have stopped noticing it within their pictures or just think it has something to do with the focal length of their lens. For example, you can see the extent of the vertical convergence below when the verticals are outlined in white.

Perspective Photo5

Perspective Photo6

For a number of photographers, vertical convergence and distortion are unpleasant and unwanted because they don’t conform to Linear Perspective cues where vertical lines remain vertical. This makes the scene look different to how we think it should look. While this distortion can be used creatively, corrected photos often look ‘right’ to the viewer (see below).

Perspective Photo7

Why does Distortion Happen?

It’s actually pretty simple. As mentioned, modern lenses are designed to show straight lines. However, this only works when we the camera is pointed straight at (in line) with the object that is being photographed. This is because the distance between the camera and object remains the same. As soon as the camera is titled then the distance changes. Let me explain, if I’m trying to capture a tall building straight on with my camera I can only get the bottom section – vertical lines are straight but I’m missing the rest of the building. Now if I angle the camera higher I can get the whole building into the frame but now the vertical lines (sides of the building) are converging. Why? It’s because the top of the building is now further away from the lens than the bottom – just like the road receding into the distance.

So how do you take a photograph of a tall building without this happening? There are a few ways. The most obvious is by changing your viewpoint. You need to get higher to shoot more of the building front on, with the mid-point being the best place to capture the maximum amount of the structure. You could shoot out the window of a neighbouring building, or if there is nothing around you could spend some money on a crane!

Perspective Photo8

This photo was taken from the third floor of a neighbouring block. You can see that all the verticals in the photo are straight.

If you can’t physically get higher then you can change your viewpoint in two other ways. One is with the help of shift lenses the other is through perspective correction software.

Shift Lenses

The ability to shift the position of the lens has been around since the beginning of photography. The original view cameras (created in the 1840s) used a bellows system which let photographers change the position (shift) the lens in relation to the film. The shifting mechanism acted like a mini elevator, moving the photographer’s viewpoint higher and lower. Historically, shifting in order to correct perspective convergence was seen as an important part of the capture process, just like focus, shutter speed and aperture. Shifting was possible because the lens captured a much larger (circular) field of view than the film. The same way that modern shift lenses work. Modern shift lenses are commonly used by architecture photographers to limit vertical convergence on large buildings. However, these lenses can only be used on DSLR or medium format cameras and can also be very expensive (upwards of $ 1,000).

Perspective Photo9

Here you can see the mechanical shift mechanism on an SLR lens – Photos by Bengt-Re

Software Correction

In recent years, digital technology has been able to replicate this shifting process, artificially changing the photographer’s viewpoint. Software like Photoshop, Lightroom or Gimp reworks the pixels in an image in order to straighten vertical lines in turn reducing distortion. Most of these programs allow you force the image back into a ‘correct’ position through either sliders or by selecting and dragging a corner. One of the downsides of the software is that significant adjustments require resampling of the image, often reducing sharpness in parts of the photograph.

Perspective Photo10

Camera Distortion Correction with Photoshop Elements 11

For photographers that either shoot or edit photos on their mobile phones, the Perspective Correct app for iPhone uses the touch interface to adjust both vertical and horizontal convergence within an image. For example, an up/down swipe on the screen represents the same movement as the shift mechanism on a lens.

While it’s easy to overlook, small perspective adjustments can often be the difference between good and great urban and architectural photographs.

…………………………………….

Perspective Correct is the first app to offer live perspective adjustment of your photos and is available for download from the Apple App Store for US $ 1.99

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Why are my Buildings Falling Over? A Short Guide to Perspective Distortion and Correction in Photography

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Ben Trovato The Falling + BTS Video

29 Jan

The Video

2012 started with an upheaval of change. Painful, gut-wrenching, seismic change. From January 1^st, my life began a new journey. Part of that new journey was my reconciliation with the way I see. The thing is, I’ve always been a little weird. I’ve been told my work is “edgy” since my college days. “Dark, mysterious, seductive, depressing, edgy, suicidal, achingly beautiful, tortured, cathartic”…..these are all words I’ve heard over the years describing my work. So I tried to conform, to shoot in a style that wasn’t mine but would appease the masses. I shot freckled girls in denim jeans on white backgrounds holding puppies and smiling toothy grins of teenaged innocence. I’ve shot long legged girls in itsy-bitsy bikinis on pearl sanded beaches with come hither eyes. I’ve shot commercially acceptable, masses approachable, clean, honest and totally sans “edge” fashion photographs.

“All you can do is be confusing. Don’t ever empty the bucket of mystery. Never let people define what you do. It’s not about zigging when you should zag. It’s not about doing something unprecedented and unpredictable. It’s just about never being a word, or something that is not in the process of transformation.”
Marilyn Manson

But it hasn’t been my vision. This work was not mine! So with the upheaval of change that this year forced upon me came the renewed sense of my own Self, facing me again, asking myself, what’s it all about. I came up with this: if I can’t shoot what I love and how I see, what’s the point.

