| |
Above, article from The Irish Mail on Sunday written by property guru and RTE presenter Liz O Kane about Air Take Photography
Below, text from the article
March 2009 The Irish Mail on Sunday 'Look Ma, no helicopters!' by Liz O Kane
I visited a friend last week for the housewarming party of her recently built home. Designed by her architect husband, the house is stunning. What I love about visiting new homes is that I can pick up new ideas that I can invariably use at some time or other in my own home or, indeed, while advising clients.
I immediately noticed a large, striking elevated photograph of the house. It was beautifully mounted and framed in a simple, contemporary style. I hadn’t seen this kind of shot since the Eighties. It struck me that this kind of image would be very eye-catching as a promotional picture for a home that is on the market.

So, I asked, ‘when was the helicopter around?’ It turns out that there had been no helicopter visit and the shot was taken from the ground. I was even more intrigued. My friend discovered Air Take Photos at the ploughing championships last September. It is run by Hannah McMahon and Donal O’Brien, a young couple who have a sophisticated piece of camera kit that is elevated on a mast 30 metres in height.
Air Take Photos will come to your home and, for the inexpensive sum of about €189 plus VAT (depending on the size of the building), they will take a series of property shots that are printed there-and-then for your files, together with a disc of images that are up to 12 megabytes each.
‘The great thing about this kind of specialised photo service,’ said my friend, ‘is that as they were taking the photos in their van and manoeuvring the mast, I could choose the angle of the photo and see the shots being taken on screen. So I was fully involved in achieving the image I wanted. This was a gift for my husband and it was great to see immediate images, rather than having to wait for the proofs’.
Air Take Photos operates in a number of sectors. It shoots photo images for county councils, websites, commercial clients, architects, auctioneers and one-off houses.
Health & Safety Services provides on-site training for the construction industry. It wanted elevated shots for its corporate brochure, outlining the size of the building, location and car parking facilities. It considered using one of the helicopter services but none could provide the tight shot that was required.
According to the Irish Aviation Authority website, any helicopter taking photos in a built-up area must be 300 metres above the building that's being photographed and be within a 600 metre radius. In rural areas, the photos must be taken 150 metres above any person, vehicle or structure, otherwise it becomes an invasion of privacy.
The Hub exhibition centre in Kilkenny chose to use the mast, as it wanted the site to look more intimate and the helicopter shot could not achieve that.
The use of mast-elevated photography is becoming more popular in terms of the technology offered and there are several other companies offering the service. However, there are only three 30 metre-high masts in the country, the rest in operation being only 15 metres in height.
Eye Opener Properties in Fermoy has used the mast to gain the edge on other auctioneers.
The property images are stylised, eye-catching and diverse, yet the difference in price as opposed to a frontal shot is minimal. The main advantage is that the prospective buyer can see an unusual, complete site size in one sharp image.
Ireland isn’t renowned for copious amounts of sunshine. But you can be assured that your photo will be basking in blue skies and a few fluffy white clouds thanks to the genius of’ digital imaging. The quality of the images is so high (300 dpi) that it is possible to print the picture up to 125cm in diameter without compromising the impression.
• For further information: http://www.airtakephotos.ie/, Tel. 087 953 8682. Liz can be contacted via her website http://www.lizokane.ie/.
Above, picture taken at Liscarroll point to point races and used by The Corkman newspaper, below, see what the newspaper wrote
This years Liscarroll point to point races rose to new heights with some unique technology which was used to photograph the event. There was no helicopter or cherry picker in sight - instead this revolutionary new method of aerial photography . The system comprises of a mast which is capable of elevating to a height of 85ft with a camera on top, which can be controlled from the ground. Large sections of the course and crowd were captured in a single picture.
Donal O Brien - a family member of the lands where the races are held and co owner of Air Take Photography, was able to view the racing from inside the van by using his ‘eye in the sky’ .
To view more unique pictures of the races taken with the elevated mast, log onto www.airtakephotos.ie
Commercial Clients
Merchants Quay Shopping Centre, Cork
Denission Trailers, Naas, Co Kildare
Mc Kenna Woodcrafts, Monaghan
Health and Safety Services, Newmarket, Co Cork
Floor Tech, Little Island, Cork
Cork City Council
Maher Tractor Sales, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath
Modern Homes Exhibition, Co Waterford
Venture One Garden Centre, Kiskeam, Co Cork
CDE Ireland, Co Tyrone
Eye Opener Properties, Fermoy, Co Cork
Michael Thornton, Auctioneer, DNG, Millstreet, Co Cork
Hinchys Car Sales, Knocklong,Co Limerick
Perfect Water Systems, Charleville, Co Cork
Ted Kelleher First Aid Supplies, Macroom, Co Cork
JJ Hinchion, Auctioneer, Sherry Fitzgearld, Macroom, Co Cork
PSE, Newcastlewest, Co Limerick
Araghlin Construction, Caherconlish, Co Limerick
Liam Murphy,Auctioneer, Kanturk, Co Cork
Kingdom Co Op Livestock Mart, Tralee, Co Kerry
Grassland Fertilizers, Dock Road, Limerick
O Riordains Sheds, Ballyhea, Co Cork
The Hub, Cilin Hill, Dublin Road, Kilkenny
Testimonials
We were delighted with the photos, they were brilliant. Thanks a million for everything.’ Jimmy and Brid Condon
'Thank you so much for everything you did for us, we love the photos' John and Mairead Fox
'What would you think of a company that would work into the night to get photos finished for a deadline they were needed for? Id say they were worth their weight in gold and Id say to anyone in this room, remember Air Take Photography if you ever need any aerial photographs, as I would definitely recommend them'
Brian Moore, Southern Director of BNI, addressing a room of business people in Mallow
‘The work you did was absolutely fantastic, the shots are exactly what is needed to show the height and impact the new proposed building will have on the surrounding buildings and to show the views that will be seen from each storey, excellent work’
North Cork Auctioneer
"Aerial photography in a mobile ground based system"
Click here to view our extensive image gallery |
|
