Some Aviation Tips From A Licensed FAA Part 107 Drone Pilot

This is a special guest post done in collaboration with Jon Nyquist, a filmmaker and photographer who is also a FAA-Certified drone pilot.

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As a licensed FAA Part 107 drone pilot I would like to share some helpful things I wish I would have known before I got my license.

You may already know about the drone rules like how you can’t fly above 400ft (120m) here in the U.S. But what other things should you know about?

Well that’s what this post is about and in it I discuss the following:

  • How high can I really fly my drone?
  • What is AGL or Above Ground Level?
  • What are the rules for flying in cloudy situations?
  • Why should I be careful flying in foggy situations?
  • What do I need to know about flying in higher altitude regions?

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DJI Mavic Pro Unboxing & First Flight (+ download my 4K test footage)

I recently got the new DJI Mavic Pro drone and wanted to do an unboxing/first flight test to show you guys.

(scroll down to download the 4K footage from my first flight)

In this video, I show you it’s super tiny size compared to the Phantom 4, as well as how it unfolds, how to put the props on, how to insert your smart device into the controller, how to switch it to wifi mode and of course I show you everything that comes inside the box!

I have to say I was originally thinking this would just be a little backup drone that I would bring along with my bigger Phantom but I have been blown away by the Mavic Pro.

I say that because I have been finding myself flying it more than my Phantom just because it is so easy to carry around, the imagery looks great and it flies so well.

Stay tuned as I plan on doing a full review of it in the near future.

If you want to check out 3 minutes of my original untouched and unedited 4K Mavic Pro footage click here (be sure to “download” the clip, don’t stream it, for best results). Read More

Drone Video of the Week: Like A Bird Over Portugal in 4K

Bernardo Bacalhau is a self taught photographer and cinematographer who has only been filming with a drone for only a year.

This is his first cinematic video and it features scenic views of Lisbon and Oporto which are beautiful ports cities in Portugal.

Bernardo’s quick tip for making drone films like this one is to wake up early for sunrise so that you can capture really nice soft glowing light.

(Make sure you click on the little HD icon to view this in 4K)

 

Gear used:

Shot using a DJI Phantom 3 and edited with Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

Check out more of Bernardo’s work on his website and Instagram.
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10 Useful Tools For Editing Your Drone Photos On A Computer

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In the world of aerial drone photography, the possibilities for creating an amazing image really starts to takeoff after you start editing.

And since editing photos is such an important part of my workflow since it is how I can tweak an image to my unique vision, I thought it would be helpful to do a big overview of 10 photo-editing applications to help you realize your full potential when it comes to photography.

Now there is a lot written about the first two popular options on the list, but the others, depending on your budget, can be great alternatives as well.

All the options offer a free trial and at the very end of this article I even link to a few basic free options to help you get your feet wet if you aren’t yet able to spend any money.

Except where noted, each program has the most important editing tools you’ll need such as brightness/darkness, contrast, saturation, sharpening, cropping, and re-sizing and they offer non-destructive editing which means any edits made won’t overwrite the original file.

So let’s get started! Read More

Please Help! :) 2017 Community Survey

Hey #fromwhereidrone community! We are now 100,000+ strong and I would love to get to know you a bit better. Could you please give me a quick :60 seconds of your time to answer a few questions for me in my 2017 community survey?

It would help me a lot in figuring out what would be most helpful/desirable to you this year. I would be super grateful! Thanks so much! – Dirk

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