Today we’d like to introduce you to François Elbourne.
Hi François, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Growing up, from a young age all the way into my late teenage years, I have always had a passion for airplanes, traveling, photography, and now videography. I was fixated on becoming an airline pilot and flying for elite carriers such as Qatar Airways or even Emirates, but this all changed when I finished my high school education and visited Full Sail University. When I was a little boy, most likely around the age of 8 years old, I was always around my father’s DSLR camera. He always allowed me to help him photograph the spontaneous moments whenever we were at family events for Christmas or birthday parties. After a while, one of my uncles recognized my potential and encouraged me to undertake a professional photography course.
However, prioritizing the demands of school and extracurricular activities delayed my ability to do a photography course. For my thirteenth Christmas, I was gifted a GoPro Hero 4 Silver. This camera changed my entire perspective on the video world. I gathered a great amount of footage as I took the camera almost everywhere with me, but all the footage simply sat on my hard drive as I had never thought of editing them. A few years later, I came across a guy on YouTube named Casey Neistat. I became wildly fascinated with his vlogs and wanted to try it myself. I began vlogging on December 15th, 2018 and as I improved and continued to receive a lot of positive feedback, I eventually transitioned into making semi-professional videos. The most professional video I have made to date was for a jet ski event in Trinidad. In order to challenge myself and gain experience, I offered to film this event for free. Overall, I am deeply passionate about what I do, and I am dedicated to achieving my dream of becoming a successful filmmaker.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Most people would think it has been a smooth road, but in reality, it hasn’t. Thankfully, I have been fortunate enough to start with some really solid camera gear which enabled me to express my ideas to others in a unique way. I would say I really started to struggle back in 2020 when the world went into lockdown and there was a lot of uncertainty. The days slowly began to mesh together, and not being able to go out and shoot with my friends really began to take a toll on me as I had so many projects and photoshoots I wanted to do before I left for university. I don’t know if to think about this as an obstacle or a learning curve because during that time, I was forced to slow down which resulted in me having a deeper understanding of myself and enabled me to find various ways of how to handle situations when I become frustrated. Although getting through that time was really hard, I still found myself going on spontaneous drives filming videos and coming back home to edit them. That alone showed me that I really do have a passion for what I do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am currently a full-time Full Sail film student where I am both a photographer and videographer. At the moment, I am not specialized in either as I frequently jump between the two. When I first kicked started my photography career before I even got into the video world, I was mostly known for my drone photography as I was gifted a drone from my father at the age of 17 and after some time, I decided to make an Instagram profile to share my work with other but there was one problem. I did not know what to name myself and I did not want to put any old random name. I wanted something that people can remember. Thankfully, with the help of a close relative we came up with the name “Droneswa”. Not only did it become my Instagram profile name, but people also began calling me that in real life. I did not mind as it is part of my name if you break it apart. My first name is François, and it relates to what I do, what I am known for, which is flying drones, so why not join the two! It is not just my name that sets me apart from others, it is also the attention to detail and quality of my work.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I try to be the best person I can be not to the point that I am painting a false image but in leaving a positive impact on those that I meet throughout my journey. I am humbled as to how many people come to me nowadays to tell me that my work inspires them. When I was first starting, I never once thought that something I do would or can inspire someone else and that’s why I take so much pride in my work. It is one of the best ways I can express myself to others as well as my perspective. I also think about this way too much, but life is short, and we never know when it’s our time. You meet someone today, and tomorrow they can be gone. Make the best of each and every moment.
Contact Info:
- Email: droneswa1@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/droneswa1/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/droneswa1/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW2Hh0CQJ52T_cgNSPwwDUg