I flew to my hometown, Los Angeles, on January 9^th and I threw myself into work. I know, ironic right? I leave NYC land of fashion uberness to go to tacky LA to throw myself into work. I find it very odd that NY’ers hate LA people but LA people LOVE NY’ers. I think when you’re laying in the sun on January 15th in the backyard sipping on a mojito planning the menu for your outdoor barbeque that evening, there’s really nothing for an LA person to hate on a NY’er. But that’s just one theory. Any way, back to me going home: I shot 4 editorials and 2 video commercials in 6 weeks. I collaborated with my dear friend Rodney Burns who styled all the shoots. Ben Trovato being one of them.

The technical specs on this shoot can’t be any simpler. I shot with no artificial light. I used a large window to the right of the set as my key. That’s it. I shot with the Nikon D3 with my 85mm at 1/160^th of a sec at about F4. I shot anywhere from 400 to 1000 ISO. I was inspired by a picture I found of Keith Richards. One picture. That’s all it took. What really tied the shoot together for me was shooting the story on a Fashion Back Drop. I have mentioned my friend, Sedi Pak, in previous posts. Her back drops are amazing and really embellish my shoots! You can view the full editorial on Ben Trovato here.

I look at the results, the final pictures, and I’m pleased. But the feeling goes beyond being “satisfied”. I’m home. If that makes any sense. Shooting what I love and how I see fashion. My greatest wish for myself is that I can stick to this and not listen to people anymore telling me I must conform and change to shoot in a style that isn’t mine. I guess we’re all going to find out together if I can stick to my guns and stay true to my vision now. I’ve shed a lot of baggage so far this year. A lot of negative, heavy, cumbersome baggage. And I’m continuing to shed more. The excuses to NOT stick to my guns are getting fewer and fewer. Since my blog is very public (haha…. understatement of the century) you’re all along on this journey WITH me…….so as I like to say…..stay tuned.

Fashion Photography Blog

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Falling the tree video 2.wmv

10 Jan

The video shows how difficult it was to bring down a storm damaged cypress tree that was threatening the boardwalk at Corkscrew Sanctuary. The tree fell into another tree and wedged at the top.

This is a simple test and preview video showing how you can shoot shots and have them transfer straight over on to an IPAD in real time. Excellent setup when shooting portraits or commercial work where the client can view images in real time and see how the images are coming together. The shot was taken with a Canon G10 with an Eye Fi Pro 8gb X2 card lighting from a Nikon SB800 triggered with Elinchrom Skyports. Software on the IPAD Shutter Snitch. I will be doing a more indepth shoot with the above setup but with a Nikon D300 with a compact flash to sd convertor card to show that the Eye Fi card can still be used.

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Ben Trovato – The Falling + BTS Video

23 Nov

“All you can do is be confusing. Don’t ever empty the bucket of mystery. Never let people define what you do. It’s not about zigging when you should zag. It’s not about doing something unprecedented and unpredictable. It’s just about never being a word, or something that is not in the process of transformation.”

-Marilyn Manson

I look at the results, the final pictures, and I’m pleased. But the feeling goes beyond being “satisfied”. I’m home. If that makes any sense. Shooting what I love and how I see fashion. My greatest wish for myself is that I can stick to this and not listen to people anymore telling me I must conform and change to shoot in a style that isn’t mine. I guess we’re all going to find out together if I can stick to my guns and stay true to my vision now. I’ve shed a lot of baggage so far this year. A lot of negative, heavy, cumbersome baggage. And I’m continuing to shed more. The excuses to NOT stick to my guns are getting fewer and fewer. Since my blog is very public (haha….understatement of the century) you’re all along on this journey WITH me…….so as I like to say…..stay tuned.

The Video

Fashion Photography Blog – A Resource for Fashion Photographers, Created by One.

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Ben Trovato – The Falling + BTS Video

09 Apr

“All you can do is be confusing. Don’t ever empty the bucket of mystery. Never let people define what you do. It’s not about zigging when you should zag. It’s not about doing something unprecedented and unpredictable. It’s just about never being a word, or something that is not in the process of transformation.”

-Marilyn Manson

I look at the results, the final pictures, and I’m pleased. But the feeling goes beyond being “satisfied”. I’m home. If that makes any sense. Shooting what I love and how I see fashion. My greatest wish for myself is that I can stick to this and not listen to people anymore telling me I must conform and change to shoot in a style that isn’t mine. I guess we’re all going to find out together if I can stick to my guns and stay true to my vision now. I’ve shed a lot of baggage so far this year. A lot of negative, heavy, cumbersome baggage. And I’m continuing to shed more. The excuses to NOT stick to my guns are getting fewer and fewer. Since my blog is very public (haha….understatement of the century) you’re all along on this journey WITH me…….so as I like to say…..stay tuned.

The Video

Fashion Photography Blog – A Resource for Fashion Photographers, Created by One.

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Falling in Love with Simplicity

20 May

I have re-fallen in love with photography again, almost over night. One of the things that has been most helpful is abandoning all the complexity and just going back to my roots, just driving around with my camera in hand and a model. Natural light, sets built by nature and a little bit of time can yield some very satisfying results.

Models are Kianna and Sam, in that order