When I was growing up, my family was always traveling. We traveled for fun and we moved several times for my father’s job. We lived in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, England and Germany before we finally settled down in Texas. And no matter where we were, I always remember my father, an avid photographer, climbing up on things to shoot photos from a new perspective. He would climb up steps, trees, rooftops and more – anything to get the perfect shot of our family in a scenic location! Flash forward to today. I have my own family. And while we have only lived in one place, Austin, Texas - we have carried on the family tradition of frequent travel. And just like my father, wherever we go, I always try to get the perfect shot!
This summer was filled with travel. In May, I went mountain biking with my buddies in Moab, Utah. My kids and I went to the Ozarks to water ski in June. My entire family went to upstate New York to visit my wife’s parents. And finally, we traveled to Norway to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday! Of course, I wanted to capture every moment on video and in photos. So, this summer, for the first time, I brought my DJI drones with me on every trip!
For mountain biking in Moab, the DJI Mavic Pro was the perfect companion. Because I knew we would be pedaling high up on cliffs and mountains, and then riding down steep slopes to flowing rivers, I wanted to carry something light weight but still capable of following our adventure. The Mavic worked perfectly. I put it into my Camelback (a hydration backpack) and got it out whenever we stopped for a rest. My friends were amazed that it fit so easily into my pack and was quickly ready for flight when we stopped at scenic locations. And the long flight times meant that I could take multiple flights on each battery. Ten minutes here, five minutes there – giving me a nice variety of footage while only carrying two batteries in my pack!
The next trip was to the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri in June. Here we spent several days zip lining and water skiing. And my DJI Phantom 4 Pro was the perfect aerial camera to have with me. The Phantom 4 Pro is portable enough to launch from a water ski boat and the landing gear is configured in a way that makes it easy and safe to hand catch, which is essential when you are on a boat that is rocking and drifting in the water. Of course, the 4K footage is amazing and the Phantom 4 Pro is fast enough to keep up with the high-performance ski boat that we were on. To get the best shots in the bright sun, I connected the P4 Pro to the DJI Goggles creating an immersive flying experience that allowed me to follow the boat more accurately and get some shots that I could not have done without that first person view or FPV.
Next, our summer took us to upstate New York, where my in-laws have a cottage on a small island near the US/Canada border. This area, known as the “thousand islands”, is a great place to fly both the Phantom 4 Pro and the Mavic. My mother-in-law was pleased and excited to see the small island, which has been in her family for generations, from a completely new perspective! With the 4K video and crystal clear pictures, we observed things about the island that no one had noticed before. Of course, we had some fun behind the boat riding on tubes and fishing in the St. Lawrence River. Once again, pairing the DJI Goggles to the Phantom and Mavic enabled me to follow the boat with precision, which made for amazing footage!
Our last trip this summer was to Norway. We started in Stavanger, on the west coast of the country and took a road trip to Oslo and back. During our trip, we frequently stopped and marveled at water falls, mountains, rivers and, of course, the fjords! The DJI Mavic was my drone of choice for Norway because it was easy to pack into a case that I carried with me on the airplane and took everywhere during the trip. Once again, the Mavic’s long flight times and 4K video proved essential to getting high up into the mountains, or in just the right spot to capture the power and majesty of a waterfall! I did not take the DJI Goggles to Norway but was able to use the live view on my phone to capture incredible video and pictures. The scenery was breathtaking and I’m very happy that my DJI Mavic Pro enabled me to capture the beauty from some unique perspectives!
The video and images from this summer will be something that my family treasures for years to come. When people ask, “how was your trip”, we can show them the beauty and amazing scenery that we experienced. And, as I told my dad when I got back to Texas, I didn’t have to climb up on anything to get the best shot! Have fun, fly safe and reshape your world – wherever your next adventure takes you!
Lucas775 Posted at 2017-9-2 16:05
Your Father would have loved to have the spark or the P4 back then for all the perfect pictures. Love the music as well, God bless!
Well done! Congrats! Norway is amazing, you have some beautiful shots! Also I like that you have followed your fathers steps and inspired you to capture these unforgettable moments. I've also started aerial photography and videography together . Unfortunately he's not along us anymore but I continued to perfect my skills for his memory also.
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but I continued to perfect my skills for his memory also.