Drone technology for the masses may still be in its infant stages, but several enterprising Toledoans are eager to jump in and explore the role of drones in photography.
James Jackson and Phil Myers are co-owners of Toledo Aerial Media (TAM), a business they founded with a third partner, Oregon police officer Brandon Begin. The fledgling company specializes in taking aerial photographs and video using drone quadcopters.
Jackson, a nurse, said TAM began with a common interest among friends.
“We were both into handheld videography,” Jackson said. “[Myers] said he was going to pick up a drone, and I thought that was really cool, and it all kind of spiraled from there.”
Myers, a Web designer, said being able to easily access drone technology inspired the friends to explore new avenues of discovery.
“After seeing some videos taken with drones, it kind of sparked our interest as tech junkies,” Myers said. “I was always into RC cars when I was younger. It was just a natural thing to progress into, and I thought, ‘What’s the next best thing we can do?’”
Myers and Jackson began to notice other drone businesses forming around them, which motivated them to take their hobby to the next level.
“The more I looked into it, the more I saw other startup aerial businesses,” Myers said. “I thought if we could get some practice time in and see what we can do, maybe we could turn this into sort of a business for us.”
Myers said the trio officially started TAM about four months ago, but have been “messing around” with the idea for over six months.
Since then, TAM has photographed properties for real estate businesses, shot the University of Toledo’s Glass Bowl, and is planning to cover numerous other events during the next few months.
All three are Whitmer High School graduates, and have talked with the school about covering football games next season.
Currently, the world of drone photography is a lot like the Wild West — highly unregulated. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been scrambling to create some order among the chaos by developing new laws.
For example, Myers said there are currently no official regulations governing the commercial use of drones, though the FAA has issued guidelines that advise against it.
“There are current guidelines, such as not being able to fly over 400 feet in elevation, out of the line of sight, over large groups of people or moving traffic,” Myers said. “They are working on new guidelines. There have been so many people that have bought [drones].”
In the meantime, Jackson, Myers and other entrepreneurs eagerly await an official set of laws, which would likely include a certification requirement to operate drones for business purposes.
“We’re all for that,” Myers said. “We like the idea of stricter regulations, so you don’t get some dummy putting one up in front of an airplane.”
Meanwhile, other local drone owners, such as Shawn Rames, are in it mostly for the fun. Rames runs a website called Exploring Northwest Ohio from the Sky, which highlights aerial photographs he takes with his quadcopter.
Rames has been a professional photographer “on and off” over the years, but said the personal satisfaction of getting the right shot from the drone is reward enough for him, for now.
“I love making creative images and capturing things others may not have the opportunity to see,” Rames said. “My goal this past summer was to display Toledo — and really much of Northwest Ohio — in a positive light through photography. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing people and get access to photograph some unique places as a result.”
Rames originally purchased a drone to capture images of ice floes on the Maumee River in January 2014. Since then, he’s photographed the Glass City Marathon, the demolitions of the Clarion Hotel and the former Toledo Edison Acme Power Plant smokestacks in East Toledo and more.
“My social media pages have become quite popular,” he said.
Rames also said he looks forward to more defined rules on drone flight.
“The current regulations make a few common sense points, but they leave a lot of gray areas,” Rames said. “In my opinion, the biggest problem with the current regulations is the FAA saying, ‘Absolutely no commercial use.’ They have given permission to a handful of companies to use them commercially, but their current stance is still don’t do it.”
Rames said he’s not interested in professional drone photography, despite frequent requests. However, he acknowledged that the market is currently ripe for picking.
“I’ll leave the market to [others],” Rames said. “I am content keeping photography and videography as a hobby and using my social media pages simply to help promote our region.”
Until new regulations come, Jackson and Myers are concentrating many of their efforts on helping teach new drone operators. The two are part of Drone University, a collective group interested in promoting education and safety in flying drones.
On March 14, TAM will captain the Northwest Ohio team for International Drone Day festivities, a new nationwide event created by ThatDroneShow.com.
The location of the Toledo event is still being settled, but Myers urges those interested in attending to check the TAM or International Drone Day Facebook pages for updates. Myers plans to perform free live demonstrations and teach attendees about the equipment used for drone photography.
For more information, visit toledoaerialmedia.com, exploringnwo.com and internationaldroneday.com/team-toledo-ohio.
