I’ve been photographed, deliberately, twice before - once semi-privately and once publicly. Both were intended to ridicule me. There’s a world of difference between accidentally being caught in a shot, and someone snapping a video/photo of you deliberately to laugh at you. One is legal, accidental and forgiveable (I’d probably apologise and offer to stand back if they wanted to take the photo again ), the other is incredibly hurtful and, in some cases, disputable/illegal. The ones that really worry me are those Meta glasses – I’d never think to ask if I’m being filmed.
I noticed that too. How the flip do I know how heavy the drone was?! It was hovering over my garden unwelcome and it was going “brr” while I was out there. That’s all I know!
I’d guess your partner works sociable hours though? 8.45PM on a Sunday is not a time most lawful drone operators want to be taking aerial photos to be fair I wouldn’t been angry if it was lawful. Curious maybe, but if I got “I’m photographing this property/surveying this roof” etc it would just be “no worries! I’ll go in for a bit. I was just a bit confused!”
Out of curiosity though, what’s the rules on lawful operation around uninvolved persons? I’m just thinking, heaven forbid it does decide to come down in somebody else’s garden, they might not know what to do with/about it? Especially someone with a learning disorder, cognitive decline etc. Or can it only be flown within the boundaries of the property it’s surveying/photographing?
I had this happen o me about a monthly so ago. After I spotted it hovering over me in my garden I stared at it and shook my head and it then flew off and landed in my next door neighbours garden. Now they were having a kids birthday party and there were other adults there. I have not seen the drone since so think it was probably one of the other adults operating it and not the neighbours themselves. We do have cctv so if it does appear again I will be round there to tell them that I have evidence of the drone hovering and will be reporting it to the police.
They had a fifty acre field to fly over behind us but no they chose to spy on me painting my summer house instead, I mean really some people need to get a life.
I agree with @Tenshadesandme you feel violated and now I always look up when in the garden and I am also wary when in my bathroom as the widows are not frosted.
Am in America, not across the pond. We don’t have to put up with intruders breaking into our homes here… but sadly we do have to put up with intruders flying drones back and forth over our homes, hovering etc.
We’d have to take pics, contact police, start paper trail and hope person is caught, especially if we can’t see or find them around our home when they are illegally flying their drone.
There is a huge difference in a drone merely flying over one’s home and going back and forth over it, hovering etc. Even when that occurs we have to “allow” it and that doesn’t sit right with me.
Again, I’m talking about when they are illegally flying their drone and they know damn well they are yet others have to “take it”, put up with it, hope a paper trail eventually leads to the guilty party being punished all while the innocent party is being punished by having to tolerate this over their home, yard, pool etc.
Miss Heather and I have an in ground pool in the back of our home. We do use it naked many times. We’re on 1.9 acres. Pool is fenced, not whole yard is fenced, too much, but pool area is and a bit of the yard but rest of yard is beyond the fence.
If I found a drone hovering over us while naked in our pool…
Laws don’t protect the innocent well enough.
By the time a long paper trail leads to anything, footage could be online… good luck getting that off the internet.
All of us have so little privacy as it is now. And now we have to worry just being in our backyards at home…
Hours is a tough one, because that depends on the client and any special requests. He’s done lots of sunsets and sunrises (the best time in his opinion) which during summer can be late or very early. In your case I feel the drone owner has done what he intended and got the attention and rise he wanted.
It’s hard because what is ethically right vs legally right, is why there is lots of divide amongst the drone community. To many people are pushing the boundaries and that’s why the rules constantly change. You only have to look at people on YouTube. Unfortunately staying within the rules still often upsets people
And if say a drone under (249grams) came down, it wouldn’t cause life threatening injuries (CAA decide this).
My partner has both Flyer ID and Operator ID (and insurance and liability) because his has a 4K camera and weights over 3000grams.
And it’s hard to say, without knowing the camera quality he said. Partners camera is absolutely amazing (he used it this morning and had it follow us along the beach with the mist rolling in from the sea ).
But your average drone, depending on distance from the ground, wouldn’t pick up faces (he said).
As long as it’s taken off from private land (his own property) or public you can fly over residential houses (depending on distance above the house or crowds) but because of this no boundaries for the drone are in place (in his experience) for surveying or photography. The drone weight is the key factor though. Smallest ones have very minimal restrictions for commercial and residential flying. (Partner said, he guesses it’s under that 249grams and why rules are being flaunted).
You’ll find most pilots like being higher, because it gives a bigger field of view (his word again). Each drone will be different, but his does hover when taking a 360° photograph. It snaps multiple photos and snitches them together.
This is why on a previous thread I mentioned a “grey” area. Because hovering and taking a 360° photo isn’t illegal. The length of time it hovers often indicates what happening.
The whole drone thing is so long winded as you are finding out
I’ve got a feeling that there were a lot of regulations to do with drones as Vloggers used to feature a lot more drone footage before than what they used to now… I must admit when they film farms and isolated residences in the countryside they are lovely to look at but I feel very concerned for the safety of the people who live in them. Especially with how much criminals are targeting rural properties now…
I had a feeling you were familiar with police, et cetera surveillance with you living in Bristol.
Ahh it’s all beginning to make sense now! This happened exactly to a relative, sometimes boundaries aren’t definite and there was a bit of unclaimed no man’s land at the bottom of her garden and her neighbour opposite tried to claim that it was theirs and caused a great load of grief for her.
In the end relative put up a shed there to stop them looking! Relative looked into the legal side of it and I think she could use it so long for growing vegetables or something like that… until she could legally claim it as hers. It was something a bit random but she is doing exactly what it stated and told the neighbours her rights and they seem to have shut up for the moment.
