Sloss Furnaces has a special place in my heart. 10 years ago, on her first trip to Birmingham, I took my wife to some of the city’s iconic landmarks: Vulcan, the Civil Rights Museum, and Sloss... We spent the majority of the day getting lost in the maze of tunnels and buildings; trying to flex our best Ansel Adams muscles at every rusted gear and half broken window. As our time at the site came to an end, we looked up and stared at “SLOSS” on the side of the rusted, silvery water tower. We desperately wanted to climb the tower to look out over the furnaces and the city in the distance. Given the decay of most every structure there, we were relegated to ending our tour on the ground.
In the years following our “Birmingham day date” I caught glimpses of Sloss as I made my way about town. Each time I thought back to the fun my wife and I had chasing each other with our cameras through the halls and around the smokestacks. I so desperately wanted to return and finish our tour with a view from the iconic tower.
Five years ago, when I got my first drone, I knew our water tower view was finally within reach. I drove to Sloss, called the KBHM air traffic control, communicated my plan, and was quickly met with a definitive “NO.” “Mr. Hittie, you will not fly your drone at that location.” I was on their radar (literally), so I packed my equipment and left.
Last weekend, the wait ended. With a new Airspace Authorization system in place, I was able to apply for, and obtain permission from the FAA to fly my drone at Sloss Furnaces. I tapped a dear family friend, who is a Sloss Board member, and was granted access to the historic landmark. I flew, nonstop, for four and a half hours. I snapped pictures of almost every rust colored square inch of the site from above, and finished the day off with our so longed for, view from the top of the water tower.
I am dedicating the next 5 #dronephotooftheweek posts to showcase the beautiful shots I captured with my drone. One stunning image for every year I could not complete my drone flight at the crown jewel of an iconic era in Birmingham.
In the years following our “Birmingham day date” I caught glimpses of Sloss as I made my way about town. Each time I thought back to the fun my wife and I had chasing each other with our cameras through the halls and around the smokestacks. I so desperately wanted to return and finish our tour with a view from the iconic tower.
Five years ago, when I got my first drone, I knew our water tower view was finally within reach. I drove to Sloss, called the KBHM air traffic control, communicated my plan, and was quickly met with a definitive “NO.” “Mr. Hittie, you will not fly your drone at that location.” I was on their radar (literally), so I packed my equipment and left.
Last weekend, the wait ended. With a new Airspace Authorization system in place, I was able to apply for, and obtain permission from the FAA to fly my drone at Sloss Furnaces. I tapped a dear family friend, who is a Sloss Board member, and was granted access to the historic landmark. I flew, nonstop, for four and a half hours. I snapped pictures of almost every rust colored square inch of the site from above, and finished the day off with our so longed for, view from the top of the water tower.
I am dedicating the next 5 #dronephotooftheweek posts to showcase the beautiful shots I captured with my drone. One stunning image for every year I could not complete my drone flight at the crown jewel of an iconic era in Birmingham.
