by Carla Caruso

A local, commercial drone videographer has a new appreciation for the River Torrens / Karrawirra Pari after shooting aerial footage along it - including here in your Adelaide Park Lands.

Harry runs Adelaide Aerial with wife Ann-Marie. They’ve just spent six weeks capturing rejuvenated parts of the river from up above – from the Hills to West Beach – for Green Adelaide.

“I have a greater understanding now of how a river attracts people and how it actually enhances your lifestyle, from the sound of water to beyond,” Harry says.

“It was a bit of an eye-opener actually. The birdlife just blew me away. Then you see kids everywhere, because there are a lot of playgrounds dotted on either side, and obviously there are people cycling and walking their dogs.

“Up at Paradise, there’s an aged care facility, so people are pushing the aged around that area. It’s just a beautiful space.”

Previously, Harry worked in law enforcement, and his wife, as a senior executive at National Australia Bank. The couple started their aerial video and photography business in 2015.

Harry holds a diploma in screen and media from the acclaimed MAPS Film School, plus all-important operator accreditation from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. 

He usually controls the equipment while Ann-Marie helps as an assistant and with public relations. They’ve since become “hooked” on the drone view.

“Because we’re all on the ground, you don’t see what life’s like 120m above the ground,” Harry says.

“To move over trees or in between trees or over water or around a building, you just don’t get to see that.

“Particularly when you take shots in the city, and you do a rising shot, it’s actually nice to see that behind [North Adelaide’s] Calvary Hospital, Adelaide Oval [in Park 26] is not too far away. The proximity of our city comes a lot closer together when you see it from a drone.

“It can also have the opposite effect. Fortunately, we’re not in that position in Adelaide at the moment with the CBD. But with some cities, from a drone’s point-of-view, where does the city actually end? It’s sprawling. From an Adelaide perspective, it’s really cool, because it’s not actually that big, which to the viewer is nice.”

Depending on the job, Harry usually takes one drone along, plus a back-up. “Probably 90 per cent of our work is done with our small drone, a DJI Air 2S. Although, it’s small, it’s just a beast. It shoots good quality, it’s durable in the air - I just love it.”

Working with such equipment still has its hair-raising moments, though. “When you put a drone up, there is definitely adrenalin going through your veins.

“We were halfway down Gorge Road the other day and the drone cut connection. It will just hover because it’s set to do that. But if I don’t sort it, when it runs out of battery, it will just drop.

“So, I had to basically backtrack, and luckily, I just found a spot, the signal got through, and I was able to bring the drone in. But there are moments like that, which really keep you awake.”

He adds: “I haven’t damaged anyone else’s property [although] I have crashed many times. In all cases, the drone was finished. Fortunately, all the times it’s happened, it’s never been on an actual paid job.”

Clients vary. One interesting recent project was for a civil engineer, who was writing a manual on creek erosion. He wanted footage over Red Banks Conservation Park, near Burra. “It is the most amazing case of creek erosion you have ever seen – unbelievable,” Harry says.

Another day, he got a call from the producer behind a doco on Indigenous AFL legend Adam Goodes, The Australian Dream. “He said, ‘We need a drone up near Leigh Creek to film all the SA Outback gear for the documentary.’ So, we did all that and Adam Goodes came along with us. He was born in a place called Iga Warta, 80km east of Leigh Creek – it’s pretty isolated.

“Then, we got a call to do Never Too Late, a feature film, shot here in Adelaide, with Jack Thompson and Jacki Weaver. We did all the drone stuff for that, all around Adelaide. Movies use drones quite a bit now.”

Indeed, the sky’s the limit for this husband-and-wife team.