Aerial portrait in the landscape

An aerial portrait puts you in the landscape from 30 to 100 metres up: a figure on a white field, a couple on a reef at low tide, a red umbrella on a lake shore. It works where the land is open and nobody else is close, which in Japan means Hokkaido’s countryside and Okinawa’s coast first, and private land with permission in Hakone, around Mt Fuji or near Kanazawa.

The 30 m rule protects third parties; you and anyone taking part in the shoot are not counted, so the drone can come close to you. In Okinawa we stay well clear of Naha Airport and the US bases such as Kadena and Futenma, which are covered by the Small Unmanned Aircraft Prohibition Act. Around Biei the fields are private farmland, so we fly only with the farmer’s consent and from public roads.

Permits take time: the DIPS 2.0 application needs about ten business days, and we arrange landowner consent in parallel, so book at least three weeks ahead. Flying after sunset counts as a night flight under the Act, so the session is timed for the hour before sunset or after sunrise.

Wear one strong colour against the ground: red on snow, yellow on green, white on dark rock. You receive 15 aerial photos and a 15-second vertical clip within 7 days.