#quadcopter

(some of these weren’t flown to be used in a video, but here they are anyway)

 

i’m very grateful that i was able to recover the quadcopter with my iphone on it.. i recall on one of the shots where i had it flying out over the middle of the lake, i couldn’t tell which way it was pointing as i had spun it around to get different views (and it was a tiny dot in the sky), and the return to home emergency button didn’t seem to be responding. i tried different modes to try to bring it back to me though i didn’t know if it had gotten the proper gps lock and compass direction or whatnot.. the flight had gone longer than other ones and i didn’t know how much longer the battery would keep it in the sky so was a bit concerned. i think i had to ask for divine grace to help me at that point and surrender to the possibility that i might lose it in the water. shortly after that, i don’t remember exactly what i tried (as this shot was over a year and half ago), though i somehow managed to fly it back. i was so glad to see that it appeared to be getting bigger and that i was able to tell which direction it was heading as i guided it towards me. as it kept getting closer, i kept hoping the battery would last long enough to get it back over the dock or close enough nearby as i saw the red light blinking indicating it was just about out of power. another time after this at honeymoon island, i don’t know if it was in this series of shots or some other time, i had an issue where it wasn’t responding and i think it was windy and i didn’t know if i was going to get it back. i’m really grateful i’ve always somehow managed to fly it safely back (and was able to retrieve it from a tree the one time i lost sight of it and it crashed way up high in a 40+ ft tall tree).

it’d be much easier to do the aerial shots with a first person live view of what the camera is seeing or with a preprogrammed fly by gps waypoint system that modern quadcopters have.. not having either, i had to guess composition + direction and try to keep track of the tiny white dot in the sky and trust it’d come back :)

some locations include:

Crystal Beach
Dunedin Causeway
Fred Howard Park
Honeymoon Island State Park
Wall Springs Park

 

(some of these weren’t shot to be used in a video, though they fit in nicely) locations include: A.L. Anderson Park Bicenntennial Park Brooker Creek Buffer Preserve Clearwater Memorial Causeway Countryside Community Park Courtney Campbell Causeway Crystal Beach Ed Radice Park Fred Howard Park Harbor Palms Nature Park Honeymoon Island James E. Grey Preserve John Chestnut Park Kapok Park Lake Chautauqua Park Lake Dan and Lake Frances Preserve Lake Tarpon Lake Tarpon Canal Lansbrook Park Mobbly Bayou Wilderness Preserve North […]

(some of these weren’t flown to be used in a video, but i’ve included them anyway) locations include: Anderson Park Aripeka Sandhills Preserve Bayside Bridge Belleview Biltmore Golf Club Brooker Creek Preserve Clearwater Beach Clearwater Memorial Causeway Courtney Campbell Causeway Bridge Crystal Beach Dunedin Causeway Florida State Fairgrounds Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex John Chestnut Senior Park Lake Maggiore Lake Tarpon Canal Marsh Pointe Mobbly Beach Park Philippe Park Pine Island Beach Park Pop Stansell Park R.E. Olds Park Sand Key […]