A private helicopter being used for a photography flight crashed into New York City's East River on Sunday, killing the 5 passengers on board who were "tightly harnessed" when the chopper became submerged. The pilot managed to escape.
Jin-Woo Prensena is a Los Angeles-based fine art photographer who shoots gorgeous aerial photos from a top-down perspective. Instead of using a drone, as is popular these days, Prensena hangs out of helicopters while wielding a Phase One XF 100MP medium format camera for 100-megapixel photos.
Taking pictures out of a helicopter is one of the greatest and most rewarding things I've done as a photographer. It grants you access to unparalleled views that you would never see otherwise.
Update: Initial reports that the 'drones' flew at the helicopter may not be entirely accurate. Click here to read our followup coverage.
Earlier this week, two drones narrowly avoided a collision with a New York Police Department’s helicopter just over the George Washington Bridge. It took aversion maneuvers by the quick-thinking helicopter pilot to ensure no collision took place. But just because there wasn’t any critical harm done doesn’t mean the individuals behind the reckless drones are getting off free.
Photographer Bryan Soderlind recently did a photo shoot with his buddy, professional wakeboarder Rusty Malinoski (the first person to ever land a 1080 in competition). Instead of the usual setup photographers use for wakeboarding photography, the two decided to try something crazier: lighting the action from the air using a battery-powered strobe placed in a helicopter.
Here's an old-ish video that's been making the rounds again lately (viral videos are like viruses -- they don't go away very easily). Titled "Camera shutter speed synchronized with helicopter blade frequency," it shows what can happen when your camera is synchronized with the RPM of a helicopter's rotor blades. The resulting footage makes the helicopter look as though it's just floating in the air!