HOULTON, Maine — An Aroostook County photographer decided to get a new perspective on Houlton’s Midnight Madness, a festival that brings the community together with food, vendors and a closing fireworks display.
“Before I saw it from the ground and now I can see it all at once,” said Kostas Papadopoulos, a licensed FAA drone photographer from New Limerick who owns Lost Lake Drone Photography.
From an artistic perspective, Papadopoulos likes to share images from the sky of things people may not have not seen, like a series he recently finished of Vermont’s covered bridges. He also likes to show people a new view of local County events like Midnight Madness and places they pass by every day, he said.
Aerial fine art is gaining attention as artists learn how to push the technology and explore inventive ways to show the world from new angles, according to experts.
Take two United Kingdom brothers, JP and Mike Andrews, who started Aerial Abstract Art when they bought a drone while exploring Australia’s Outback. Now the brothers use Google Earth satellite imagery to select the location of their work before taking the drone to capture it.
Or what about Jay Christensen, who garnered Hollywood praise and more than half a million views of his innovative drone art for a new Minnesota bowling alley opening.
“You don’t have to go to the Caribbean to get beautiful photos,” Papadopoulos said.
Papadopoulos began teaching himself last year how to take photos with his new drone. He talked to local, award-winning fine art photographer Christopher Mills and also watched many YouTube videos for photography guidance, he said.
He started over open fields until he got a feel for maneuvering the drone and tried to stay away from water so he would not lose it. In time, he studied to become an FAA licensed drone photographer. All commercial drone photographers must be licensed by the FAA for safety, he said.
The way it works, the remote control for the drone plugs into his cell phone, showing him what the drone sees, similar to a viewfinder on a camera. When he sees what he wants, he controls the image from his phone.
He learned several editing programs like Adobe Lightroom as part of his training, he said.
Papadopoulos has shot some real estate pieces but he is still exploring where this new artform will take him, he said.
It’s hard to pick favorites, but he likes unusual landscapes and wildlife. A few weeks ago, he captured a seal at Fort Popham Beach in Phippsburg,
“I’m trying to do things that are interesting to local people,” he said.
