2 Pro Miami-Jurassic Garden-Fairchild Tropical Gardens July 2021

Dale D · Jul 16, 2021

Once again, I return to Fairchild Tropical Gardens In Coral Gables, South Miami. In the brutal heat and humidity and torrential rains of the South Florida summer, I try to capture the new exhibit, featuring pre-historic animals, in a natural habitat. I combine still photography with timelapse scenes, as well as drone (aerial) video and stills, and the use of hand held video cameras to product motion lapse, and hyperlapse sequences. The film runs 4:05 minutes without the end credits. Best viewed full screen and 4K resolution.

Timelapse done with Nikon DSLR D750-28-300mm,f/3.5-5.6, timelapse done with OSMO4, hyperlapses by Osmo4, and some videos using Osmo Pocket 1. Drone footage with M2Pro and ND16 filter. Software-Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and LRLightroom5.

Lens · Jul 17, 2021

Great production Dale. That's a nice exhibit to a beautiful Tropical Garden. I totally enjoyed your tour.

miniflyer · Jul 17, 2021

Enjoyed your visit and your work - thanks.

TerryToast · Jul 17, 2021

Dale, your filming and editing have improved exponentially since I started watching your films. Well done. ??

A couple of things for you to consider in your next drone filming, try to add one:
1. Top-down (birds eye) shot (while moving)
2. Pan-up reveal shot (while moving)

Both are easy to do. It’s just a matter of reminding yourself to do them.

And keep up the good work mate.

Squidinc · Jul 17, 2021

Nice work Dale. Liked it on all aspects. ??

Dale D · Jul 17, 2021

TerryToast said:
Dale, your filming and editing have improved exponentially since I started watching your films. Well done. ??

A couple of things for you to consider in your next drone filming, try to add one:
1. Top-down (birds eye) shot (while moving)
2. Pan-up reveal shot (while moving)

Both are easy to do. It’s just a matter of reminding yourself to do them.

And keep up the good work mate.

Hey Terry Toast
Thanks for watching and for the tips. As mentioned in the intro, this film was a return to Fairchild Tropical Gardens. I am lucky to have it only 5 minutes from my house since it is a world wide attraction with the largest collection of palms and tropical flora in the world. If you watched the previous posts of Fairchild you will indeed see top down flights, and reveals. Since this is my thread, I cannot resist to submit that film again without fear of hijacking someone else work. Here is the top down drone video from that at 1:00

Photo Beaty · Jul 17, 2021

Very enjoyable. Just the right mixture of various scenes.

Dale D · Jul 17, 2021

Photo Beaty said:
Very enjoyable. Just the right mixture of various scenes.

Thanks Beaty: Us young guys have to stick together! (82)

TerryToast · Jul 17, 2021

Dale D said:
Hey Terry Toast
Thanks for watching and for the tips. As mentioned in the intro, this film was a return to Fairchild Tropical Gardens. I am lucky to have it only 5 minutes from my house since it is a world wide attraction with the largest collection of palms and tropical flora in the world. If you watched the previous posts of Fairchild you will indeed see top down flights, and reveals. Since this is my thread, I cannot resist to submit that film again without fear of hijacking someone else work. Here is the top down drone video from that at 1:00

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Just watched this well as well and saw your “top down”. I stand corrected

Dale D · Jul 17, 2021

TerryToast said:
Just watched this well as well and saw your “top down”. I stand corrected

I was actually tempted to repeat that sequence! But as all of us do, we like to plow new grounds, e.g.: film new stuff. On the video I submitted to today's forum, there were hundreds, if not thousands of visitors, and little kids and strollers. It was a glorious Sunday.(when I usually never fly). I was chased away by a young guard, ("no drone allowed here") so I crept into an infrequently visited part of the gardens away from the masses, to get some drone footage.

TerryToast · Jul 17, 2021

Dale D said:
I was actually tempted to repeat that sequence! But as all of us do, we like to plow new grounds, e.g.: film new stuff. On the video I submitted to today's forum, there were hundreds, if not thousands of visitors, and little kids and strollers. It was a glorious Sunday.(when I usually never fly). I was chased away by a young guard, ("no drone allowed here") so I crept into an infrequently visited part of the gardens away from the masses, to get some drone footage.

I think we all have patterns of filming that we fall into. Often when I fly, I will have a goal of shooting a particular shot/style that I rarely use. It may not work and it doesn’t take up much if my time, it’s just a thought that I keep in front of mind.

So for example, I might try to shoot a “top down where I am slowly ascending or descending and also rotating the drone slowly”. Given I rarely do that, I need to make a conscious effort to get that shot and by using it then I’m more likely to use it again later (without a conscious effort).

I know the feeling of hiding from the security guys. No-one seems to like us drone pilots, but then they do like our footage.

Dale D · Jul 17, 2021

TerryToast said:
I think we all have patterns of filming that we fall into. Often when I fly, I will have a goal of shooting a particular shot/style that I rarely use. It may not work and it doesn’t take up much if my time, it’s just a thought that I keep in front of mind.

So for example, I might try to shoot a “top down where I am slowly ascending or descending and also rotating the drone slowly”. Given I rarely do that, I need to make a conscious effort to get that shot and by using it then I’m more likely to use it again later (without a conscious effort).

I know the feeling of hiding from the security guys. No-one seems to like us drone pilots, but then they do like our footage.

If you are interested in seeing my waypoints 2.0 with Mavic 2 Pro, there is one in one of my Fairchild submissions (of which there are now 3). It is at at 0:18-1:24.

TerryToast · Jul 17, 2021

Dale D said:
If you are interested in seeing my waypoints 2.0 with Mavic 2 Pro, there is one in one of my Fairchild submissions (of which there are now 3). It is at at 0:18-1:24.

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Nice flight Dale.

Can I ask why you used Waypoints? I’ve seen them used on time lapse video, including construction projects, so the drone flies in exactly the same path, angle, etc for each flight.

wind-up · Jul 18, 2021

Dale D said:
Once again, I return to Fairchild Tropical Gardens In Coral Gables, South Miami. In the brutal heat and humidity and torrential rains of the South Florida summer, I try to capture the new exhibit, featuring pre-historic animals, in a natural habitat. I combine still photography with timelapse scenes, as well as drone (aerial) video and stills, and the use of hand held video cameras to product motion lapse, and hyperlapse sequences. The film runs 4:05 minutes without the end credits. Best viewed full screen and 4K resolution.

Timelapse done with Nikon DSLR D750-28-300mm,f/3.5-5.6, timelapse done with OSMO4, hyperlapses by Osmo4, and some videos using Osmo Pocket 1. Drone footage with M2Pro and ND16 filter. Software-Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and LRLightroom5.

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Amazing footage, the scenery is beautiful! Have a wonderful day

Dale D · Jul 18, 2021

TerryToast said:
Nice flight Dale.

Can I ask why you used Waypoints? I’ve seen them used on time lapse video, including construction projects, so the drone flies in exactly the same path, angle, etc for each flight.

I used waypoints to fly a specific route around the lake. Although the drone was in VLOS all the time, I don't really trust myself to not look down at the iPad and then lose sight of the drone. I also wanted to practice the waypoints intelligent flight mode. I was able to plan out the entire route days before at my desk, then, when on site, just bring it up from the memory and hit start. It isa great feature for me. Lastly, I am still not such a good pilot.

TerryToast · Jul 18, 2021

Dale D said:
Although the drone was in VLOS all the time, I don't really trust myself to not look down at the iPad and then lose sight of the drone.

I assume that everyone looks at their iPad while flying their drone and thus will periodically lose sight of their drone.

The VOS laws say that the drone must only remain within your line of sight. The laws do not say that you can’t take your eyes off the drone and fly for a few minutes using just the iPad/camera view. If you then try to locate your drone with your own eyes and you cannot, then just fly up & down & up & down and the movement will make your drone easier to find.

Dale D · Jul 18, 2021

TerryToast said:
I assume that everyone looks at their iPad while flying their drone and thus will periodically lose sight of their drone.

The VOS laws say that the drone must only remain within your line of sight. The laws do not say that you can’t take your eyes off the drone and fly for a few minutes using just the iPad/camera view. If you then try to locate your drone with your own eyes and you cannot, then just fly up & down & up & down and the movement will make your drone easier to find.

Believe me, I watch that drone carefully, but I also watch the screen quite a lot. I try to keep the drone against a background that helps me (clouds). Most of my clips are less than 15 seconds because I believe in leaving a bit on the front and back end for editing and trimming and I like a large variety of choices while editing. I do admit that I have taken a chance some times and just let it go out of sight but on the screen and depend of the RTH, but it makes me very nervous.

TerryToast · Jul 18, 2021

Dale D said:
Believe me, I watch that drone carefully, but I also watch the screen quite a lot. I try to keep the drone against a background that helps me (clouds). Most of my clips are less than 15 seconds because I believe in leaving a bit on the front and back end for editing and trimming and I like a large variety of choices while editing. I do admit that I have taken a chance some times and just let it go out of sight but on the screen and depend of the RTH, but it makes me very nervous.

Confidence Dale.

If you’re flying higher than the tallest obstacle (usually a tree or building) and your RTH height is set correctly, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Go crazy!

If you’re flying low, between obstacles, then you need to be more cautious.

Dale D · Jul 18, 2021

My RTH is usually set at 150 feet, which is usually taller than most of the environment. If I am downtown with tall buildings or in the mountains of Montana I will set it higher. I like to bring it back manually most of the time if I can see it, and I also go by the arrow on the little circular map.

TerryToast · Jul 18, 2021

Dale D said:
My RTH is usually set at 150 feet, which is usually taller than most of the environment. If I am downtown with tall buildings or in the mountains of Montana I will set it higher. I like to bring it back manually most of the time if I can see it, and I also go by the arrow on the little circular map.

You should be fine then.

When flying high (no obstacles) or flying forwards (obstacles visible in camera) you should not be worried at all.

But when flying sideways or backwards, at low heights, without having eyes on your drone, caution required. This is when trees can suddenly jump out at you and attack your drone. ?