Me – 1 vs. Squirrels – 0.
Winning!
Attack
Somehow I find myself back at Handley a lot these days. I just like shooting here. And that’s not dirt or dust on the lens – those are the birds that like to attack my craft. I’m very concerned about what’ll happen to the bird if it gets to close. It’s pretty much a flying weed eater.
Floaters
So do you call the people who “float” the river “floaters?” Or “tubists.” Or “tubers?” Not sure I’d want to be referred to as a floater. Gross.
“So did you go to the river?”
“Yeah, but it was really dirty”
“How do you know?”
“It was full of floaters”
Gross.
It’s late – what do you want from me?
Since I’m not allowed to launch inside a national park I had to hike down to the river edge from the road and launch from there. That’s Harpers Ferry in the distance on the left.
UAV
As it is with any government agency, the FAA has a “crap ton” of regulations and the hottest topic these days is UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. There are huge numbers of differing opinions about their use and with them becoming much more accessible and affordable it’s gonna get really crazy really quickly very soon (already in some instances). There are no-fly zone maps, advisory circulars from 1981, COA application procedures, and so on, and so on and so on. It’s dizzying to say the least. So here are some simple pieces of advise from me to other/future “droners:”
- Be respectful of anyone who approaches you about anything to do about your drone. Whether it’s simply to find out more about what you’re doing and to watch or someone who’s got an issue with you flying it. Doesn’t matter – be respectful in your conversations. If it really gets heated just don’t fly there.
- Know your craft – EVERYTHING about it. Not just how to get it up in the air, but what to do if you encounter an issue while it’s up there. Know how to troubleshoot what’s going on from the batteries to the blinking lights to the regular maintenance. Know its limitations and don’t push them just for the sake of pushing them.
- Be aware that there are regulations out there for UAV. They may not be specifically for this new category of aerial drone per se, but they are for UAV which technically includes your new DJI Phantom (or whatever you’re flying).
- Here’s a link to the current FAA set of regulations for UAV
- The National Park System has also issued its own policy on UAV within their parks.
- Know the regulations or at least be learning about the regulations. I know there are pockets of rebellious “droners” out there who are going to put up the good fight for their rights, but the FAA’s ultimate goal for its airspace is the safety of everybody involved – in the air or on the ground.
- Use some good ol’ common sense folks. Don’t be stupid about this. We’re privileged to be part of a new group of enthusiasts that may very well affect the way the FAA leans when it comes to that 9/30/2015 deadline for integration of UAV in the NAS. If we’re stupid about it now, guess what’s gonna happen when it comes time to develop new/updated regulations.
- Be safe.
This post was initially going to be a rant about a confrontation I had with an individual this evening who wanted to make me aware of all the regulations that prompted his company to “ground” their drone and that I shouldn’t be flying if they can’t. I was initially ticked off, but after careful thought, I decided to go this route to help promote awareness for common sense when it comes to this extremely touchy subject. I began to realize that I’m just as guilty of not following these tidbits of advice at one point or another so I want to make sure that I ultimately keep myself in check, too.
All I wanted to do was take some pictures of my elementary school…
My elementary school, which is no longer a public elementary school. This one’s for all those who attended Bridgewater Elementary School when it was located in “downtown” Bridgewater.
Adventure
Problem solved! So there’s a lot of ideas out there to solve the whole squirrel-on-the-bird-feeder issue and apparently the bb/pellet gun is frowned upon. Anyway, my son proposed that we address the tree and not the feeder by wrapping a piece of sheet metal around the tree so the squirrels couldn’t launch themselves. Nice, but we didn’t go that route. And then there’s the Yankee Flipper (Whipper, Flipper and Tipper also available). To costly and is kinda mean. We went with a cleverly designed bird feeder that closes with the weight of a squirrel, but allows the much-lighter birds to feed. And I put the old feeder in a different location for the squirrels. Win-win-win! However, now the squirrels are apparently ticked and have begun chewing through the hanging wire which is simply old landline telephone cable. The adventure continues…
Not sure I’m going to refill the “squirrel feeder” as much. It’s kind of entertaining to watch them try to get the feed from the other one.
The James
How appropriate was it that we’d take the Williamsburg back across the James?!
Not sure what it is about Williamsburg, but we really love it.
Golf
Aerial images of a golf course – no-brainer.
Rock Harbor Golf Course in Winchester, VA
Turn Around
Every sunset and every sunrise is different to me, which is why shooting them will never get old. But if you’re wondering “how can I shoot them differently?” Simple answer…turn around. You’d be amazed at what it sometimes looks like behind you.
I’m surprised none of the birds that were attacking the drone showed up in this image. | Check out my other sunset/sunrise images.
Bacon’s Castle
No this isn’t Kevin Bacon’s house. No, they don’t store bacon here. It was a trip that really started with “let’s ride the ferry today.”
side note: I had participated in a ride back in 1988 that’s now part of Bike Virginia. The very first edition was called “The Colonial Williamsburg Bike Trek” and it was a first for me. First really big, organized ride and my first one on my own. Big deal as a junior in high school. No parents. No siblings. Lots of responsibility.
Anyway, I remember part of that ride back in ’88 had us hop the ferry over to Surry and ride near all the crop fields and I thought it was a very cool place. So I convinced my wife to hop the ferry and we explored Surry for a day. If you’re into history, I highly recommend it.
One of the many Jacobean-style rooms at Bacon’s Castle. | Order a print of this image.
