3Rivers Unmanned Aerial Services shows the world from above

By Stuart Hedstrom, Staff Writer

MILO — In the age of smartphones it is easy to take a picture with a click of a button and not need to carry a camera around. But memories and moments can be captured from a new unique perspective, high above with 3Rivers Unmanned Aerial Services.

3Rivers Unmanned Aerial Services Owner/Operator Blaine Chadwick provides aerial photography and videos taken with drones. He can also provide property inspections and roof inspections from above.

An FAA-approved commercial drone pilot, Chadwick uses an Autel Evo II Pro Drone equipped with a 4K camera that gives crisp, clear, stunning and stable 60 fps videos and photos.

Growing up in Milo, Chadwick is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He served four years from the late 1970s into the early 1980s including about a year and a half on a ship and before then was stationed on shore. He worked as a cook and then in a capacity similar to a hotel manager for officer’s quarters.

Chadwick’s interest in photography and editing covers decades. His computer ability started with computer aided design more than three and half decades ago.  On his business website Chadwick said the rural beauty of the area he lives in has inspired his drone videos and given him the opportunity to spotlight the natural serene vista of the Maine Highlands. The community has so much to share, especially from a different perspective.

Speaking from his Cove Street home in Milo, Chadwick said his mother gave him and his uncles “a little tiny drone that had a camera on it” for Christmas in 2016. 

“The minute I used it outside and took a photo I saw something,” he said, thinking a drone camera would be great to use in the region. Chadwick said he had drone photography and videos taken elsewhere in the country but little to nothing from Maine.

While he did not think the initial image from Christmas 2016 was great given the drone limitations, the camera could not be moved as only the drone could be aimed, Chadwick went online to learn more.

“I just looked it up online and saw that I could afford a fairly inexpensive drone with a good camera on it and that’s the way it’s been since 2016, I just went from there,” he said. “I got my licenses. I started right off with a purpose of highlighting the area and doing real estate and stuff like that. I love it, it’s just been fun.”

The process to gain an FAA commercial drone pilot license involved a great deal of studying and a lot of map reading such as learning the rules and regulations concerning flying near airports. 

“Basically they want you to know whatever a pilot knows so you can get out of their way,” Chadwick said, as those controlling a drone need to be able to anticipate what pilots are doing.

Having the license allows Chadwick to sell his drone photos and photos as well as provide his services pro bono.

“I take my own photos, I print my own, do my own matting and everything,” he said about his home office. Prices are dependent on travel and the number of photos/videos wanted, the size of images and other features requested, video editing additions and more.

Being able to do everything himself allows for a quick turnabout. He said if someone requested images of their camp, “the next day they can literally have the photo in their hands.”

“That’s been a big seller around here, especially with the lakes and properties,” as many camp owners have requested aerial photos. 

Some people want these images as gifts for their spouse. Chadwick will tell them a story about a woman who did this as a surprise for her husband. He loved the gift but said he wished he had known so he could have cleaned the yard up a bit before Chadwick flew his drone over.

“Mostly it’s been digital photography and printing stuff,” Chadwick said about his most common tasks.

He said a realtor had him take photos of a 100-acre property the week prior and this year he already photographed several properties like this. Chadwick said often this is done before the leaves are full so the lay of the land can be seen and is not covered by a green canopy. Others love the look of fall foliage from above.

3Rivers Unmanned Aerial Services can do roof inspections. Chadwick has carpentry experience so he is familiar with noticing what may need to be looked at or repaired on the roof and/or chimney.

He has worked at events such as Memorial Day parades and Fourth of July celebrations and last year was at the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival in Dover-Foxcroft in an official capacity for the first time.

Now drone pilots have less restrictions when flying over people, being able to do as long as the drone is continually moving. They can typically fly up to 400 feet, the lowest height for airplanes. Phone apps can tell drone pilots what they can and cannot do.

For Chadwick he likes “taking pictures and seeing what you don’t know you are doing to see. You never know what you are going to see when you get up.”

He said he may have an idea in advance but this can change as soon as the drone gets just 10-15 feet off the ground.

“The newness of it everywhere you go is great,” Chadwick said.

Sometimes terrain may look more flat than at ground level. He mentioned this happened with photos taken of a property in Bingham and sometimes images with Katahdin in the background has the mountain looking smaller than how it does from someone’s point of view on the ground. In this instance Chadwick can make some digital adjustments.

Chadwick can be reached at blaine@3riversuas.com or 207-717-6206.

For more information please see the 3Rivers Unmanned Aerial Services website at https://www.3riversuas.com/ and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/3RiversUAS. More than 80 of his drone videos are posted on Chadwick’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@BlaineChadwick/videos.