Greetings from the Sierra foothills, California

bheiser1 · Dec 25, 2019

Hi everyone. I’ve posted some already, but just realized I jumped right in without a proper introduction in the Check In forum. I got my M2P at the end of November & have been flying at every opportunity since then, between rain storms

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I’m in the Sierra foothills in California, just over an hour from Yosemite. As a part time photographer, I’ve thought about drones for a long time, but have held off because it sounded like there were too many restrictions. I decided to go for it anyway, adding another tool to my camera bag. I love it so far, though it’s been challenging to find good places to fly.

I’m studying for the Part 107 test along the way, and my approach to flying is conservative (I grew up with parents who flew light planes, so spent a LOT of time around planes & airports). No “how far and high can I go in a big windstorm” here

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Happy Holidays everyone!

This is what it’s like where I live, shot with the M2P.

Thomas B · Dec 25, 2019

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.
Cool pic!

old man mavic · Dec 25, 2019

welcome to the forum

barrybcar · Dec 25, 2019

Should be some great places to fly and shoot up there. I’m originally from Fresno. Been in Boise for 20 years now.

Camino Ken · Dec 25, 2019

Welcome to the forum from about an hour further north in CA.

dirkclod · Dec 25, 2019

Big mud hole in Mississippi here.

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching . Thumbswayup

bheiser1 · Dec 25, 2019

barrybcar said:
Should be some great places to fly and shoot up there. I’m originally from Fresno. Been in Boise for 20 years now.

They are harder to find than I expected. Most land around here is private property, and CA has specific laws about photography over private property (all it takes is one person to complain about privacy concerns). There are some nice places on National Forest lands, though that can be nerve wracking over 150’ trees

. I’m still exploring, and the good thing is as I say within VLOS, I don’t need a very big area to fly.

Camino Ken · Dec 25, 2019

bheiser1 said:
They are harder to find than I expected. Most land around here is private property, and CA has specific laws about photography over private property (all it takes is one person to complain about privacy concerns). There are some nice places on National Forest lands, though that can be nerve wracking over 150’ trees . I’m still exploring, and the good thing is as I say within VLOS, I don’t need a very big area to fly.

My situation is very similar to yours. My house is literally surrounded by 150ft pine trees so can only fly in a 200 ft diameter cylinder. I must admit that I did once fly a bit further away by peeking through the trees to maintain VLOS (wink, wink). I try to stay over the road to avoid going over private property and keep my altitude at at least 200ft so very few neighbors will notice. I have noticed that heavy foliage significantly attenuates the radio signal. I try to find remote locations that people say have great views to get out of the trees blocking my flight path.

Good luck.

msinger · Dec 26, 2019

Welcome to the forum!

Aerial-Pixel · Dec 26, 2019

bheiser1 said:
Hi everyone. I’ve posted some already, but just realized I jumped right in without a proper introduction in the Check In forum. I got my M2P at the end of November & have been flying at every opportunity since then, between rain storms .

I’m in the Sierra foothills in California, just over an hour from Yosemite. As a part time photographer, I’ve thought about drones for a long time, but have held off because it sounded like there were too many restrictions. I decided to go for it anyway, adding another tool to my camera bag. I love it so far, though it’s been challenging to find good places to fly.

I’m studying for the Part 107 test along the way, and my approach to flying is conservative (I grew up with parents who flew light planes, so spent a LOT of time around planes & airports). No “how far and high can I go in a big windstorm” here .

Happy Holidays everyone!

This is what it’s like where I live, shot with the M2P.
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