Drone photography and videography for Steff Gruber | Aerial Visuals in Phnom Penh

Steff got in touch with me to provide drone photography and videography services for a long-term photographic project he’s working on about the community that live on the railway tracks behind the station in Phnom Penh.

He was trying to get permission to film from one of the trains to give the perspective from a train passing through the community. This proved too complicated and he came up with the idea to photograph and take videos of the area with a drone to complete the project before he flew back Switzerland the following day.

Steff has been visiting the area for several years doing a study on the area that is right in the centre of Phnom Penh but remains massively underdeveloped. While slightly daunting for Steff and I and the team, locals barely battered an eye-lid as trains passed centimeters from them.

Steff plans to host an exhibition of his photos and my drone shots in the coming months. He aslo got me to shoot some drone videography to be used on the website for the exhibition and who knows, maybe a couple of the clips may feature in the exhibition itself.

It was great to work alongside Steff and listen to advice from an accomplished filmmaker and photograper. It also good to see someone working on a long-term project that has spanned several years in a world that is increasingly becoming more instantaneous and disposable.

You can see more of my drone photography work here and other examples of my drone videography work here.

I look forward to sharing more information about the exhibition he’s planning. Below are some of the drone photos I took:

Covering the UNDP IP Conference as an events photographer and videographer in Chiang Mai, Thailand

I was assigned as an events photographer and videographer to work on the UNDP Indigenous Persons Conference, which was actually 2 conferences, the YECAP Indigenous Fellows Training and the Youth CO:LAB Regional Dialogue on Indigenous Youth Social Entrepreneurship conference.

While a lot of the indigenous youth face pressure and uncertainty in their lives, both conferences were conducted with a genuine sense of collaboration and conviviality. I hope my photographs and videos do justice to this.

At the CO:LAB Conference, participants were mentored on entrepreneurship with people giving presentations through the final day. Young indigenous entrepreneurs presented their ideas to the group. It was great to see participants so eager to listen and to learn about how best to develop their ideas and their skills and to see how open everyone was to the constructive criticism and feedback that they received.

The YECAP Conference was conducted with a similarly convivial atmosphere. The participants learnt about some of the issues they face and the steps they can take to mitigate the impacts on their communities.

One of the highlights was the group project that looked at the issues indigenous youth across the Asia Pacific are facing. Groups worked together to explain the issues and look at the solution.

The final results where a collaborative drawing made up from contributions from each of the groups.

You can see other examples of my photography work here and other examples of my videography work here.

You can see a selection of the photos I took below:

Fast-turnaround project as a video editor for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

I worked as a video editor for UNDP and UN Women on the joint project to address stigma and discrimination experienced by women with disabilities.

The videos were posted on UNDPs social media channels to coincide with International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD).

The projects was done on a very tight turnaround and it was a great team effort to get all the videos done and signed off in time to be launched on IDPWD.

As the project is in the initial stages, it would be great to see it gaining traction and shining a light on a subject that is often overlooked and that it contributes to reducing stigma and discrimination for women with disabilities across the world.

It was a pleasure working with the team at UNDP. In terms of clarity of vision and understanding how to be optimise and publish the videos on social media they were among the best I’ve worked with it.

It was also great to work with the team from University College London who are clearly experts in their field and are working very hard to get this project out of the block.

You can see more of my work as a video editor here and other example of short clips I’ve edited for publication on social media here. Below is one of the clips that was published on various agencies social media channels to help promote the project.

In the field as a cameraperson and drone pilot at the Elephant Valley Project, Mondulkiri

Angelo got in touch with me and wanted me to work as a cameraperson and drone pilot for him to film at the Elephant Valley Project (EVP) in Mondulkiri, Cambodia.

Angelo is a Portuguese actor who recently starred in the Brazilian Netflix drama Lady Voyuer. He was in Cambodia to shoot part of a pilot for a travel show. Having seen my work on Last of the Elephant Men, he asked me to come along for the ride.

It was great to catch up with some people I hadn’t seen for a long time and to be back in the jungle filming elephants. It was also great to meet Gee Pich (Diamond), the latest addition to the EVP family.

Gee Pich was born at the project after a heard of wild elephants entered EVP. Pearl ran away with the heard and 21 months after she came back she gave birth to Gee Pich.

While the staff at EVP would love to rewild elephants, this is not one of the aims of the projects as most of the elephants have lived in captivity for most if not all of their lives and simply don’t have the skills to survive in the wild.

Although the outcome is largely positive, unfortunately, this kind of encounter is becoming increasingly common as the wild elephants natural habitats are being destroyed. This changes their annual migration routes.

The heavy rain made for an interesting shoot - it was a challenge keeping all the kit dry, but it gives the jungle a wonderful enclosed atmosphere and makes for some great images.

Hopefully Angelo is successful in pitching the show and it’s coming to a screen near you!

You can see the trailer of the feature-length documentary about elephants I worked on as a cameraperson in Mondulkiri here and you can see other examples of my documentary work here.

Below are some frames from the footage I shot. All the images were shot in log and haven’t been graded.

Videographer for UNDP's Regional Office, Bangkok, Thailand

I was hired to work as a videographer by UNDP Asia and the Pacific to make a video for Human Rights Day.

The video was posted on UNDP’s social media channels and shows the journeys and hopes of 7 young human rights defenders and climate activists from across the Asia Pacific to inspire other youth to be more aware of the issues surrounding climate change.

The human rights defenders and activists hailed from across the Asia Pacific regions from countries including The Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal and India.

It was fascinating listening to the tell their stories about how the became activists and human rights defenders; the adversity they’ve faced; their optimism for the future and their suggestion for actions that youth can take across the region to increase understanding and awareness of a situation that is quickly becoming a pressing concern.

It was great to work with the UNDP team at their office in Bangkok, Thailand. It would be a pleasure to collaborate with them again on future projects.

You can see more examples of my videography work here and here.