Fostering New Pathways for Women to Enter the Drone Industry…

Since launching, Women Who Drone has gathered a formidable following in a brief time frame. We sat down with Elena Buenrostro, CEO and Co-founder of Women Who Drone, to study extra about her objectives for the firm and the place she sees issues headed for girls in the drone trade.

About Women Who Drone

Women Who Drone is a group of feminine drone pilots, fanatics, content material creators and innovators. Their mission is to be the primary on-line vacation spot for feminine drone pilots, and to encourage girls to broaden their presence in the UAV trade by studying, creating, and supporting one another’s drone endeavors round the world.

Connect with Women Who Drone on their web site or on their Instagram account, and ensure to use the #womenwhodrone hashtag you probably have one thing you’d like to share with the group.

About Elena Buenrostro

Elena Buenrostro is a video producer, photographer, social media marketing consultant, and a Part 107 licensed drone pilot. As featured in The Washington Post for her aerial images, Elena’s ardour for flying drones stemmed from her journey to the Great Wall of China. In addition to her work with Women Who Drone, Elena teaches drone classes each on-line and in particular person.

Elena Buenrostro, CEO and Co-Founder of Women Who Drone

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Begin Interview

Please describe what Women Who Drone does in a single brief sentence.

Women Who Drone educates, conjures up, and encourages girls to study extra about drones and to fly drones.

What makes Women Who Drone distinctive?

We’re very a lot content material oriented, each concerning photographs and movies captured by drones but in addition concerning content material that helps individuals perceive how they’ll get into flying and taking pictures aerial movies themselves.

I’ve a background as a filmmaker and photographer, and flying a drone gave me this superb new medium to additional my artistic abilities. I discovered that capturing photographs and video from the sky supplied this unbelievable, new perspective, and as I flew and posted movies I began getting girls from round the world reaching out to me and asking for recommendation.

It turned on the market have been plenty of different girls with a artistic background, like me, who needed to get into drones however weren’t fairly positive the place to begin. Our objective is to merge this curiosity with info.

As you already know, there aren’t many ladies in the drone trade, or in the movie trade both. We need to present sources and content material that can assist make it simpler for girls to get into utilizing drones, whether or not they need to fly as hobbyists or as skilled drone pilots.

We’re additionally concerned with serving to girls perceive how STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] research can tie into working with drones, and supporting girls who’ve an curiosity in working in STEM fields, whether or not it’s working straight with drones or in any other case.

The we will help girls cross that hole and begin flying, begin filming, begin learning and dealing in STEM topics, the extra we’ll know that we’ve succeeded.

How did Women Who Drone get began?

Some mates and I have been on our method to a drone barbecue, which actually simply signifies that we have been going to fly our drones on hobbyist-type flights from a rooftop right here in New York City.

I used to be with Laura Chukanov, our Co-Founder and COO, my boyfriend, and my buddy Matt Emmi*, and we have been speaking about how there aren’t many ladies flying drones. And proper there we determined we must always begin a group for girls who fly, and somebody—I feel it was Laura—blurted out “Women Who Drone”!

It was that easy. Once we considered it, we began that includes the identify on Instagram and received 1000’s of followers actually shortly utilizing the #womenwhodrone hashtag. It all got here collectively very naturally.

[We interviewed Matt about his experience flying at Burning Man last month—read the interview here.]

Elena flying in China

What is your background, and the way did it lead to an curiosity in drones?

In faculty I studied movie and video, and in addition taught a weeklong filmmaking camp to Girl Scouts every year (it was referred to as GEMM—Girls Empowered to Make Movies). Those experiences gave me a ardour for video manufacturing, and in addition for educating. This interprets to the work I’m doing now with Women Who Drone, the place we’re concerned with educating totally different facets of how to fly and shoot with drones.

After faculty I taught video manufacturing to highschool college students for some time—we lined taking pictures, modifying, the entire manufacturing course of. From there I grew to become a producer for a journey present, which allowed me to journey and be concerned in shoots at unique places. Unfortunately we didn’t have any drones throughout these shoots—that may have made the present ten occasions higher, now that I give it some thought!

After engaged on that journey present I began working for a media firm, which allowed me to study loads about social media and the way video works, each in that realm and different on-line boards. I used to be making very brief kind movies, and the major viewers was girls.

