• Home
  • For Beginners
  • My Kit
  • About
  • Our Podcasts
  • Contact / Follow
  • 20% OFF Codes
  • Photo Assignments
  • Amazon

Sharky James

The official site for Sharky James of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast

August 3, 2015

An Open Letter to the Drone Industry – You Need To Be More Proactive BEFORE Someone Dies!!!

DroneIndustryOpenLetter
Dear drone industry,
Enough is enough. You MUST do a better job. NOW. Do it before someone brings down an airliner with a drone.
With seemingly daily incidents involving drones as they become more prevalent and less-expensive, it's time the drone industry steps up, is more proactive and does a better job of educating its customers while mitigating potential disasters to the extent it can.
On my show, the Lens Shark Photography Podcast, it seems like I'm reporting on the foolishness of irresponsible drone owners weekly. They're the exception, not the rule, but these bad apples will spoil things for those who operate their drones responsibly.
I believe in personal responsibility, but clearly many have more money than sense and cannot handle the responsibilities which come with owning a drone.
Just because you can...doesn't mean you should.
Many have missed that message though. It's within your power to help educate your customers and do your part before government steps in with more stringent regulations...especially if someone brings down an plane.
On Friday, July 31, 2015, two commercial airliners came dangerously close to a drone strike near New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. JetBlue Flight 1843, upon approach to the airport, came just 100 feet or so from a drone flying at an altitude of 900 feet. A little over two hours later at JFK, another flight came close to a drone.
Clearly, some drone owners think that's appropriate use of your drones. It is not.
When (not if) a drone brings down an airliner, there will be calls for stiff regulations of your industry as hundreds would die senselessly. Do something NOW while you still can.
Here in the U.S., the FAA reports there being hundreds of incidents involving drones flying dangerously close to aircraft each year and that's just in the U.S. This is a massive problem and a disaster waiting to happen.
Also in July, 2015, 5 drones were spotted flying over and around a fire in Cajon Pass in California causing emergency personnel to ground firefighting aircraft out of concern for the crews and their aircraft. As a result, the fire grew larger than it should have.

Due to this incident, California lawmakers want to give emergency personnel the right to knock your drones out of the sky. Cynics will say you're ok with that as you'll sell more drones, but moving a handful more drones a year isn't worth the additional bad press drones will get...and nothing is worth the loss of life.
Irresponsible drone owners will cause deaths and loss of property. Why? So they can get aerial footage? It's not worth lives!
DroneCautionFlyerSo, drone industry, what can you do?
I think it would be wise to include something along the lines of a bright orange or yellow warning notice in each drone box which would be impossible to miss. Much as I have at right.

On it, warn drone operators about flying around airports, government buildings, landmarks and other buildings which they have no business flying over and around.
Warn them that they'll be arrested if they fly their drone near an airport and aircraft. STRONGLY caution them against this. Explain to them that a drone CAN bring down an airliner and if that happens, they'll have the blood of hundreds on their hands, they'll be arrested and they'll likely spend their life in prison.
Drone operators risk lives and their own freedom just so they can get beautiful video near an airport. It's pointless. The moment they post the video online or attempt to sell it as stock video footage, they'll face investigation and arrest. So it's a pointless exercise, unnecessarily risking lives.

In addition to an impossible to miss warning sheet, it wouldn't hurt to direct your customers to the url of a website with videos explaining all of this in no uncertain terms.

When a drone crashed on the lawn at the White House January 6, 2015, firmware was pushed out creating a no fly zone. All should be done to make it impossible to fly within 5 miles of airports and an appropriate distance around government buildings and other important structures.

Drone industry, if you truly value your business and your customers, please DO MORE to give them the information they need before they a) take down a commercial jetliner with hundreds on board, b) send themselves to prison for life and c) enrage the public who WILL demand extremely stringent regulations or perhaps an outright ban on drones.

Do this before a horrific tragedy happens.

Mike "Sharky" James
Photojournalist
Host, Lens Shark Photography Podcast (LensShark.com)

You can help. Share this page and help bring about change.

Drone photo by Gabriel Marengo is licensed under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped from original

Filed Under: Open Letters

July 30, 2015

Episode 36: Nikon or Fujifilm…Which Would You Choose? [LSP #0036]

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS

LSP0036

Welcome to episode 36!  Consider subscribing if you haven’t already.

In this episode:
00:01:00 – Want a FREE portfolio review by me (Sharky James)? Want to win a super fast 64GB Lexar 1000x SDXC card? How about a $100 or $1,000 Amazon.com Gift Card?

Visit this page for details: http://lensshark.wpengine.com/contests

# # #

00:03:21 – This week’s Listener Question comes from Sergio in Ohio. Sergio has a Nikon D200, but wants to know if he should move up to the Nikon D700 or go mirrorless with the awesome Fujifilm X-T1.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Podcast Episodes

July 22, 2015

Episode 35: What The Heck Is Nikon Up To? [LSP #0035]

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS

LSP0035

Welcome to episode 35!  Consider subscribing if you haven’t already.

In this episode:
00:00:53 – Want a FREE portfolio review by me (Sharky James)?
Look for our podcast in iTunes. Rate us, review us and if you wouldn’t mind, subscribe! In exchange, I’ll review your portfolio and help you take your photography to the next level. Search for “Lens Shark” in iTunes. If you don’t have iTunes, Stitcher, Tune-In, etc. would be fine. But iTunes is deal as it helps us reach more listeners. Listen to the show for details. Thanks!

# # #

00:02:47 – Nikon reportedly sends out a Maintenance Service Initiative letter to 4,300 D800 owners, 100 D700 owners and 100 D7100 users offering to have a look at them, clean them and make any necessary repairs for free and pick up the shipping costs. What the heck is Nikon up to?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Podcast Episodes

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 22
  • Next Page »

Newsletter

Subscribe and listen to the FREE PetaPixel Photography Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSS

Follow Us

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestCheck Our FeedVisit Us On Instagram

Categories

  • Home
  • For Beginners
  • My Kit
  • About
  • Our Podcasts
  • Contact / Follow
  • 20% OFF Codes
  • Photo Assignments
  • Amazon

Copyright 2018 Lens Shark, L.L.C. - All Rights Reserved
Lens Shark logo, Lens Shark character are trademarks of Lens Shark, L.L.C.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT