“Gentle the Night time.” That’s what drone pilot and photographer Craig Coker calls his drone pictures venture.

Simply don’t assume that each reference of ‘drone pictures’ means the drone is taking the picture. That’s definitely not what’s occurring with Gentle the Night time.

With Coker’s distinctive model of pictures, the picture you’re taking a look at comes from a digicam on the bottom — however the drone is essential to the picture. That’s as a result of the drone offers the sunshine supply for the picture.

Right here’s only one gorgeous instance from Coker’s “Gentle the Night time” venture:

Coker has spent years now toying with the idea of placing lights on drones, which might then functioning as an aerial, shifting highlight for objects on the bottom. With the launch of the Sony Airpeak S1 drone within the last week of 2021, his thought was lastly capable of pan out because the drone was able to lifting the lights he wanted to place within the air, whereas additionally flying in a dependable method, notably at excessive speeds and on aggressive flight paths.

So with the drone in hand, he got down to obtain his imaginative and prescient of photographing varied athletes at evening. See how he did it in a 6-minute lengthy YouTube video right here:

How they pulled off “Gentle the Night time”

The athletes/fashions used for “Gentle the Night time” have been skilled off-road driver Blake Wilkey, skilled freestyle skier Joss Christensen and world champion skimboarder and social media sensation Austin Eager, and he labored with different crew together with Lee Stockwell, Brandon Skinner and Johnny V to drag all of it off.

The gear used was a Sony Airpeak drone, outfitted with a Godox AD300 outside flash and the Gentle & Movement Reflex S LED/Flash Head. In addition they used a Gremsy Gimbal for tilt management and stabilized gentle.

Utilizing a distant for the drone hooked up to a chest mount harness system, in addition to his Sony Alpha 1 hooked up to a tripod, Coker might fly the Airpeak after which shoot a photograph at mainly the identical time. And from there, he generated nighttime photographs with the drone performing as a flying gentle part.

Whereas this particular instance is inventive in nature, it might pave the best way for different industrial and industrial functions which are comparable in that drones aren’t flying cameras, however somewhat are flying gentle sources. Coker stated rocket firms like SpaceX who do a variety of their inspections at evening have approached him about utilizing the drones to highlight sure elements of the massive aircrafts, or it might be helpful for search and rescue missions — lots of which additionally happen at evening.

Concerning the photographer, Craig Coker

If the identify Craig Coker sounds acquainted, that’s since you met him final month on my web site in a Q&A. Coker is completely THE man to know in drones. He builds them, he consults on them and naturally he flies and images with them. At present, Coker has a contract with Sony because the Japanese digicam firm’s official drone pilot for its Sony Airpeak S1 drone. Not solely is he taking photos for Sony although, however he’s placing the drone by means of stress checks to search out flaws in them, and he’s working straight with designers to make options for enhancements.

Previous to becoming a member of Sony, he consulted with different main drone makers together with DJI, 3DR, Yuneec and GoPro. He was instrumental within the 3DR Solo drone, the place he helped work on a light-weight supply for Solo too, and he was there within the early days of the unique DJI Phantom.

And never solely is he an knowledgeable in drones, however he’s an knowledgeable in motion sports activities. Up till about 10 years in the past, he was an expert freestyle skier, touring the world, which partially is what piqued his curiosity in motion sports activities pictures. He’s additionally an expert race automotive driver. The person is multi-faceted and exponentially extra multi-talented.

And with Gentle the Night time, all Coker’s passions — drones, pictures and motion sports activities — converge into one.

“The thought of a light-weight supply on Airpeak has been unimaginable,” he stated. “I couldn’t do it with most different drones.”

Try a full assessment of the Sony Airpeak S1 drone right here.

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