Most not too long ago I used to be a web based class producer and director for an organization referred to as Brit & Co, the place I made movies for lessons particularly for feminine millennials.

So I had all of this expertise with taking pictures and directing, but it surely wasn’t till final 12 months that I lastly purchased a drone.

What prompted you to get your first drone?

The Great Wall of China.

Seriously. I’d all the time needed to make a journey to see the Great Wall of China, ever since I used to be a child.

And final 12 months I used to be lastly planning the journey—a visit I’d needed to make my entire life.

I knew I needed to make a movie about the journey, and earlier than going I noticed a YouTube video of somebody flying a drone over the Great Wall. And it clicked. Right away I knew that I wanted to purchase a drone, in order that I might seize the entire expertise from the air.

So I went out and acquired the GoPro Karma. After that, I used to be hooked.

Elena’s video from her journey to the Great Wall of China

What drones do you fly and what cameras do you utilize?

I’ve flown the Karma, the Spark, and the Phantom, however my favourite is the Mavic.

These days my journey equipment is my Mavic, my Osmo, my filters (I like Polar Pro for these), and my Katana, which helps you to flip your drone right into a floor digital camera.

What do you see as some challenges for girls attempting to enter the drone world, both professionally or as a hobbyist?

The major problem proper now’s that there isn’t an enormous presence for girls in the drone trade.

When you take a look at promoting for drones, or on group boards or social media, wherever you would possibly look for those who have been interested by drones, you don’t actually see girls represented.

So the preliminary challenges are simply attempting to get girls to enter the trade and educate them about drones. When girls see different girls flying and utilizing drones in video manufacturing, or in different functions, we’ll actually see adoption begin to develop.

To illustrate this level, a short while after I went to the Great Wall a reporter from the Washington Post received in contact and requested me to touch upon an article about drones. At that point I’d launched some movies on YouTube—I’d filmed in locations like Thailand, the Fiji Islands, and Bangkok—however I used to be sort of stunned to be contacted for the article. I figured there should be different girls on the market who had been flying for longer, with extra movies, however the reporter advised me I used to be the solely lady she might discover that was flying drones.

Now, I do know this isn’t completely true. Woman And Drones, for occasion, does an awesome job speaking about girls who work in the drone trade. But it did point out that there was some sort of want for a better group for girls who fly drones, and for a method to assist girls get extra concerned.

And we’re already beginning to see much more drone teams for girls popping up. I’m a part of one on Facebook referred to as Girls Love Drones, and there are extra being created all the time.

What helps is for girls who do fly to inform their tales. I’ve met so many ladies who’re sort of interested by drones, however have a concern of diving in for one purpose or one other. When I discuss how a lot enjoyable it’s and the way passionate I’m about flying, you’ll be able to see their curiosity sparked.

You’ve been making a group of ambassadors from throughout the world. Can you inform us about that?

As I discussed earlier than, after posting my Great Wall video I began getting messages from individuals who dwell in every kind of various locations.

Out of these contacts grew our Brand Ambassadors program. The thought is easy—for those who’re touring someplace in the world and need to fly, we would like to have a group of pilots large enough that they’ll help you.

So in order for you to go to the Philippines and fly your drone, for instance, we’ve somebody who lives there who may give you insider recommendation about the regulation, the place to go, and different issues to consider.

But it’s about much more than simply authorized recommendation. It’s about constructing a world group.

Right now we’ve about 20 ambassadors round the world, and we’re steadily rising the group.

Can you share any inspiring tales you’ve heard since beginning Women Who Drone?

I’ve met some unbelievable girls drone pilots by means of my work with Women Who Drone.

Recently we printed a chunk on just a few of our ambassadors, and a few of the tales about how they received began have been simply unbelievable. One videographer particularly, Merr Watson, has an incredible story.

She’s initially from Australia, and she or he determined to stop her job and journey the world whereas flying her drone, and she or he’s had plenty of success. Every time I flip round she’s flying in some new, unbelievable place.

But Merr is only one instance. There are so many spectacular tales like hers—take a look at the weblog we wrote highlighting our ambassadors for extra tales like hers.

Here is a video of Iceland Merr created—discover extra of her work on her YouTube channel

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Want to see extra of Elena Buenrostro’s work? Check out this reel she created, which options footage from her travels throughout the world: