Rethinking photography with drones

[Scopdoc]

Using a drone has caused me to totally rethink my photography when composing images. Sunsets are all “better” when the horizon line is visible due to the altitude. Waterfalls can be viewed face on or from overhead. Animals are easier to photograph, as well. I am having to relearn “perspectives” on how to look at the world.

 

[Mossiback]

Nice pics!

 

[Scopdoc]

Nice pics!

Thanks!

 

[rustysteel]

GREAT job! Love the lightning capture!

 

[old man mavic]

you are correct you certainly see the world from a totally different perspective great shots by the way

 

[Imagineimagery]

Really nice images.
Something I have noticed that is a huge difference between photography shooting from the ground and video from above is that I have to really think about how the perspective and light changes as I move through a scene. An awesomely lit foreground so quickly becomes dark and distracting as you pass through it.
It’s fun to kinda relearn photography, huh?

 

[Imagineimagery]

Is that lightning shot a still pic or taken from video? Looks great on a screen! Have you printed it? If so how does it look? I have not printed anything yet from my still shots, or from grabbed shots for that matter.

 

[Scopdoc]

Really nice images.
Something I have noticed that is a huge difference between photography shooting from the ground and video from above is that I have to really think about how the perspective and light changes as I move through a scene. An awesomely lit foreground so quickly becomes dark and distracting as you pass through it.
It’s fun to kinda relearn photography, huh?

Being able to quickly change the ISO, shutter speed, etc is helpful in making the transition. How I see the scene in my mind’s eye before hitting the shutter is interesting and fun. Hopefully, practice will make perfect.

 

[Scopdoc]

Is that lightning shot a still pic or taken from video? Looks great on a screen! Have you printed it? If so how does it look? I have not printed anything yet from my still shots, or from grabbed shots for that matter.

As you might guess, trying to “pull the trigger on lightning” is impossible. I just aimed at the spot, rolled 4K video, and did a frame grab later. A single frame grab actually misses much of the bolt. There is probably a way to stack the images in Photoshop to show the entire branching bolt. The impressive steadiness of the drone in the high winds of the approaching storm was nice.

 

[Mossiback]

As you might guess, trying to “pull the trigger on lightning” is impossible...

First of all, your lightning capture is gorgeous.

I have seen some impressive long exposures from a Mavic so you might try a long exposure with a high f-stop setting. It will allow you to capture the details in lightning. You can keep the ISO set to 100. This is for night shots but for daytime shots you could use a high value ND filter to avoid over exposure of the scene. It would be interesting to see if it would cause motion blur in the clouds.

The natural tendency at night is to have a low f-stop and high ISO setting but that gives you a grainy, over-exposed lightning capture that blows out the fine details.

 

[Scopdoc]

First of all, your lightning capture is gorgeous.

I have seen some impressive long exposures from a Mavic so you might try a long exposure with a high f-stop setting. It will allow you to capture the details in lightning. You can keep the ISO set to 100. This is for night shots but for daytime shots you could use a high value ND filter to avoid over exposure of the scene. It would be interesting to see if it would cause motion blur in the clouds.

The natural tendency at night is to have a low f-stop and high ISO setting but that gives you a grainy, over-exposed lightning capture that blows out the fine details.

Using the worlds biggest flash should provide adequate lighting!

 

[Mossiback]

Using the worlds biggest flash should provide adequate lighting!

Definitely! I have captured multiple lightning strikes by leaving the shutter open for a minute at a time. If it is a dark location all you see in the picture is the lightning, providing that the strike is not too close!

 

[DGNOO]

Using a drone has caused me to totally rethink my photography when composing images. Sunsets are all “better” when the horizon line is visible due to the altitude. Waterfalls can be viewed face on or from overhead. Animals are easier to photograph, as well. I am having to relearn “perspectives” on how to look at the world.View attachment 78597View attachment 78598View attachment 78599View attachment 78600View attachment 78601View attachment 78602View attachment 78603View attachment 78604View attachment 78605

Beautiful pics. Please share your settings. Thanks
??

 

[Francoisvdm]

Really beautiful shots

 

[Deleted member 94047]

These are breathtaking pictures! You, Sir, were meant to have a flying camera. Thank you for sharing these wonderful images.

 

[Scopdoc]

Beautiful pics. Please share your settings. Thanks
??

If I download to my iPhone, I don’t see any settings data. Is it visible in Lightroom?

 

[DGNOO]

If I download to my iPhone, I don’t see any settings data. Is it visible in Lightroom?

Hi
I Mean your Drone camera settings

 

[CJG]

Using a drone has caused me to totally rethink my photography when composing images. Sunsets are all “better” when the horizon line is visible due to the altitude. Waterfalls can be viewed face on or from overhead. Animals are easier to photograph, as well. I am having to relearn “perspectives” on how to look at the world.View attachment 78597View attachment 78598View attachment 78599View attachment 78600View attachment 78601View attachment 78602View attachment 78603View attachment 78604View attachment 78605

Great thinking and great images!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Using a drone has caused me to totally rethink my photography when composing images. Sunsets are all “better” when the horizon line is visible due to the altitude. Waterfalls can be viewed face on or from overhead. Animals are easier to photograph, as well. I am having to relearn “perspectives” on how to look at the world.View attachment 78597View attachment 78598View attachment 78599View attachment 78600View attachment 78601View attachment 78602View attachment 78603View attachment 78604View attachment 78605

My thoughts exactly! Tripod in the sky, with complete remote control, from up to 5 miles away! Nirvana!

 

[Mavic Mac]

Nice photos !!