"Drone" versus "Aerial Photography"

tictag · Nov 10, 2017

Just a quick comment, I recently had dealings with one of the National Parks in England (Peak District....you know who you are). When I talked about flying 'drones' in the park it was like mentioning a hypnotised keyword cue (kill the president, kill the president....) and the answer was always "No (...and I hate you)", OK, they didn't say 'I hate you' but they may as well have. Then I got speaking to somebody else and talked about 'aerial photography within the park' and, do you know what, they could not have been more helpful. BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING!!

Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet" but clearly "Drone" means something completely differently to people than "Aerial Photography" does.

What's in a name? Why does the word "drone" create such an irrational response?

HE15 RGP · Nov 10, 2017

tictag said:
Just a quick comment, I recently had dealings with one of the National Parks in England (Peak District....you know who you are). When I talked about flying 'drones' in the park it was like mentioning a hypnotised keyword cue (kill the president, kill the president....) and the answer was always "No (...and I hate you)", OK, they didn't say 'I hate you' but they may as well have. Then I got speaking to somebody else and talked about 'aerial photography within the park' and, do you know what, they could not have been more helpful. BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING!!

Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet" but clearly "Drone" means something completely differently to people than "Aerial Photography" does.

What's in a name? Why does the word "drone" create such an irrational response?

I would rather be called an Aerial Photographer Than a Drone Pilot, Though saying that I would rather my Mavic Pro be called a Drone than a Toy

Aerial-Pixel · Nov 10, 2017

tictag said:
Just a quick comment, I recently had dealings with one of the National Parks in England (Peak District....you know who you are). When I talked about flying 'drones' in the park it was like mentioning a hypnotised keyword cue (kill the president, kill the president....) and the answer was always "No (...and I hate you)", OK, they didn't say 'I hate you' but they may as well have. Then I got speaking to somebody else and talked about 'aerial photography within the park' and, do you know what, they could not have been more helpful. BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING!!

Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet" but clearly "Drone" means something completely differently to people than "Aerial Photography" does.

What's in a name? Why does the word "drone" create such an irrational response?

Good point, everyone now knows what a "Drone" is but with that name now comes some negativity.... I had an elderly lady come up to me when I was at a job site and ask me "Is that a drone? Who is it spying on?"

Owen Manderfield · Nov 10, 2017

I tend to agree. I refer to my Mavic as an "Arial Camera" because it immediately infers what I'm using it for without having to explain. I.e. not for flying around buzzing people for fun.

Normally I continue to say I use it for landscape photograph - i.e
Wide angle lens not for spying.

Simple choice of words can sometimes help set the tone of a conversation.

Ping^Spike · Nov 10, 2017

Whenever I've asked for permission to fly somewhere I always start with "I do a lot of aerial photography, would be ok if I took some photos of your land/building/house/whatever? I'll happily send you a copy of any photos."

And like you say @tictag - they welcome me with open arms!!

I don't get it either

But it's a tactic I use all the time

okw · Nov 10, 2017

My guess would be that when most people (outside of this hobby) hear the term "aerial photography," they think of the photographer flying in an airplane or helicopter.

Dw911 · Nov 10, 2017

tictag said:
Just a quick comment, I recently had dealings with one of the National Parks in England (Peak District....you know who you are). When I talked about flying 'drones' in the park it was like mentioning a hypnotised keyword cue (kill the president, kill the president....) and the answer was always "No (...and I hate you)", OK, they didn't say 'I hate you' but they may as well have. Then I got speaking to somebody else and talked about 'aerial photography within the park' and, do you know what, they could not have been more helpful. BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING!!

Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet" but clearly "Drone" means something completely differently to people than "Aerial Photography" does.

What's in a name? Why does the word "drone" create such an irrational response?

Yes ive found the same, i tend to refer to it as a quad copter, as most of those type of people see everything in black and white, mainly because they still think its the 1930's and run these places like it still is, so quad copter sounds harmless enough to them, unlike drone which reminds them of the v1's and v2's that they remember falling on London when they were younger

Hollow Dog · Nov 10, 2017

From day one I've considered the mavic to be a camera platform.
Seems like there's much better choices for sport flying at a much lower cost.
(I own one or two)
So I just always use it exclusively for videos and photography.