Thanks to Google’s Street View camera loan

program – and the not-insignifi cant contribution

of more than 200 volunteers – all of South Africa’s

national parks now appear on Google Street View.

Over a 12-month period a team of rangers,

nature enthusiast s, guides and technology

enthusiast s used the Google Trekker camera to

take 360-degree pict ures every two and a half

seconds as they walked a combined dist ance

of more than 550 miles. The images were

recorded in iconic locations such as Kruger

National Park and Table Mountain – expanding

the current Street View options – as well as at 17

previously un-trekked nature reserves, creating

a new virtual view of the environments that can

be toured using Google Maps.

A microsite celebrating South Africa’s

new 360 VR experience can be found at

discoverafrica.com/southafrica360 or you can

access areas yourself via Google Maps.

James Appleton – who we interviewed in last

month’s issue of OP – has triumphed in the

Kendal Mountain Photography competition,

presented by Danner footwear, taking home

the grand prize for an image that was fi ve years

in the making. James’ winning photograph,

entitled Big Night Out (shown above), was taken

at the Svínafellsjökull glacier in Iceland after

James had a ‘desire to photograph the scene

at night, with an aurora display powerful

enough to match the

mountains.’ After many

failed attempts due to

weather or poor solar

wind conditions the

shot eventually came

together in 2016. James’

prize is a two-night,

half-board stay for

two at the luxurious

4-star Huus Hotel in

the Swiss Alps, plus two

pairs of Danner boots.

The other category

winners shortlisted for

the grand prize were:

David Thexton, Fido

on the Fells; Natalie

White, Smartphone – Friends in High Places; Joe

McCarthy, Urban Outdoors; Charlotte Howie,

Young Photographer under 18 – Adventure

on your Doorstep. The People’s Choice Award

went to Mark Burkey for The Pitch (shown

below), which also picked up top honours in the

Adventure in the Outdoors category.

To fi nd out more about the competition

and see all of the shortlisted entries visit

mountainfest.co.uk/photo-competition.

8 Outdoor Photography February 2018

THE LATEST BULLETINS

NEWSROOM

CONSERVATION NEW LAUNCHES COMPETITIONS OUTDOORS TECHNOLOGY OTHER NEWS

Kendal Mountain Photography

Competition winners announced

© James Appleton

DJI, the world’s leading drone manufacturer, has

announced it will be adding new features to its

DJI AeroScope remote identifi cation system, which

has led to severe criticism from some drone pilots.

AeroScope enables aviation safety offi cials – and

law enforcement agencies – to identify and track

airborne drones by transmitting a signal via the

wireless remote control to drone connection. At

present, the AeroScope technology transmits the

location and serial number/identifi cation number

of a drone, which allows its altitude, direction

and speed to be monitored by any authority

equipped with an AeroScope receiver.

However, the update provides the option

for drone pilots to add their Unique User

Identifi cation Code (UUIC) to the data, as

well as ‘Identifi cation & Flight Information’.

Transmitting this data will enable authorities

to have a better idea of why a drone is in the air

and who owns it, which could help to avoid any

potential confusion if someone is legitimately

fl ying close to a sensitive location, such as an

airport or prison.

The response to the announcement has been

mixed, with some drone pilots claiming this is an

invasion of privacy and that DJI is overstepping

its duties when it comes to security and safety.

It is worth noting, though, that the new features

will be entirely optional and the default setting

for both is ‘off ’: it is up to the individual whether

he or she wants to activate what DJI describes as

an ‘electronic license tag’ for their drone.

South Africa on view

DJI adds drone ID

© Mark Burkey

8-9_NEWSROOM_FEBRUARY_227_SW.indd 8 18/12/2017 14: