I didn’t expect to be invited to be a guest on a podcast, ever. Especially a podcast about drones and myself being a new drone pilot and all. But, it happened… and it’s was FUN! The podcast is called The Drone Trainer and it focuses on interviews with professional drone pilots all over the world. I am an avid podcast listener and stumbled across The Drone Trainer and found the host to be extremely casual and also very informative. I subscribed immediately. I loved how the information was delivered without being pretentious. When you are learning a new skill, I think that the early days of the journey are where you are most vulnerable. If you run into the wrong group, are treated as a person who knows nothing and are not encouraged to ask questions it can derail your progress pretty quickly. The Drone Trainer was perfect for me. 

After sending the host a message I was invited to join in on a Monday night Zoom meeting with about 25 other pilots were a number of industry related questions were discussed. I was even able to join in on the group and provide some perspective on video codecs. I reached out to the moderator and thanked him for the invite. After seeing a few of my images on the website and instagram he reached out and asked if I would like to be a guest! 

So, yesterday was the day. We talked for about an hour and a half covering topics like the FAA Part 107 Test, photography and videography, running a small business, insurance, safety and more. I really enjoyed the whole process and am really excited to share it when it is released in a few weeks. 

If you are a drone pilot and are looking for a good place to learn more about the industry, check out The Drone Trainer at https://thedronetrainer.com.

Like what I would assume to be most drone pilots, I love to fly and shoot during those very last moments of the day. The images you can achieve once the shadows disappear can really be stunning. With drones though, your time in the air is limited to 30 minutes past sunset, otherwise known as civil twilight. As the minutes tick down and the time to bring the aircraft out of the sky get closer and closer you fire your shutter over and over again. This image, shot over the Manchester neighborhood in Pittsburgh was the final frame I grabbed before returning the drone home. 

It was a long exposure (8 seconds) and shot in a 5 image stack to get as much detail out of the Manchester streets as possible while also having control of Manchester Field’s bright lights.  Lucky, the weather cooperated with zero wind.