(Seychelles News Agency) - The use of drones in Seychelles is taking amateur enthusiasts and professional photographers to new heights, allowing users to capture images of the island nation's captivating coastlines and lush tropical forests in a gorgeous new way.

Alex Zelime, last year’s winner of the Seychelles Tourism Board video competition, said that drones have transformed the world of photography.

“As a photographer there is always that particular moment when you vow to be a little bit higher up to snap that one missing angle. Subsequently, getting an aerial aspect gives you another angle of the desired image to work with. The unique advantage is that it provides image, which is not obtained from a ground perspective,” Alex told SNA.

Alex said using drones allows photo angles "where you can marvel at the rare contrast between blue, white and green" of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.

Drones are the most cost-effective way to carry out aerial filming.(Michael Coghlan/flickr) Photo License: CC BY-SA 2.0

He advised beginners to use drones  carefully as any nuisance can harm the entire community of drone users.

Darren Bonnelame, another drone user, said that when flying drones, a main challenge can be the weather.

“The more extreme the weather, the more you will hassle to get an accurate picture. If the weather is foul, you will not be able to fly at all,” Bonnelame explained.

He added: “I’ve once crashed a drone due to maneuvering mistakes."

Helicopters have long been used to get high-angle photography, but now, as Bonnelame said, drones are the most cost-effective way to carry out aerial filming.

Aerial view of Baie St Anne Praslin jetty from a drone (Alex Zelime) Photo License: CC-BY

The public relations manager of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), Lina Laurence, told SNA that while Seychelles currently has no regulations for the flying of drones, they can present a serious danger for aviation.

Laurence says that regulations for drones will be implemented at some point and proposed guidelines have been submitted to the government for approval.

“The regulation will not provide an outright ban of drones, but will state out guidelines for the use of drones , especially around the International Airport of Seychelles. Fortunately, there is no drone-related incident recorded yet,” explained Laurence, who also revealed that if drones are not properly monitored, “it might eventually pose a danger to air traffic, causing a major accident that could have been prevented in the first place.”