Yellowstone NP cracking down on Illegal drone use....

[sar104]

“Obviously absurd”? How so..... the topic is using tools, such as camera drones, and restrictions of these by Park Services. The debate is over fair access and use of public lands. These bans exist today and continue to expand. It’s not slippery slope, it’s current state.

Just to be clear - so you think that these are not obviously absurd?

"new laws banning overflight of wilderness areas by manned aircraft at any altitude"​

​

"totally ban from national parks all cameras of any kind because some people are annoyed by them"​

 

[Nightwolf]

Take a camera with a tripod and professional zoom lens on it and start taking pictures in Zion National park. Last year a ban was placed on tripod cameras in the Park as the Park began to put restrictions on “professional” photographers.

I was in a rain forest in Washington and the most wonderful waterfall had tripods everywhere. Everybody trying for the same perfect long exposure waterfall. Irritating.

 

[furthertofly]

I don’t see the need to completely disregard these statements. Let’s take a real life example:

Take a camera with a tripod and professional zoom lens on it and start taking pictures in Zion National park. Last year a ban was placed on tripod cameras in the Park as the Park began to put restrictions on “professional” photographers.

After an uproar over this became public, the Park backed off sightly and limited the use of tripod cameras in various areas, like trails, but allowed them from certain road pullouts, etc. Other Parks have followed this trend.

So, this is not just fear mongering.

Just for the record, you are wrong about the tripod ban (see link). It only bans tripods in groups that block trails, which is reasonable. There is a problem in Zion with commercial workshops bringing large groups of still photographers to popular sites and getting in the way of the general public, and other NPs have had similar problems. But it's a big stretch to connect this to drone regs.

Zion National Park clarifies controversial tripod restrictions

 

[bhartwell]

Remarkably short short sighted, read the story before discounting the example.

Understanding The Tripod Ban

When Zion National Park announced a tripod ban for photo workshops, nature photographers were understandably alarmed. Here's how the ban actually applies.

www.outdoorphotographer.com

I guess it doesn’t matter really, people will put their blinders on and hope for the best. Good luck to you.

 

[sar104]

Remarkably short short sighted, read the story before discounting the example.

Understanding The Tripod Ban

When Zion National Park announced a tripod ban for photo workshops, nature photographers were understandably alarmed. Here's how the ban actually applies.

www.outdoorphotographer.com

I guess it doesn’t matter really, people will put their blinders on and hope for the best. Good luck to you.

And others, such as yourself, will studiously ignore all information that doesn't fit your narrative.

 

[bhartwell]

And others, such as yourself, will studiously ignore all information that doesn't fit your narrative.

Lol, I guess the pot calling the kettle black is a real truism.

 

[sar104]

Lol, I guess the pot calling the kettle black is a real truism.

Feel free to address any of the actual points whenever you are ready.

 

[Phantombandit]

How do I unsubscribe to this thread.

 

[Starz]

How do I unsubscribe to this thread.

Click the unwatch button

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Because many of us go to the park to enjoy NATURE and get away from technology. I leave my cell phone, iPad, iPod and other goodies in the car for a reason. Leave your drone at home.....

I appreciate and respect that.

But I do want to offer this on the whole technology thing: I'm a nature photographer, so naturally I'm bringing that technology (camera, tripod, sliders / panoramic / time-lapse devices, laptops for control, etc.). If I'm in the back-country long enough, I have power solutions such as large battery storage and solar panels.

And I pack a lot of that stuff on the trail, off into the wilderness and find a vantage point that will allow me to capture a nice shot that I like to sometimes consider to be fine art.

Just ask any Ansel Adam's fan about the great lengths he went to getting his often-heavy photographic platforms in hard to reach places. Modern day photographers (Art Wolfe) bring entire crews, with equipment on pack-animals, that include bringing power solutions for sometimes weeks.

For me, the UAV is an aerial tripod. I can put that camera in places that my ground-based tripod can't be.

I find it sad that if I really wanted to photograph that place from that POV, I would have the large burden getting permission -- larger than that required for all of the other nuisances mentioned in this thread, most of which are much noisier and invasive and require no special permissions at all.

And in some cases, it is simply prohibited at all times (no chances for even special permits). Many of those cases are understandable (Yellowstone over geysers, Painted Hills or any other location over fragile landscapes, etc.), but there are plenty of examples that are not that clear.

