Picture from my Drone made the News

[maxwell smart]

We are just west of the Brazos River from Sienna.

Honestly, you couldn't pay me enough to live over there. I have a few friends that live there and it's not for me.

All my customers come from Sienna. They are snutty. But then most are well off.

 

[FrequentFlyer]

Yes, I did see it on the Today Show and they did say it was taken by a drone.


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[jeremiah212]

I live in Canada so I am not bound by a lot of the rules you guys are.. Also I live in a First Nations community on the south shore of Montreal where the federal government has even less authority.


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[HTX]

Have you had trouble connecting to satellites? I also live in houston and with all these thunderstorms I don't get one single connection to any satellite.


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[Crawdaddyjc]

Very cool! Having the ability to provide a view that most people cant see is a great positive that should be promoted. Maybe then there wont be so many negative "drone" stories.

Good link and read. Thanks for posting it. Good info to have in case someone questions.

 

[Wolfiesden]

So, again we are left with contradictory information by the FAA. How convenient.

Convenient and typical.

 

[fastsmiles]

You'd think so ... but that might not be correct
Here's the surprising story ...
FAA Says Media Can Use Drone Photos From Citizen Journalists, Not Professionals
FAA Memo on Media Use of FAA

Thanks for sharing that, I'll be contacting my local news with photo/video submissions. I think it's a good positive comment on drone use.

 

[Wolfiesden]

You'd think so ... but that might not be correct
Here's the surprising story ...
FAA Says Media Can Use Drone Photos From Citizen Journalists, Not Professionals
FAA Memo on Media Use of FAA

Holy cow! I just read that second link (can't read first because its on Forbes). There is an incredible statement that may end up causing a lot of FAA lawyers serious issues...

The FAA does not regulate whether a third party not involved in the operation of an aircraft- manned or unmanned- can receive pictures, videos, or other information that was gathered using that aircraft, or how that third party can use those pictures, videos, or other information.

And...

Whether an individual taking pictures or videos or gathering other information using a model aircraft under the section 336 carve-out could later sell those pictures, videos, or other information would depend
on the person's original intentions in conducting the operation.

If the individual's takes the pictures or videos or gathers other information as part of a hobby or recreational activity, then a later decision to sell some or all of those pictures, videos, or other information would not change the character of the operation as part ofa hobby or recreational activity that falls within the section 336 carve-out for model aircraft. No FAA authorization for that operation would be required.

That last quote vindicates a position I took on another thread here.

once you license the video - you are no longer a hobby flyer. Be careful with that.

I do not feel that is true. You, as a hobby photographer, can sell or license your works without being labeled "commercial".

The separation comes with intent. If you record or shoot photos or video for a hobby, there is nothing stopping somoene contacting you later to request use in a commercial production. This does not suddenly thust you into the commercial photographer category If, on the other hand, you shoot or record video with the intent to sell it, then that IS commercial in nature.

I stated that I believed that INTENT was the determining factor whether a flight was commercial or hobby and that a photo/video taken under hobby flight rules COULD be sold later and not alter the hobby status of the flight. The FAA quote above says EXACTLY that.

 

[URUCA DRONEGEO]

Congratulations for your Capture !!!!!!! Keep flyinggggggggggggggggggggg

 

[pounder35]

We had some crazy storms today around Houston with a ton of flooding. So i figured why not get the drone out to check out our Neighborhood. In the back it was pretty bad as three houses where close to flooding. I sent a few pictures to 13 news here in Houston and they aired it a few times today.


I've submitted a few shots to the local newspaper but they haven't printed anything.

We had some crazy storms today around Houston with a ton of flooding. So i figured why not get the drone out to check out our Neighborhood. In the back it was pretty bad as three houses where close to flooding. I sent a few pictures to 13 news here in Houston and they aired it a few times today.

 

[pounder35]

I've submitted a few shots to the local newspaper but so far they haven't published anything.

 

[cbgeorge]

While that may be true about being a freelance photog & obtaining pix others cannot as you say. Hopefully, you have the 333 exemption? Otherwise, being paid for those pix could get you in serious trouble while using your quad copter.

Remember, if the government see you make a nickel, they got to get a dime of it!!

 

[jlummel]

I had been wondering how the FAA handled it if you sell photography from a flight that was recreational, it looks like they came down on the side of common sense on this issue.

But the FAA memo (FAA Memo on Media Use of FAA) also says:

"Evidence that may indicate an individual's true intentions in conducting an operation may include the frequency with which pictures, videos, or other information collected using an unmanned aircraft is later resold. Operations that frequently result in pictures, videos, or other information that is sold to a third party may indicate that the operation is in fact commercial in nature notwithstanding the individual's claim of a hobby or recreational purpose. The FAA would have to consider each case on its own merits."

If you go up thinking you may be able to sell some of the footage you are about to get, then you are making a commercial flight in essence, such as when flying over a disaster. And If you end up selling enough of it you may attract the FAA's attention. I would imagine that frequently soliciting news organizations to sell your photography would go a long way to proving commercial intent (as opposed to responding to media requests for specific material)...

At some point the FAA may want to put a head on a pike in an effort to curb commercial activity under the guise of operating under the 336 carve-out.

Be smart on how you operate!

 

[Suspended Moments]

So, again we are left with contradictory information by the FAA. How convenient.

The exchange of money... being paid for the video or stills puts it in the commercial/professional category... regs apply....

 

[Matt Elyash]

Have you had trouble connecting to satellites? I also live in houston and with all these thunderstorms I don't get one single connection to any satellite.


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Which Phantom are you flying? You should get some....maybe not 16 but some....

 

[John N Kronyak]

We had some crazy storms today around Houston with a ton of flooding. So i figured why not get the drone out to check out our Neighborhood. In the back it was pretty bad as three houses where close to flooding. I sent a few pictures to 13 news here in Houston and they aired it a few times today.

Your 15 minutes of fame. Congrats.

 

[John N Kronyak]

While that may be true about being a freelance photog & obtaining pix others cannot as you say. Hopefully, you have the 333 exemption? Otherwise, being paid for those pix could get you in serious trouble while using your quad copter.

Just leave it be for crying out loud. Sheesh.

 

[John N Kronyak]

While that may be true about being a freelance photog & obtaining pix others cannot as you say. Hopefully, you have the 333 exemption? Otherwise, being paid for those pix could get you in serious trouble while using your quad copter.

Just say it was shot from his personal chopper.

 

[DiverDan]

Interesting...hadn't read through the memo before. It does specifically mention selling pictures to media that had been gathered from an noncommissioned amateur flight, citing the unchanged nature of the flight itself given the decision to sell the pictures later. Good to file away.

Any way, good on ya, Matt. I grew up near flood plains and had the opportunity to take a few heli flights over them once in a while. That much water only becomes more striking from the air.

Yeah, I think maybe possibly it may depend on original intent when you took off; fun video or intending to sell. What was in your mind? Like most government work, the FAA rules are murkily clear and vague enough simultaneously to require a court somewhere someday to interpret them. Obviously, you should have been able to figure this out for yourself long before nature intruded its effects on your neighborhood. What's wrong with you? Clearly, you should have anticipated a possible conflict long before this incident, and have consulted an expert lawyer in the field of interpreting vague government regulations, when the prevailing attitude there is "Close enuf for gov't work". [Been there, seen that].

Therefore, you are presumed guilty until you can prove your innocence. Forget what you were taught in school about it being the opposite way. We're 32 years past 1984, and Double-Speak is in full flower. And we've always been at war with EastAsia. [We certainly were in 1967-68 when I was in Vietnam].

 

[jphks]

You'd think so ... but that might not be correct
Here's the surprising story ...
FAA Says Media Can Use Drone Photos From Citizen Journalists, Not Professionals
FAA Memo on Media Use of FAA

I find this troublesome and vague. If I just 'happen' to have my UAS with me near an event or such and I take footage or photos which are used/bought by a News Agency, when does it become commercial? The IRS will consider it income from the first sale.