Drone rules too strict on public shots

At some point, the Times-Age might consider taking up drone technology, which would put us in the commercial category, requiring permission. FILE PHOTO

IN A short space of time I have seen attitudes change towards the appearance of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or drone in the sky. Familiarity is everything, it seems.

During the Daffodil Festival last month, no one was concerned about the hovering drone on the other side of the Carterton railway station, waiting for the Daffodil Express to chuff into the station. People are getting used to the idea of capturing a special day from the air. It was reasonable and unremarkable.

Contrast that with the social media furore - continued in the Times-Age, earlier in the year when a drone was used to take photos at a combined schools swimming championship at the Featherston pools.

The public didn't like it. Drones weren't as "familiar" as they are now, they didn't know who was operating it, and cameras and small children at swimming pools are an uneasy mix.

I welcome the guidelines being prepared by the three councils, with Carterton being the first to put theirs together.

I also note that drone operators are being proactive in guiding newcomers to the use of drones, with an informative Facebook page for chat and information. At some point, the Times-Age might consider taking up drone technology, which would put us in the commercial category, requiring permission.

I think the rules being imposed or prepared are stronger than they need to be, especially involving the use of drones over public land without permission. It is the long-held right of any photographer to be able to photograph anything and anyone, including private property, if they are standing on public land.

I would also tend to agree that any photographer who puts a camera on a 40-foot selfie stick to photograph people in someone's backyard is clearly breaching privacy. People have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and using extraordinary means to obtain a photo is going too far.

But at some point, the Times-Age would have to obtain a high-angle image of a house fire or a flooded road. We'd do it from the road, like any press photographer, and I don't think we should be asking permission for that to happen. Public space, in my view, is public space - vertically as well as horizontally.