Stevenson’s New Website Showcases Bermuda
Andrew Stevenson has a new website www.bermudaaerialography.com showcasing his aerial photographs and videos that he has made over the past two years after being issued a commercial license to operate a Small Unmanned Aircraft [aka drone] issued by the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority.
“I bought the drone primarily to film the humpback whales both from a research point of view but also because I wanted to make a sequel documentary to my film “Where the Whales Sing,” Mr Stevenson told Bernews.
Mr Stevenson’s previous film won the local Masterworks Charman Prize as well as numerous film festival prizes in the USA including ‘Best Emerging Underwater Filmmaker”.
It was also seen on inflight programs of some airlines including Air Canada. It has been dubbed or translated into five languages including Italian, Spanish, Korean, Persian and Czechoslovakian.
“My previous documentary included a lot of underwater footage,” the filmmaker told Bernews. “My sequel will include new underwater footage revealing humpback behavior that has never been seen before but will also focus on the all-revealing aerial footage of the humpbacks.”
“From a research point of view the aerial imagery of the whales has been far more revealing than I could have imagined. I’m able to reliably tell whether a whale is a calf born this season, a yearling, a juvenile or an adult.
“From the visible scarring on their backs I’m able to take a qualified guess at their gender and also as to their health. Not only does the aerial footage add dimensions of information to what we can obtain from a boat or in the water, it is also compelling to watch.”
Mr Stevenson also has a research permit issued to him by the Government of Bermuda’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources to conduct his research with the humpbacks, protected as an endangered species.
He has compiled a catalogue of over 1,250 individual whales identified in Bermuda waters over the last decade. Much of his research is revealed on his website www.whalesbermuda.com which has had almost three-and-a-half million hits.
“The IDs are made from the black and white pattern on the underside of the whales’ flukes,” he said.
“We have also made some IDs from the aerial footage which is really cool, because these IDs are not just from the underside of the whales’ tails but also from the distinctive scarring on a whale’s back.”
Last season was his first season filming and some of the footage can be seen on his new website. But there is far more to look at and appreciate than just aerial footage of whales.
“I do all my flights from my boat and spent the first summer practicing filming all the sailing events in Bermuda thinking this would help my skills in filming whales,” he said.
“I can tell you filming boats on the water is easy by comparison. There’s an easy target to see and follow. The whales are underwater and it’s a new whole skillset to film them.”
In addition to his eleven published books he has recently put out a DVD of eleven of his edited aerial videos “Above Bermuda” available at Brown and Co and the Bermuda Bookstore.
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Absolute Magic.. Congratulations.