It was only a few weeks ago that Martha Stewart, one of the most famous – and sometimes infamous – names in business, shared a drone-captured photo spread of her 153-acre home in Bedford, N.Y. Although the DJI Phantom responsible for the pictures belonged to one of her security personnel, Stewart is revealing she is no stranger to drones. In fact, she loves them.
TIME has shared a piece from Martha herself, who writes of her experiences with the technology. She says she was first introduced to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in 2013 and quickly became “hooked” after capturing aerial photos at the beach in Maine. To use other technology such as a manned aircraft would have caused an “unacceptable commotion” at the beach, she says, and what really got her was that she was able to actually be in the pictures.
She goes on to marvel at how designers and architects of the past managed to create works of art, such as the Great Wall of China or Versailles – but without any of the technology we have today, particularly UAVs.
Stewart stresses what UAVs can bring to the table in terms of applications: “Drones can be useful tools, and I am all about useful tools.” She references one of her famous mottos, “the right tool for the right job.”
However, she realizes that the technology is not all fun and games and admits she cannot provide answers to questions concerning privacy and better regulations.
“I knew I could not even begin to fathom even a fraction of the social, ethical, and political challenges the widespread use of drones would create,” she writes.
But for now, the business mogul seems to enjoy what UAVs are bringing to the table – and may prove to be a valuable spokesperson for the burgeoning technology.
Read the full article from TIME here.
