Unmanned aerial vehicle gives St. Peter man a bird’s eye view of Minnesota River Valley flooding
By JESSICA BIES
The UAV — unmanned aerial vehicle — was ready for flight.
Flicking a switch, Smithers turned it on. It beeped loudly, its red and green LED lights flashing.
“The thing I like about it is it looks a toy,” Smithers said with a laugh.
Flipping on the device’s on-board camera, a GoPro, he demonstrated how smoothly it pivots. The lens moved up, down and around in a circle, taking even, crystal-clear video of the room.
“I can’t hold a camera as steady as this does while its up in the air,” Smithers said. “I can’t even hold it that steady on a tripod.”
Last week, Smithers used the UAV, a DJI Phantom 2, to take video of the flooding Minnesota River Valley. The clips, posted on YouTube, show water rushing under the Hwy. 22 and Hwy. 99 bridge, inundating farm fields and flowing over streets.
“I do it mostly as a service,” Smithers said. “I’m certainly not going to make any money on it. It’s to give people another view.”
Smithers, a shutterbug specializing in wildlife, landscape and nature photography, said he initially bought the UAV because he thought it would bring his work to a whole new level.
He actually owns two of the devices, the small Phantom and a second, larger one he built himself.
Smithers said he is prohibited from using them commercially. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations have banned the use of UAVs or “drones” for business purposes.
He is also prohibited from sending the UAVs up any higher than 400 feet.
“But I’m getting prepared for when they do allow commercial use of these things,” he said.
Getting prepared has consisted of learning to fly the UAVs without crashing or losing them, he said. One of the drones has flown away in the past, after its circuity fried mid-flight.
At the time, Smithers was taking video of July 4 fireworks.
The UAV was found by a local resident 10 months later, sitting near the bank of a creek somewhere between Ottawa Township and the Minnesota River. He brought it back to Smithers, who replaced its “brain” or flight controller and quickly got it working again.
“It looks like new,” he said. “I just replaced a few rusted bolts.”
The Phantom cost Smithers about $3,000, make it hefty investment considering he cannot use it commercially. But he said the it has enhanced his work considerably.
Smithers, whose interest in nature and wildlife photography was inspired by his wife and rekindled in 2002 when the first digital cameras were released, said he is passionate about capturing images of nature.
The UAVs allow him to capture it a new way.
“You can swoop in and follow things,” he said.
His work is inspired by photographers like Craig Blacklock, one of the country’s most distinguished nature photographers and a personal friend. The two have plans to start making nature videos together, he said. The UAVs would be a major component.
“Craig has some astronomical ideas about how to use the UAVs,” he said. “We plan on doing a project together soon.”
http://www.southernminn.com/st_peter_herald/news/article_be40d17d-e7ef-5098-bc27-311b933fb193.html
