I took my drone on both holidays this year, but cycling through the footage is something that I’ve put off. Nothing bears a quick photo edit.
None the less, one down (Greece), one to go (Faroe Islands), though it’s unlikely that the second one will get done before I go on my next holiday (Isle of Skye).
In Austria the drone laws are pretty strict; a drone is considered a toy if it produces less that 79 Joules of energy, and as such it doesn’t require a license. So I opted to take the Spark with me, as I would legally be able to fly it without paying for a license.
Along with taking some video footage with my new drone I have obviously been using the camera to take photos. Everything looks more epic from in the air!
Whilst in Devon I flew my drone for the first time in a long while. I will admit I have always been a nervous flyer of my drone, but for whatever reason whilst I was in Devon I just kind of went for it in some places. I particularly don’t like flying it where there are people, but some of the places where we went it was just me and kB, so out it came.
When we came back, I realised that part of the issue is that my drone is very much a “toy”. The range isn’t great, the controller connection to the drone becomes weak often and error messages appear… So after a bit of research I bought a new drone… Video below!
This morning was the first day that I think we’ve both felt “on it” enough to get out. Sadly this is what I’d wanted to do every day of the holiday, but we never go around to it because of illness.
We set our alarms and got up at 8 (The sun doesn’t rise until 820ish anyway), had brekkie and set off to the outskirts of Sheffield. 
It’s close to the Peak District, but I’m pretty sure it is still Sheffield. Anyway it’s a mountain bike trail place, so there were loads of people out with their bikes.
Quite a lot of people were interested in the drone, which I’d not had before.
Most of Xmas we have been ill.
 I was ill for 2 weeks before Xmas and I though “A-ha! For indeed I will be OK at XMas now.” And how wrong I was. 
As a result of this my plan to go out with the drone every day hasn’t really panned out. Ive managed 4 times in just over a week, but to be fair the weather hasn’t been that great either.
What I have learnt is that the drone is better in wind than I thought it would be, and that I need to be more committed to panning and movement shots. I’m too focused on composition and so my footage is jerky whilst I try to correct it. I’m learning that in video this isn’t quite as big of a deal as with still images. It’s a learning curve. 
Out with the drone again this weekend.
Tried out some of the different settings. Can’t wait for half term to go out with it more often.
Last weekend we visited Bakewell Xmas Market, this weekend it was Chatsworth. As none of us like to get there really late when it is busy, we set off to get there just as it opened.
For some reason this meant we had to park so far away we were pretty much in Baslow (the nearest little village) but had to pay for the privilege of parking in Chatsworth – £10!
So we started off our Xmas Market trip by hiking for 809743 years to get there. Once there the Christmas spirit never really hit me. We bought some brownies, cured sausages and a double chocolate scone. kB fancies some churros so we bought some but no one was really bothered about them. 
We (me and kB) left the others in the market and went to fly the drone. On the way in (during our voyage from the car park) I’d spied the Chatsworth deer and though that they would be a good target for practice. So off we went.
I spent some time practicing different shots, but my app kept crashing. Apparently it’s pants on Android so when I came home I bought a stand thing so I can connect my iPad to it.
The weather forecast was nice, the air was still… So naturally it was a drone kind of day 😉
I decided to go to Ulley Country Park, and practice a bit more with my drone. There is a nice spot with a few benches on it that made for an ideal seating area and Return to Home point. I flew the highest I’ve flown before, but I am still hesitant about distance away from me. I think the next time that I go out with it I am doing to focus on distance more than height. 
I’m slowly getting more used to the controls. I’ve gotten used to using the control to control the gimbal head.
I need to pay more attention to exposure though, as most of the shots were over exposed.
On Tuesday before work I went out to test the drone again. I got the highest I’ve ever been, but it still wasn’t very high in terms of the drones capabilities. It is definitely going to take some getting used to, and the idea of flying it high and far away is not something I’m feeling too confident with at the minute.
I was watching footage of people flying it over the sea and just watching that made me like hahahahaha nope!
Anyway, the second outing saw me trying to get a bit higher, and focus more on slow, steady movements. I also wanted to practice more in Premier Pro in terms of editing and putting a clip together. I got the sound from http://www.bensound.com
I need to work on everything really, but given that it’s dark when I leave for work, and dark when I get in from work this is quite difficult. Hoping for some still weather at the weekend.
Manadh Photography 