Cape Henlopen students use drone to take stunning aerial photos

Jason Fruchtman's photography students are taking their skills to new heights.

Students are using state-of-the-art technology to operate drones and take amazing panoramic photos high above Cape Henlopen High School.

“It's really cool, a whole new perspective of how the area looks,” said junior Sara Desmond.

Sara is one of 20 students in Fruchtman's class, which has been working with two Inspire drones over the past two months.

Students first learn safety and flight skills, Fruchtman said. One student pilots a drone with remote controls while the other focuses on the camera shot. The drones are packed with perks to make operation easier: a GPS lock to help the drone withstand high winds, directions that can be programmed ahead of time and a function that locks a camera onto an object while the drone flies about.

The new drones, purchased with district technology funds and some fundraising, are more advanced than the one students learned to operate last fall, but the photos are no less dramatic. Sara used the original drone to take aerial photos of Viking Stadium during football games. One shot captured dramatic dark reds of a sunset over the western horizon while darkness fell over the rest of the lighted field.

“We'd take a panoramic shot over the stands and everyone would get so excited,” said Sara, who took the sunset shot. “It's opened up a bunch of doors for me because I realized I like technology.”

Senior Annabelle Sadler plans to major in photography.

“It's great that we have this opportunity at school,” she said.

She looks forward to taking pictures along the coastline – photos she will be able to compare to the West Coast shoreline when she heads to Santa Monica College in the fall.

Wearing glasses that tie into the drone's camera, junior Brianna Gabbard said it feels like she's flying, kind of like the Epcot Center ride appropriately named “Soaring.”

“It's really cool with the glasses,” she said.

While students operate the drones above Cape High property, a flock of buzzards cautiously patrols the airspace nearby. Fruchtman said the birds never let the drones get too close.

“The first day we brought the drone out, they came over and circled it,” he said.

The drone camera has no zoom, so students haven't been able to get any close-up nature shots, he said.

Fruchtman has taken colorful panoramas of the towers in Cape Henlopen State Park and stunning sunsets and sunrises over Dewey Beach and the Indian River Inlet.

He is planning a class trip to Cape Henlopen State Park so students can sharpen their photography skills and get some new shots.

“The students are looking forward to it,” he said. “They're learning composition and lighting. This is giving them a skill that they can use in the future.”

Look for more drone photos in the blogposts by FruchtmanU at capegazette.villagesoup.com/p/fruchtmanu/1264965.