A Conversation with a 2017 SkyPixel Video Contest Winner
Luke Maximo Bell is the first prize winner in the City category of the 2017 SkyPixel Video Contest. His entry The City of Cape Town is a love letter to his beloved home, showing the South African port city’s beautiful, vibrant and dynamic side. One judge who chose this video praised its “great aerials, composition, reveals and use of light.”
Click to watch winning entries: The City of Cape Town https://www.skypixel.com/videos/dc45cda9-378c-468f-8f93-0a03b05c96fc
Bell is a Cape Town-based videographer and photographer with a particular passion for drones. He shares his journey with us today.
SkyPixel: Congratulations on winning! Can you tell us how you feel?
Luke Maximo Bell: I was completely surprised when I first found out! I had to check and re-check several times before I believed my eyes. Once the realization came, I was thrilled and grateful. It was such a good feeling to get recognized for my work.
SkyPixel: Did you produce The City of Cape Town specifically for the contest?
Luke Maximo Bell:Not initially. I’ve been working on the shots in that video for years. But when I learned of the contest, I put together an edit with all the best footage I’ve ever taken, then published it.
SkyPixel: Is the city your favorite aerial theme?
Luke Maximo Bell: It’s one of my favorites, but I think nature is still what I love to film most with drones.
SkyPixel: Do you have a unique shooting style or technique?
Luke Maximo Bell: I think every photographer and videographer has their own shooting style. I would say my videos are very dynamic with lots of movement. In terms of photography, I often adopt the completely vertical aerial view.
SkyPixel: Here is a comment for your submission from Phil, one of our judges:
“Great aerials, composition, reveals, and use of light.”
I also noticed that you have some light painting photos. You seem to be good at using light. Do you have some tips?
Luke Maximo Bell: Light is critical when it comes to any form of photography. Depending on lighting, the same scene or location can go from average to breathtaking. Because drones are mostly flown outside one has to rely mainly on natural light. For this, it’s best to shoot at sunrise or sunset during the golden hour. Even if the sun is a bit lower in the sky, you’ll still get defined shadows, which will add positively towards the composition. In terms of direction of light, I try and shoot towards the light source. This isn’t always advised if it’s too bright, but it creates the most cinematic effect in my opinion.
SkyPixel: When did you start learning about aerial photography?
Luke Maximo Bell: I started learning when I was studying mechatronic engineering. I built my own drone and started using it for aerial photography. Then I moved over to DJI drones exclusively simply because they’re the best in the business.
SkyPixel: You said that you have built your own drone — that’s amazing! What’s your favorite DJI drone? The Phantom 4 Pro?
Luke Maximo Bell: It was very difficult to build my own drone, but I’m glad I did because I learned so much in the process. The biggest thing I probably learned is most of the time it’s not worth building your own one! I’d rather leave it to DJI, who has years of experience perfecting theirs. My favorite DJI drone is currently the Phantom 4 Pro. I think if I had an Inspire 2 then that would probably become my favorite.
SkyPixel: If you could design a new function for the P4P it, what would it be?
Luke Maximo Bell: I would probably choose a high-quality zoom lens. It would be great to have a range of focal lengths on the Phantoms.
SkyPixel: What difficulties did you experience while you were learning about drone photography?
Luke Maximo Bell: Being unique with what you capture would be high on that list. When you see an aerial photograph of a particular area, person, or landscape, it’s easy for somebody to just go and imitate. So I think the most difficult thing was to photograph things in ways that people hadn’t done before. To be innovative and unique with what you capture is a challenging goal, which is probably why I love it so much.
SkyPixel: You said that the most difficult thing is to photograph things in ways that people hadn’t done before. Do you have such unique photos? What do you think when you shoot? Where does the inspiration come from?
Luke Maximo Bell: I try to make my photos unique, as different as possible. There’s a fine line between inspiration from others and imitation, so you have to be careful. When I’m shooting, I don’t think too much about it. Thinking too much gets in the way of spontaneous creativity. My inspiration comes from all sources across the internet. There are too many to narrow them down.
SkyPixel: With this in mind, would you like to share some drone-flying tips for beginners?
Luke Maximo Bell: The main tip I always give people is to use a drone to capture what’s impossible to capture from the ground. They are designed to see things from a new angle; use that to your full advantage. Another tip I would give is to make sure you are very skilled with flying a drone before even attempting videography or photography. The three most important pieces of using drones are flying skill, cinematography, and storytelling. You need to master each of these aspects equally well to use them to their full potential.
SkyPixel: What’s next for you?
Luke Maximo Bell: I’d like to continue my use of drones and hopefully work on bigger projects, such as collaborating with DJI, working on movie sets, and those sorts of things. It’s such an incredible and awesome platform to be a part of.
SkyPixel: Do you have big project currently in progress? Where is your next destination? What are you going to shoot?
Luke Maximo Bell: I’m busy planning a trip to Iceland at the end of the year. I’m still looking for enough sponsors to make it possible, but it would be an incredible place for drone work, so I’m very excited for that! I would love to shoot the incredible landscapes Iceland has to offer, as well as all the beautiful wildlife there.
Click to see more: https://www.skypixel.com/user/vadim-sherbakov
