Photojournalist Andy Aitchison (46) was recently arrested after photographing protests at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, UK. He was reportedly arrested on suspicion of criminal damage for taking photos. In other words – for doing his job. He believes it’s censorship, and some serious concerns have been raised about media freedom.
Brexit forces Nikon UK to temporarily stop taking new orders
Nikon UK has announced some changes due to Brexit. The company has temporarily stopped all orders, and it’s possible that your orders will be delayed even if you placed them earlier.
Police in the UK will soon be able to ground and seize drones from pilots
On January 27th, the British parliament heard and debated a bill (for the second time) which gives police and prison authorities more powers to be able to deal with what they see as problem drones. Officially, this means drones that they believe are posing a public safety risk or are flying illegally.
The bill is aimed at those flying around no-fly zones, flying too close to people and buildings and illegal commercial operations. The prison system will also likely welcome the new power, as it will help them to minimise drone-delivered contraband.
The UK is expanding drone no-fly zones to three miles around major airports
In December 2018, drone sightings shut down Gatwick Airport in London and left more than 100,000 passengers stranded. Three months after this major incident, the UK government has decided to expand drone no-fly zones around all major airports. From now on, instead of 0.6 miles (1km), it will be illegal to fly a drone within 3 miles (5km) around airports.
Heathrow airport shut down due to drone sightings
Only three weeks ago, drone sightings grounded 100,000 passengers on 760 flights on Gatwick airport. And now somebody flew a drone near Heathrow, another major airport in London. Because of this, all departures were temporarily stopped for “precautionary measures.”
UK users soon to take a test for operating a drone
Starting from 2018, drone laws in the UK could become a lot stricter. The new draft legislation proposes that all drones weighing over 250g are banned from flying near airports or above 400ft altitude. Additionally, the users may be required to take a safety awareness test if they want to operate their drone. As BBC reports, the new proposals are a response to a growing number of incidents involving airplanes and drones. In addition, the new legislation should reduce the use of drones for criminal activity.
This is the first ever flow-motion timelapse of a cathedral
The ideas and techniques behind timelapse videos keep getting better. But it seems that filmmaker Rob Whitworth even goes beyond possible. After big cities like Dubai, Istanbul or Shanghai, this time, Rob takes you to a smaller, but charming city. It’s his hometown – Norwich, England.
The city is famous for its beautiful cathedral, and Rob’s video shows it in flow motion that will make you feel like you’re there with him. So if you haven’t visited this city yet, let this video guide you through its famous cathedral. There’s a lot to enjoy, and Rob turned it into a fascinating video.
Mandatory drone registration is coming to the UK
It may have recently been tested and defeated in the American courts, but drone registration is coming to the UK. The government have announced plans to introduce the registration along with “safety awareness courses” for owners of SUAs (Small Unmanned Aircraft). This registration, they say, will be required for anything weighing more than 250g (~8oz).
The BBC report that DJI have weighed in and are in favour of these measures. They have not announced a timeframe, nor plans on exactly how the rules will be enforced. The Department of Transport told the BBC that “the nuts and bolts still have to be ironed out”.
Bowens Pulls Out Of The Biggest Show In The UK. Could Indicate Trouble For The Lighting Company
Living next to Europe means I get to visit the UK Photography show* every march. This is the biggest photoshow in the UK and you can think about it as a Photokina prequel.
Bowens were supposed to have a MASSIVE booth on that show. (A huge booth, a show stage for them and a lounge – a few thousands of square feet). A verified source just informed DIYP that Bowens is pulling out out of the show. More details, and some analysis ahead.
The History and Science of Lenses; Or Why Lenses Aren’t Named Anymore
Despite being as important as the camera body, lenses seem to get less attention.
Sure some extremely large or expensive lenses are mentioned every once in a while, but looking back how much do you really know about lenses? Not that much I assume, but you probably know who invented the first camera and at least a few milestones in its history.
Here to level the playing field is John Hess from Filmmaker IQ, with a 25-minute long video covering the history of the lens from its early beginning as a fire starting tool to the modern designs common today.
The video is a bit scientific at times, but it includes a bunch of interesting tidbits about lens and their development.
Watch the video below to learn when and how the anti-reflective coating was developed, when fast prime lenses came to be and why Japanese companies dominate the photographic market.
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