A Traveller's Eyes in the Skies

DRONES GAVE US SOME OF THE MOST STIRRING IMAGES OF A PANDEMIC YEAR, WATCHING OVER OUR BEREFT PUBLIC SPACES AND PLACING THE EVERYDAY IN A STARK, NEW LIGHT

- SANJANA RAY

It was only when aerial photographs depicting the eerie, near-abandoned streets of India’s usually hectic cities began to go viral on the internet that the far-reaching fallout of the pandemic became resonant.

While many urban residents were ensconced in their ‘silos’ pounding away at sourdough or exhausting Netflix libraries, drone cameras zipped through the pin-drop silence outside; chronicling unforgettable scenes of empty flyovers and bus stops, shuttered shops and even a lack of stray dogs on roads, becoming real-time storytellers of our neighbourhoods’ surreal transformation.

LOCKDOWN FROM THE TOP-DOWN

Drone photography is hardly a new phenomenon in photography, yet the prolonged lockdowns observed in several places throughout this year perhaps presented a uniquely fertile ground for it to shine. And photographers, along with videographers, took to the conditions with zeal.

A viral drone video of Mumbai under lockdown in April has racked up 6,242,325 YouTube views till date. At this year’s international Drone Photo Awards, held in September, an entire category was devoted to ‘Life under COVID-19.’ The winning shot, a picture of Israelis in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, protesting while also social distancing summed up the collective dystopia of 2020.

Statistically, it’s difficult to pinpoint a high rate of drone usage this year because of how many of them still remain undocumented in India, but, anecdotally at least, there has been a visible ubiquity of photographers favouring drone shots. Some of it came down to an obvious and heightened need to observe safety yet there were other catalysts at work.