Divine Drone Photography (DDP) exists to provide high-quality, affordable roof and high-level structural photographic surveys and aerial photography to churches, church schools and faith based charities across the North of England.
These photographic surveys can support architects and PCC’s in the proactive assessment of roofs, rainwater drainage, towers and other elevated structures for Quinquennial Inspections and non-routine checks. Operating on a not-for-profit basis enables high-level surveying to be made available more widely, using a method that is safer and faster than physical access and considerably more accurate and effective than binocular inspections from the ground. DDP also provides a similar service to church-aided schools and faith-based charities on an affordable commercial basis.
After 28 years in technical roles in the chemical and brewing industries, I wanted to find a way to serve faith communities using the core competencies I had developed during my working life. Safety, attention to detail and clear communication have been essential throughout my career, and these same skills are fundamental to identifying faults and anomalies on roofs using a photographic UAV. Photography has been a lifelong hobby, and UAV (drone) flying takes this interest to a new level.
Safety
A positive and proactive approach to safety is fundamental to responsible UAV operation. In addition to my A1/A3 operator and pilots licences, I hold an A2 Certificate of Competency, enabling me to operate larger, more capable photographic drones in appropriate residential environments and closer to uninvolved people. Each site and job is risk assessed before a flight, with a pre-flight pack issued to the client ahead of arrival for their assurance. DDP has £1 million third-party liability insurance meeting EC 785/2004 requirements.
Detail
Working closely with staff in the Diocese of Blackburn DAC/church buildings team, I have learned from heritage-building professionals what to look for when surveying church and school buildings.
Communication
After speaking with a client to understand their requirements and gathering the essential information, a pre-flight pack, is issued including an initial risk assessment and method statement (RAMS). Once on site, a site survey enables a more thorough risk assessment and any additional safety measures to be put in place in accordance with CAA guidance.
Once the survey is complete, the images are assessed and an image-rich report is issued. This can then be passed to an architect or other roofing specialist for their professional assessment and advice. All relevant images are stored securely in the cloud (where could be better for aerial images!) where the client can view and download them at any time during the following month.
My aim in everything I do is to support church communities across the North West of England. I love architectural photography, so where the weather and location of a building permit, I aim to provide some attractive aerial images of your church as part of the survey. These may be useful for your social-media outreach, and I can also offer prints which you could sell to support your fundraising.