Chris

PS: Photography / UAVs aside: As for leaving the cell phone in the car, you must not hike that much. Avid hikers carry them for it's GPS capabilities in addition to it having a camera, plus hiking apps with maps (that also use the GPS functionality, even out of cell range). I also have a portable / dedicated GPS device, which is another example of technology designed for use in wilderness areas. Let's not be so quick to hop on "STAY OFF THE GRID IN NATURE AS INTENDED" bandwagon or be mistaken for a luddite (I'm not wielding that term to be insulting -- it's just the right word for extreme anti-tech stances).

Then there's the cell-phone towers in national parks -- there are valid cases of some people that NEED cell coverage (doctors, emergency personnel on call, certain government officials). There's LOTS of push-back against the installation of those towers, but it mostly comes from other people telling ME what I am not supposed to do with my cell phone (which is not invasive to their enjoyment of nature in the least bit).

 

[Capt. Joe]

After five years that this “law” has been in place, many of us are still looking for a rational reason for it. That is the real issue and why so many people have a problem with it.

Every year people fall to their deaths taking pictures in National Parks. Using a drone to get those shots would only make the parks safer, and what a shame it is to make it illegal to fly in a safe and responsible manner to get some nice images, without interfering of course with wildlife......

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Every year people fall to their deaths taking pictures in National Parks. Using a drone to get those shots would only make the parks safer, and what a shame it is to make it illegal to fly in a safe and responsible manner to get some nice images, without interfering of course with wildlife......

To be fair, the lions share of those deaths are from taking selfies at unsafe locations. We won't be doing selfies in the air.

Eh?

 

[sar104]

To be fair, the lions share of those deaths are from taking selfies at unsafe locations. We won't be doing selfies in the air.

Eh?

Actually one of the NPS concerns is drones as numerous as cell phones or selfie sticks at the popular lookout areas.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

To be fair, the lions share of those deaths are from taking selfies at unsafe locations. We won't be doing selfies in the air.

Actually one of the NPS concerns is drones as numerous as cell phones or selfie sticks at the popular lookout areas.

How are drones contributing to the number of deaths in NPs?

Chris

 

[sar104]

How are drones contributing to the number of deaths in NPs?

Chris

I wasn't trying to suggest that they were, so my point was a bit tangential and probably could have been clearer. I was just pointing out that a proliferation of selfie-taking drones in crowded locations is one of the concerns of the NPS.

 

[NRJ]

It is important for the same reason that some city parks don't allow dogs off-leash, and some do. No matter whether you love dogs or are disgusted by dogs or are somewhere in the middle, everybody gets some space but nobody gets all the space. I know it's hard to believe, but there are a significant number of people who object to drones buzzing around them on their nature vacation. This is a place for that POV, just as there are places for contrasting POVs. Without compromise between competing views, we don't have civilization.

Your remark: everybody gets some space but nobody gets all the space.
However, Drones have a human pilot, yet they get no space. So, your statement may be a bit incorrect.

 

[Starz]

Popcorn bag has been emptied. Going to get restocked!

 

[grego122]

Maybe a lottery could be put in place to give so many a chance to fly! You could pay for the chance and put up a deposit that would cover the cost of retrieving lost drones! You would get that money back as long as you don't leave equipment in the parks! Then make the same rules for people using camera and tripods equipment. It might take a life time and you might never get the chance to take any equipment in to the park! In the Smokey mountain they have a lottery for a Chance to go see lightening bugs! You can't take flashlights in, and it's hard to get a pass in and you have to pay. don't you love how rules just ruin stuff!

 

[BigAl07]

In the Smokey mountain they have a lottery for a Chance to go see lightening bugs! You can't take flashlights in, and it's hard to get a pass in and you have to pay. don't you love how rules just ruin stuff!

That's just across the mountain from where I live.....I went before the "Lottery" and it was a Charlie Foxtrot (CF) and a waste of time. After the "Lottery" its a much more enjoyable (almost magical to be honest) experience.

Unfortunately with no regulation people did anything they wanted (flash photography, flashlights etc) and it ruined the very limited and time consuming experience.

Synchronous Fireflies at Elkmont

View The Amazing Synchronous Fireflies In The Smoky Mountains

 

[droningandmore]

That’s your choice (and I can’t help but notice that you didn’t leave your car at home). Please don’t force your choices on others.... or are you now going to advocate that I shouldn’t be able to use my cell phone while visiting a national park?

ETA: speaking of cell phones, maybe they should be banned. Look at the number of people who are actually DYING in national parks by recklessly going for that perfect Instagram selfie. Hmmmm, I think y’all are on to something here.

?????? Well said!