NZPhotographer Issue 16, Feb 2019

Interview with Petra Leary
HI PETRA, CAN YOU TELL US WHO YOU ARE
AND WHAT YOU DO?!
I’m an Auckland based freelance Drone / Aerial
photographer which I absolutely love and feel very
lucky to do as I’m obsessed with anything drone
related! Other than drones, I like to skateboard, build
Lego, and hang out with my dog Kodak.
I was born in a barn in Grey Lynn and have lived in the
Auckland area my whole life but I often travel to other
areas of New Zealand or around the world, as I write
this I’m making my way across Japan.
WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING WITH?
Up in the air, I’m shooting on the DJI Phantom 4 Pro
and the DJI Mavic Pro 2. I generally keep my drones
pretty basic but do use the Polar Pro ND and PL Filters.
And then if I’m shooting something like my Lego
Courts or studio work I shoot on my Sony A7Rii + Zeiss
16–35mm or Zeiss 50mm.
WHEN DID YOU GET STARTED IN
PHOTOGRAPHY AND HOW DID THAT LEAD TO
DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY?
I really got into photography about 5 or 6 years ago,
I’ve always loved views from heights so originally
I would just scale whatever was around (cranes,
buildings etc.) to get as high as possible and capture
images looking down. That was a lot of fun but was
definitely restricting in terms of framing an image well
due to the risk of being caught and/or arrested.
My first experience with drones was thanks to a friend
who gave me a turn on his, once I flew it I knew
straight away I had to get one. I literally bought one
the same day!! I think my love for video games also
had something to do with the instant addiction to
drones, it’s really a pretty similar concept in terms of
controlling and operating the aircraft, but with the
added bonus of being able to capture what you see.
16 NZPhotographer