Maine from Above
Sears Island in Searsport, Maine. Shop for this print at Jon Linn’s website.
We have many photographers in our group of Nature Links participants. We often send one another photos of beautiful landscapes, snowy weather, beloved pets, and colorful flowers. So we were all excited to meet another photographer today who joined us as a special guest speaker. Jon Linn is a retired mechanical engineer who says it’s hard for him to get used to calling himself a photographer. But Jon is being modest because his beautiful images of Maine towns and landscapes are awe-inspiring. Jon’s photographs are special because they’re taken from above using drones. Jon joined us today to introduce us to his equipment, teach us about drone photography and show us his work.
First, we learned about the equipment Jon uses. He has a foldable drone equipped with a 12-megapixel camera. The battery is good for about 30 minutes of flight. In addition to the camera used for photographing, it has cameras in front, back, and down below for obstacle avoidance. His drone even has sonar to help it know when it is about to land. It is satellite stabilized, has GPS, and includes 3 internal location systems to help make sure it doesn’t get lost.
There are rules involved in drone flight. The FAA regulates that you can’t fly in national parks (including nearby Acadia), the White House is off limits, you can’t fly at night, and you’re not allowed to fly directly over people or fly recklessly.
Jon says it took him about a year and a half to learn how to not crash his drone, but once he mastered his flying skills he began taking photographs over his hometown of Belfast, Maine, and other areas he finds beautiful (or both beautiful and ugly) across the state.
The paper mill in Rumford, Maine. Shop for this print on Jon’s website.
Jon’s photographs almost always include dramatic textures brought on by clouds, waves, or even smoke. It is a joy and a wonder to be able to see familiar places like the Belfast harbor or Pemaquid Point Lighthouse from the perspective an osprey or tern might have.
Jon is very humble about his work. He says it is hard for him to consider his photographs “art”. But no matter what you call it, Jon’s passion for composing images of Maine from above is captivating.
To learn more about Jon’s work, take a look at the recent Newscenter Maine segment about him. Thank you so much to Jon for joining us today and sharing his work with us!