That sounds like some stress you could do without though…
My Mum was telling me warlier she knows someone who does similar to yoir husband ans he’s got some lovely nature shots before flying over a property he’s advertising. Unfortunately I think you’re right, though he wasn’t rewarded with what he hoped: a fence panel has been moved, some ground has been cleared and that is it. If he was hoping for photos of a six-car garage or an infinity pool, he went away empty-handed. Worse, I’ve got holographic wind spinners on the way and 100m of holographic bird scare tape to string back qnd forth across the garden. His sensors won’t know what they’re looking at
Staying within the rules upsets people? Telling me! I had a garden hose connected amd ready to go. Why can’t I use it to blast down a nosey drone?!
I think that was one of my other fears: the drone being flown at me. My upstairs neighbour (who does have a history of exaggerating, so don’t read too much into this) has said he’s had that drown flown a metre or two from his head before now. I have anxiety, and I can behave unpredictability when panicked. If somebody moved a drone towards me, there is a very real chsnce that I may grab the first object to hand and whack it into the next orbit.
Your partner’s guesstimates on weight woukd make a lot of sense too. It’s likely the owner knows the rules and will gladly exploit them freely. I still think ones without displayed ID should be right for downing though. It makes no sense rhst a homeowner can’t protect their home.
Aww that sounds lovely. Aee? That’s a good use of a drone! Haha. I’m glad you both had a nice walk sweet
And yes, it’s definitely a headache… exactly what I hope it will be to film when I introduce my metric ton of holographic ornaments
Yes! I remember being on holiday in Cornwall some years ago and my brother took a photo of the swimming pool under development but got asked to delete it, meanwhile drown operators now film over abandoned buildings? I get the fascination, I really do, but what about everyone’s safety?
Haha it goes beyond that. My step uncle is a retired riot cop, I wanted to work in criminal forensics, been to the operations headquarters and everything. I always got on with the folks in blue: I’m a former equestrian so I get on with the mounted section. I’m a dog owner, so I relate to the dog section. I get dry humour, I speak the “please don’t make my life difficult” but also the “fine, if you insist” language. Yeah, I love Bristol, but it’s probably not why I get on with the police
The folks over the back have put up aboit a 9ft fence. Nothing says “I don’t want it” like a taller-than-necessary fence
The land is within our boundary. I’ve followed the boundary line on Google Earth chronological view and everything and the map the second fence follows is consistent with the boundary on the deeds. The flat was in a bad state when we moved in (garden full of broken glass, electricity meter in debt, Virgin Media blacklisted the property) so the chances that somebody stuck up a fence to hide a pile of rubbish they simply wanted hidden is unfortunately high.
It’s against the law to fly a drone over people without their consent (doubly so for a camera drone, which I’m assuming this is). The culprit may claim it’s under 250g, where it’s not as stringent, but I can guarantee it’s still against the law (I fly them during my job).
@Chris77 thank you. I have reported it to the police but, with no photo/video/flight path etc, there probably isn’t much they can do. I have now installed Dronecanner on my phone so I can track it (assuming it broadcasts its ID) if it flies over again and I do plan to add holographic bird repellent tape to the garden in the next week or two — as well as holographic 3D wind spinners and before I continue my work — so the glare will be absolutely glorious if they return. I also tried to find a holographic/silver umbrella to use as an emergency privacy shield but I couldn’t find one.
I was wondering about reporting it to ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) though? I know the CAA won’t do anything.
And yes, I’d assume it had a camera. It was likely either snooping on what we’ve been doing on the garden or it was casing the property to see if it’s worth burgling. The latter would be unwise — we have a dog, our cameras alert me to my phone and our security system will will wake up the neighbourhood and notify the police. We even have stickers on the windows warning would-be robbers not to try it.
How did you report it, I find a email is good for these kind of things.
I had a problem neighbour once he didn’t do any favours how he was loud all the time, he was always being chased by the police, One time I saw the police waiting at his door, I said you want catch him here at this time, they asked for me to contact them when he returns home, 3am that’s him home shouting slamming doors, I quickly emailed the police by 3.40am he was being dragged out by the police handcuffed, never to return not even allowed to collect his stuff.
Well, the police could request the telemetry from the owner - If you can get a shot of it (zoomed in), by law, every drone should have a clearly distinguishable Operator ID on it, and then they can check the owner / telemetry. If you get that, you’ve got them bang to rights. Have your phone handy next time if you can.
I used the online reporting form, it usually works fine.
I had one where I used to live, she threatened to kill me because she thought (because of drink and drugs) I was sleeping with her boyfriend who was twice my age. I’d been married a year, I was still trying to get used to married life!
A year ago we had a drug dealer next door upstairs from us. Next door is a black guy with a white girlfriend — lovely couple, always chat, always go out of their way for anyone. That didn’t stop the guy upstairs from them calling the man next door every racist name under the sun. He had the police out for him at one point, apparently he claimed he was beating his girlfriend and he could hear her shouting at him to get off of her. Absolute lies, the guy ended up depressed, anxious and afraid, and then his upstairs neighbour would stomp around at all hours of the day and night to keep us all awake. His parting gift was to say he was in the flat and he was going to take his life. The police put the door in as a concern for welfare, he wasn’t in there.
I was playing on my phone the last time, so definitely hand. The likelihood of me remembering what I need to do without my to do list are practically nil
Unfortunately, the likelihood of it being legally operated are also practically nil. If it is who we think he is then he’s a suspected drug dealer who thinks he owns the street.
), the other is incredibly hurtful and, in some cases, disputable/illegal. The ones that really worry me are those Meta glasses – I’d never think to ask if I’m being filmed.
to be fair I wouldn’t been angry if it was lawful. Curious maybe, but if I got “I’m photographing this property/surveying this roof” etc it would just be “no worries! I’ll go in for a bit. I was just a bit confused!” 
).
