Club Meeting, 'Videography & The Drone' - Tuesday 16th January 2024.
At their meeting on Tuesday 16th January, Morpeth Camera Club welcomed guest speaker John Imrye with his
presentation entitled Videography and the Drone. Jon, a former professional photographer from Newcastle, now
specialises in producing videos that largely utilise images which have been captured using drones.
Jon opened the evening by talking about his start in life together with images of his parents, his first camera and
old monochrome dark room photographs. He attended Ponteland Collage where he trained to be a teacher of art
and photography but with no teaching posts available he decided to join the police force. With his creative mind
he soon realised that a career in the police was not for him and eventually found a teaching post at a Grammar
School in Blyth. He then embarked on Wedding photography and then became more involved with video work
which, being 3 or 4 dimensional, brought the events he filmed to life.
He showed images of his studio with four monitors and audio equipment and went on to explain how his team
would work in tandem, capturing the scene from all aspects. The pandemic stopped all of his wedding work so
he retired but wondered what he would do next. By happenstance he became involved in social media; a friend
had asked him to make a film of the Northumbrian Coast and send it to her by YouTube. He was astonished to
find that his video had received an enormous amount of hits which he found to be a lifeline. To capture more of
the area he needed aerial footage so he bought his first drone before progressing to a more sophisticated version.
Jon had his original, super heavy video recorder and tripod on display, which he said was perfect for ground work,
but the two drones added a new dimension to his work. He went on to explain the stringent rules attached to drone
flight; no filming over royal palaces, prisons, sports arenas, National Trust land and properties and Sites of Special
Scientific Interest. He then went on to explain that in order to use his bigger drone he needed a pilots licence and
went on to show us the list of the very complicated course requirements.
He went through the icons on the monitor and their functions, such as its height, speed, signal power, avoidance
of obstacles by sensors, and return to home function. In order to be safe, drone flyers should go into a designated
website to check weather conditions, temperature, visibility, cloud cover, wave height and to how many satellites
have been locked onto the drone as it is operated by GPS.
Video files followed of flights over Newbiggin Bay showing ability comparisons between his two drones flying next
to each other and then, fascinatingly, a flight along the length of Druridge Bay showing the flight path and how it
arrives exactly on the spot from where it set off. Finally, he showed a wonderful video clip which was commissioned
by Howick Hall showing snowy scenes of the hall from above, gliding through the grounds, over walls and roof tiles,
on the forest floor through trees and gates, and sweeping scenes of the surrounding landscape.
A Q & A followed where he stressed that drones are not a toy; following the law and taking responsibility is key.
One must have a visual line of site to be aware of telephone wires and other hazards and each flight must be
planned well beforehand. It was a very interesting and different presentation and it was obvious that Jon had a
real passion for his work and together with some very funny anecdotes it made for another great evening at the
club. Peter Downs thanked him for an excellent talk which was followed by refreshments.
presentation entitled Videography and the Drone. Jon, a former professional photographer from Newcastle, now
specialises in producing videos that largely utilise images which have been captured using drones.
Jon opened the evening by talking about his start in life together with images of his parents, his first camera and
old monochrome dark room photographs. He attended Ponteland Collage where he trained to be a teacher of art
and photography but with no teaching posts available he decided to join the police force. With his creative mind
he soon realised that a career in the police was not for him and eventually found a teaching post at a Grammar
School in Blyth. He then embarked on Wedding photography and then became more involved with video work
which, being 3 or 4 dimensional, brought the events he filmed to life.
He showed images of his studio with four monitors and audio equipment and went on to explain how his team
would work in tandem, capturing the scene from all aspects. The pandemic stopped all of his wedding work so
he retired but wondered what he would do next. By happenstance he became involved in social media; a friend
had asked him to make a film of the Northumbrian Coast and send it to her by YouTube. He was astonished to
find that his video had received an enormous amount of hits which he found to be a lifeline. To capture more of
the area he needed aerial footage so he bought his first drone before progressing to a more sophisticated version.
Jon had his original, super heavy video recorder and tripod on display, which he said was perfect for ground work,
but the two drones added a new dimension to his work. He went on to explain the stringent rules attached to drone
flight; no filming over royal palaces, prisons, sports arenas, National Trust land and properties and Sites of Special
Scientific Interest. He then went on to explain that in order to use his bigger drone he needed a pilots licence and
went on to show us the list of the very complicated course requirements.
He went through the icons on the monitor and their functions, such as its height, speed, signal power, avoidance
of obstacles by sensors, and return to home function. In order to be safe, drone flyers should go into a designated
website to check weather conditions, temperature, visibility, cloud cover, wave height and to how many satellites
have been locked onto the drone as it is operated by GPS.
Video files followed of flights over Newbiggin Bay showing ability comparisons between his two drones flying next
to each other and then, fascinatingly, a flight along the length of Druridge Bay showing the flight path and how it
arrives exactly on the spot from where it set off. Finally, he showed a wonderful video clip which was commissioned
by Howick Hall showing snowy scenes of the hall from above, gliding through the grounds, over walls and roof tiles,
on the forest floor through trees and gates, and sweeping scenes of the surrounding landscape.
A Q & A followed where he stressed that drones are not a toy; following the law and taking responsibility is key.
One must have a visual line of site to be aware of telephone wires and other hazards and each flight must be
planned well beforehand. It was a very interesting and different presentation and it was obvious that Jon had a
real passion for his work and together with some very funny anecdotes it made for another great evening at the
club. Peter Downs thanked him for an excellent talk which was followed by refreshments.