Walyou

#fromwhereidrone Hashtag Went Viral on Instagram

Posted: 30 Jan 2016 03:18 PM PST

#fromwhereidrone Viral Hashtag Instagram 01

Before HD camera drones became so popular, doing aerial photography was only possible if aboard a helicopter or plane. UAVs have turned this whole situation upside down, and it’s now possible for everyone with a high-quality drone to take stunning photos from up above.

When photographer Dirk Dallas, aged 33, posted an image with the #fromwhereidrone hashtag back in 2014, he probably didn’t imagine that this would go viral. Just to give you an idea about the impact, at the time of writing, Instagram had 15,275 posts with #fromwhereidrone. It’s no wonder that drones were one of the main attractions at this year’s CES, as many of them can be used for taking some really breathtaking shots from heights and angles that weren’t possible before without boarding an aircraft.

Dallas came up with the idea for this hashtag after stumbling upon the equally popular #fromwhereistand. He even recalls the moment he started what would later become a trend: “I started using the hashtag on every drone photo I posted and each time there were a few people that seemed to think it was funny so I kept posting with it. One day, several months later, I decided to actually click on the tag and to my surprise I saw over 500 drone photos tagged with it as well. I was blown away!”

In the meantime, the Californian photographer has started posting photos or videos with this hashtag on a daily basis, and he has even registered a website with this name.

“The response to the hashtag has been incredible. I’m excited to announce that as of December the hashtag has passed 10,000 photos on Instagram,” he said. Based on the comments and emails that I have received, there are lots of people that have gotten into drone photography because of the amazing photos found through the hashtag and @fromwhereidrone account. My goal was to have people inspired by this new form of photography so I am always happy to hear when someone shares that with me.”

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Needless to say, to take pics such as the ones with the viral hashtag, you need a proper camera, and a proper drone to carry that camera. However, if you’re just getting into drones, it’s probably better to invest in cheaper models until you learn how to fly them properly, and then move to a more complex and better-equipped drone.

Dallas has some advice in this department, as well: “My advice for beginners is to first get an inexpensive drone so that you can get the hang of flying something in the air remotely and get some of the crashes out of the way before having an accident with something really expensive. For those who want to just jump right in with a fantastic drone that features a great camera then I would recommend the DJI Phantom 3.”

If you own a drone and have posted photos to Instagram with this hashtag, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

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