A Tale of Drones and Renovations: Capturing the Spirit of St. Anne's

Just last month, I had the splendid opportunity to delve into a slice of local heritage, capturing the rejuvenated spirit of St. Anne's Church in Haughton after its impressive £200k refurbishment for a client project.

In my pre-shoot ritual, I discovered that the church was practically enveloped in trees, its half-acre grounds a thicket of arboreal sentinels. Aesthetically pleasing, yes, but a veritable obstacle course for drone photography. With the trees in their bare winter state, every spindly branch became a potential saboteur to my airborne endeavours. And with a primary school just a stone's throw away, timing was crucial to avoid any unexpected drone demonstrations during break time.

The church itself, a Victorian masterpiece crafted in the 1880s by the illustrious Taylor brothers, stands as a homage to an 11th-century Norwegian church, with its eclectic brickwork and distinctive red clay tiled roof. The pyramid-shaped roof atop the tower and the quirky octagonal stair turret add a dash of architectural whimsy.

However, getting there was a bit like navigating a maze. Visible from the M67 as a proud landmark on the hill, the actual journey was complicated by a bridge closure due to ongoing maintenance, threatening to fill my frames with the glaring hues of construction barriers.

Thankfully, the client's team and the ever-accommodating Reverend were my guides through this historic gem, highlighting the renovation's focal points. The challenge of photographing the lichgate, overshadowed by the motorway bridge, seemed daunting at first and turned out to be close to impossible.

But fortune favoured us nonetheless. The necessary pruning for the renovations and a delayed lunch break at the nearby school provided a golden opportunity. With the Mavic drone swiftly deployed, the clouds parted briefly and I was able to capture the essence of St. Anne's renewed grandeur from the air with a smidge of blue sky in the background.