Some drone shots

[DanK]

I've started playing with a drone (DJI 2S) and am finding it an interesting challenge: it's very hard (for me, anyway) to envision what will be interesting from above. Things that are very interesting from ground level sometimes turn out to be truly boring from above, and vice-versa.

I'll post 4 images here for comment. The first three are of a farm in eastern MA. The last is the pools outside the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown MA, with a temporary stage added for the Williamstown Theater, which staged all of its summer plays outdoors this year.

These are very quick edits, the first three entirely in Lightroom. I haven't decided whether they are interesting enough for more serious editing--e.g., even cloning out distractions.

All comments welcome.

Thanks.

1.



2.


3.



4.

[Manfred M]

When I look at all of the drone shots posted on the internet, I find the ones that are essentially shot straight down, like these here often are the ones that are least effective. The main exception are the ones that get into an almost abstract look and feel. None of these are really doing much for me.

Some of the strongest ones that I see are the ones taken in a way that look like the photographer was standing on a tall building and shooting more along the lines of a landscape photographer, just from a much higher perspective.

[DanK]

When I look at all of the drone shots posted on the internet, I find the ones that are essentially shot straight down, like these here often are the ones that are least effective. The main exception are the ones that get into an almost abstract look and feel. None of these are really doing much for me.

Some of the strongest ones that I see are the ones taken in a way that look like the photographer was standing on a tall building and shooting more along the lines of a landscape photographer, just from a much higher perspective.

Well, that's categorical

My taste is the reverse. What finally persuaded me to try this was a set of gorgeous photos by someone local, most of which were taken straight down. What I found interesting was the patterns. There are lots of exceptions, but I often find photos taken at an angle, as if one is looking down from a hilltop, less interesting unless they are taken from very high up.

[Jim A]

I like the patterns, Dan. I wonder what the first three would look like with some more contrast?

[DanK]

I like the patterns, Dan. I wonder what the first three would look like with some more contrast?

Jim,

Thanks. I agree, that would be worth exploring. I did some global and local contract enhancement, but it was quick and dirty. The point of the images are the lines, and more contrast might being them out.

In the same vein, I should probably change how I sharpened them. I used LR’s sharpening, , which is generally good, but high pass would bring out the lines more, Imthink

Dan


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[escape]

My first impulse was to reject all three as uninteresting. I showed them to my wife and she liked the first one because of the patterns and colors. I took another look at the first one to see what she liked about it. It is an interesting pattern but whether it's worth pursuing is your call.

[MrB]

The first three make interesting pattern shots and I like the 2d landscape effect of 4. Both 2 and 3 somehow feel more comfortable to me when viewed in portrait orientation (but don't know why!).

Philip

[royent]

I think I agree with Philip re viewing in portrait mode for all of them. I'd like them a little darker too
Roy

[Chataignier]

I do like the patterns in these, though in general I agree with Manfred.

[pschlute]

I too like the patterns that these shots create. Especially no. 3

[DanK]

Thanks for the comments. Re darkness: I agree that they need both some burning and more contrast, perhaps localized. Re orientation: that's an interesting point. When images are shot straight down, there is rarely a real top or bottom. I'll play with rotating these.

I do try rotating the drone, but it's hard to see because the viewfinder is just your phone (mine isn't very big) in daylight, and it's cluttered with other stuff, in particular, a small map that shows the drone's orientation and movement relative to the operator. In addition, you get about 25 minutes before you have to bring it back, change the battery, and start over. In this case, I had less, because it started to rain, and the machine is not waterproof--among other things, the electric motors are partly open on top--so I had to bring it back quickly. Also, at this point, I have to concentrate a lot on making the drone go where I want, which interferes with thinking about composition. So for the time being, I'm stuck with shooting too many photos and culling them when I get back to my computer.

[rpcrowe]

I have a drone that I have never flown - mostly due to the ever increasing regulations and laws concerning flying drones in California. You need to worry about local, state and federal regulations. I took a short course on local drone flight regulations and decided that I will put my (relatively inexpensive) drone up for sale on eBay or craigslist.com...

We are complicated our area by the multitude of different commercial and military flightpaths as well as the no-fly areas of military installations...

Many of the venues that I purchased the drone to shoot (such as the Point Loma Lighthouse with the city in the background) are off limits to drone flying...

One really unique use for a drone is to use one to spot schools of tuna feeding on the surface which is what my son in law uses his (very expensive) drone to do when he is out fishing in his boat...