Hi all
Yet again we had a very successful and entertaining Zoom meeting last Tuesday. Jenny allowed us to act as judges in giving our critique of her catalogue of images – which she will now whittle down into her MPAGB entry. It was interesting to hear the range of advice and feedback on offer. For most images, we were quite unanimous in our opinion, but there were also some images which divided us – maybe we should have a little bit more sympathy for our judges on competition nights.
This week we are looking forward to a presentation from Jane Lazenby. Please have a look at her website to see some of the excellent work that she does https://www.ejlazenbyphotography.co.uk/
She will be presenting to us on Working with Textures – which I believe will include a live image editing session. It is always good to see how other people edit their images and pick up some hints and tips along the way.
I know that some of you tune into the Smethwick Zoom evenings on a regular basis. At a recent meeting, there was a presentation on drone photography. Users of drones need to be aware of all the current regulations. Tony Gervis has supplied me with a breakdown of the regulations that drone users should adhere to, and this can be found below .
Finally, just a reminder that entries to the Midland Salon close on Sunday 28 June, so you have 7 days left to get your entries in. Colin sent out all the information recently. Good luck with your entries.
Best wishes
David
USE OF DRONES
HERE ARE THE RULES as at 21/06/2020
Always keep your drone or model aircraft in direct sight.
Never fly closer than 50m to people. Even when your drone is more than 50m away
from people it is safer to avoid directly overflying them.
** Never fly closer than 150m to a crowd of 1,000 people or more.
Never fly directly over a crowd.
Never fly in an airport’s flight restriction zone. For further info,
see: dronesafe.uk/restrictions/
** Never fly more than 400ft (120m) above the surface and stay well away from
aircraft, airports and airfields.
Never fly closer than 50m to buildings, cars, trains or boats
Never fly directly over a built-up area. It is illegal to fly a drone or model aircraft
between 250g-20kg that does not show a valid operator I D
You need a license to fly anything but the smallest of drones ( 250 gr) and pay an ANNUAL
LICENSE FEE
By combining the 2 ** above means you cannot fly over towns, parks and most public areas
published by the Civil Aviation Authority to assist drone users in flying safely “October
2019 THE DRONE CODE”.
For further information please visit dronesafe.uk
You are responsible for each flight. Legal responsibility lies with you. Failure to fly responsibly could result in criminal prosecution.
Drone flying by our members or by the general public at NATIONAL TRUST
PROPERTIES IS NOT PERMITTED
• NT do not grant permission for private flying for the following reasons;-
• CAA regulations state that drones should not be flown above or near to people. As our
properties often have staff living or working on site, visitors present or have open
access, unauthorised drone flying is both illegal and potentially puts people at risk.
• Few non-commercial users have the correct training or permission from the Civil
Aviation Authority to operate drones.
• If a drone causes damage or harm, pilots generally do not have the correct insurances,
or level of insurances, to adequately compensate those affected.
• Some sites may have wildlife or agricultural animals, or animals which are sensitive
to disturbance, such as birds and deer herds, which could be alarmed or stressed by
the presence of drones, especially at breeding times
• Many drones have cameras attached and these could infringe data protection laws
(filming people without permission) and potentially could contravene National
Trust rules on commercial photography and filming.
• The presence of drones can impinge on the quiet enjoyment of our sites by other
visitors and therefore potentially presents a public nuisance risk.
In AMERICA, NO DRONES are allowed in ANY NATIONAL or STATE PARKS