DOG Street
I’m always concerned about what the reaction will be when I send my camera soaring into the air. I was especially concerned while visiting WIlliamsburg this weekend. I don’t know specifically why, but it just felt weird to me to be flying over Duke of Gloucester Street. It just seems like such a proper place and I didn’t want to distract or disturb. I ended up launching from the fields behind the Wren Building and flying to just over the Wren Building. So, for all the Tribe alumni – enjoy.
37°16’15” N 76°42’41” W. | Order a print of this image.
Tasting
My wife an I went to a wine tasting yesterday. We thought it was a very adult thing to do, why not? We both got a little buzzed from just the tasting and neither one of us get it – the whole wine tasting thing. Just what is a “silky finish” supposed to taste like?! We wondered if you blindfolded someone and gave them the same wine in three glasses, but told them they were different if they would notice.
We have very similar tastes. Apparently we really like the dessert wines so they might as well have served us plain grape juice.
These are just about to be harvested at the Williamsburg Winery
Weekend Getaway
“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.”
– Robert Orben
Our weekend home. | 37°16’5″ N 76°47’35” W
Scenic View
Those scenic view overlooks along the highway take on a whole new look when you bring a drone to the party!
Mini Me
That’s me on my roof with my son. Turns out there’s no difference in flight distance from my roof compared to the ground. Might as well have launched from the driveway. Oh well, it was fun anyway.
I can do your house, too – just contact me.
Campus
It’s sometimes difficult for some folks to make it back to their alma mater to visit. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes. I graduated 21 years ago this year and JMU is such a different school (physically – I won’t get into the politics of all that’s been in the news lately). I know I enjoyed my time there and hopefully this video will spark some memories if you’re also an alumnus. Before I did the video of Handley I actually had this one started, but I didn’t have enough footage yet. I’ve finally collected enough footage – enjoy.
Madison, James Madison
We’ll Be Forever True
Our Loyalty Will Always Be To JMU
While Friends Remain Within Our Hearts
And Knowledge Guides Our Way
James Madison Will Lead Us On
To Conquer Each New Day
Catching The Train
I’ve wanted to shoot aerial images of a train. I just think it would be cool, but I just haven’t been in the right place at the right time so far. Today I heard the train, but I was at home when I did. I figured I’d try to catch it. And I did. The image isn’t that impressive, but in capturing this image, I was at the limits of both distances (altitude and distance from transmitter). I have to fly it higher if I want to go further from me to maintain a solid signal between transmitter and receiver. It’s more than a little unnerving when you’ve lost sight of the craft and you’re just about to lose visuals and geo-location in the monitor. It doesn’t look very far on a map, but it’s a good 500-600 meters away from me.
It’s pretty cool that the geo-location of the image includes the altitude – 389.2 feet by the way.
Model
I know that a lot of apps and cameras and software will emulate the Tilt & Shift effect these days – it became really popular really quickly. I experimented with it, but never really got into it because it was hard to get the camera into the right position to accomplish one of the primary requirements of the effect – shoot from an overhead angle. Well, I think I have that covered now. This effect was done entirely in Lightroom, by the way.
Handley High School in miniature.
Hard-To-Reach Spots
So now that the novelty of “how high does that thing go” has worn off, I’m concentrating on shooting unique images. Images of scenes that people see every day, but they’re unique because I can’t normally get a camera into that position. No crazy 900-foot high photos (although that still is fun) – mostly 150 feet or less. Just enough to get over all the hustle and bustle at street level and it’s a totally different image. Bet you can’t find me in this image (I am in it by the way).
Order a print of this image.
Down Time
There’s a lot of down time when I shoot a road race. Even though there are 3 fields on the course at once, they pass by me within 10 minutes of each other leaving me a big gap of about 25-30 minutes until they come by again. What do I do during those breaks? These days I attract a lot of attention with the drone.
Whenever I shoot a race I’m always concerned about being on somebody else’s property because most road races are out in the country and the only place to park is along the road. And when I’m in their way it’s even worse. At my first location today I ended up blocking the entrance to a farmer’s field. He needed to pull in and I was in the way. Great! Not a good way for me to start the day. Fast forward to the last location of the day. I had pulled over near a very colorful barn because I thought it would make a great background in my shots. Next thing I know, a truck pulls up and I get that feeling that I’m about to get chewed out – you know the feeling. But no, that same farmer (the one I had blocked before) pops out of his truck and excitedly asks about my aerial camera. We get to talking and I discover that he’s in the Screen Actors Guild and he’s met some amazing people through that work. He asks how long I’ll be there because he wants to go get his daughters to watch me fly. Then he flags down a buddy to pull over and watch, too! Party at Jimmy’s place! He tops the day off by telling me that he respects all the riders in the races and thinks it’s a great thing for the county. There are some awesome people in Page County! Thanks Jimmy for letting me park on your property today.
Click here for more race photos from today.
First Friday
Happy Friday everyone! I just finished a shoot for a local architect that designed the rooftop for the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. If you haven’t been, you should really check it out. And if you’re traveling through the Shenandoah Valley, check it out. It’s a major upgrade from their location on the Old Town Mall and it’s really only one short block from the mall anyway (there’s even a parking lot situated right beside it). If you need an excuse to go, it’s free tonight from 5-7:30 as part of First Friday in Old Town Winchester.
The new, very colorful rooftop of the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum in Old Town Winchester. See more images of the museum.
Cedarmeade Studios 