B E L I E V E! This is a video of THREE different 'Mother & Calf' Humpback whales off the Pacific coast of Maui, Hawaii. As a Drone Pilot, this was one of the MOST exhilarating flying experience I have ever had. Enjoy

Just - fantastic!   You lucky so'an'so being in the right place at the right time   I wonder if ENYA's Orinoco Flow might suit this footage too?  Many people were convinced she sings "Save the Whale" and not "Sail away"   at the time.    Thanks for the share.

One of the greatest captures ever!

Blériot53 Posted at 2018-4-30 03:24
Just - fantastic!   You lucky so'an'so being in the right place at the right time   I wonder if ENYA's Orinoco Flow might suit this footage too?  Many people were convinced she sings "Save the Whale" and not "Sail away"   at the time.    Thanks for the share.

Ha ha. I am keeping my fingers crossed Enya and her production team doesn't come after me, lol. Thanks for the compliment.

ALABAMA Posted at 2018-4-30 03:44
One of the greatest captures ever!

Thanks so much. It was mesmerizing filming the whales for sure.  

EPIC! It almost looks fake because the colors are so unreal. ( I know its not fake). I could stare at this all day.

Where you on a boat and flying from there?

Hurley1718 Posted at 2018-4-30 16:20
EPIC! It almost looks fake because the colors are so unreal. ( I know its not fake). I could stare at this all day.

Where you on a boat and flying from there?

Ha ha. I know, the colors are so unbelievable. Actually, the secret to achieving such clear footage with blue turquoise waters  is to venture further out into the sea where its really deep.

To answer your question, I was filming from ashore, about 2.5 miles out with a P4.

Thanks.
-pk

PKPhantom Posted at 2018-4-30 16:48
Ha ha. I know, the colors are so unbelievable. Actually, the secret to achieving such clear footage with blue turquoise waters  is to venture further out into the sea where its really deep.

To answer your question, I was filming from ashore, about 2.5 miles out with a P4.

Really impressive. Good work.

Hurley1718 Posted at 2018-4-30 18:49
Really impressive. Good work.

Thanks.

Beautiful video

Montfrooij Posted at 2018-5-1 23:31
Beautiful video

Thank you.

That is stunning footage   

PKPhantom Posted at 2018-5-2 14:41
Thank you.

You're welcome    

You are really lucky to be able to shoot this beautiful creature!

DJI Elektra Posted at 2018-5-4 00:01
You are really lucky to be able to shoot this beautiful creature!

Lucky indeed. Took me a few days to be able to spot and actually track the whales.

Thanks for watching.

A CW Posted at 2018-5-2 15:25
That is stunning footage

Thanks so much for your kind words.

Gotta love those giant aquatic mammals. ;-)

Thanks for sharing your fantastic work and joy of flying... Simply delicious to see.



RedHotPoker

Very good ....

Simply amazing.  I know the patience it must have taken to track and wait for the right moment with the limited flying time.  The water clarity is incredible as are your shots.  Thankyou for sharing.

From one side it is great that there is no sign of human - pure nature, but I wish there is something which gave us a scale ;) Anyway I like it a lot!

Really amazing. Fantastic

RedHotPoker Posted at 2018-5-4 09:59
Gotta love those giant aquatic mammals. ;-)

Thanks for sharing your fantastic work and joy of flying... Simply delicious to see.

Ha ha. Yes indeed. Nothing like capturing nature, more so, majestic sea creatures.

Thanks for watching 'DJI Forum friend', lol

-PK

DEUCEDOG Posted at 2018-5-4 10:38
Very good ....

Thank you.

dronybaloney Posted at 2018-5-4 12:18
Really amazing. Fantastic

Thanks so much for the kind words.

P3KoYoT Posted at 2018-5-4 11:41
From one side it is great that there is no sign of human - pure nature, but I wish there is something which gave us a scale ;) Anyway I like it a lot!

Ha ha. Trust me, I was anxiously waiting for the right moment to capture BOTH a kayak and the whales. Never came though.

Nonetheless, a new baby humpback is the size of a full size truck. You can imagine how gigantic the mother really is.

-PK

PKPhantom Posted at 2018-4-30 16:48
Ha ha. I know, the colors are so unbelievable. Actually, the secret to achieving such clear footage with blue turquoise waters  is to venture further out into the sea where its really deep.

To answer your question, I was filming from ashore, about 2.5 miles out with a P4.

To answer your question, I was filming from ashore, about 2.5 miles out with a P4.

Really Wonderful!!
I bet you had a hard time to let go and come back before the batterie drained too much...

Breezer74 Posted at 2018-5-4 10:40
Simply amazing.  I know the patience it must have taken to track and wait for the right moment with the limited flying time.  The water clarity is incredible as are your shots.  Thankyou for sharing.

^^^^ THIS. An absolutely correct statement. Filming these whales was a true challenge. Especially for me since I was ashore. I didn't just fly out there and started capturing them. Here are the challenges;
1) Gotta have patience. A LOT of it. For the most part, they would resurface maybe to take a few breaths then go under for like 10 minutes or so. That means, you just have to be on the watch constantly.
2) Even if you spot them, they are ways far away. Firing up the drone to send it out there wasn't good enough. They were constantly moving and by the time I got there, they would be completely out of sight. Actually, had to send the drone back 8 out of 10 times
3) With such a farther distance away (roughly 10-13k feet out) you really need a reference point as to exactly when and where to stop so that you can wait for the whales to resurface again. You have to be way up in the sky and this is challenging to see them within one spot. You have to constantly keep spinning around while flying the drone towards the direction of the whales. Hoping you will be able to locate them on your 'path' line of flight
4) Lets just say you get lucky and you actually find them, the other challenge is, you would probably only have about 50-60% battery life left. That means, only a 3-5 minute capture, then throw that thing in sports mode and send it back ASAP.

I still had a pair of binoculars with a spotter which helped tremendously. But the ONLY best and effortless way to capture these creatures is from a boat where you will only be a few hundred feet away from them. Lesson learned!

Thanks
-PK

PKPhantom Posted at 2018-5-4 13:03
^^^^ THIS. An absolutely correct statement. Filming these whales was a true challenge. Especially for me since I was ashore. I didn't just fly out there and started capturing them. Here are the challenges;
1) Gotta have patience. A LOT of it. For the most part, they would resurface maybe to take a few breaths then go under for like 10 minutes or so. That means, you just have to be on the watch constantly.
2) Even if you spot them, they are ways far away. Firing up the drone to send it out there wasn't good enough. They were constantly moving and by the time I got there, they would be completely out of sight. Actually, had to send the drone back 8 out of 10 times

That means, only a 3-5 minute capture, then throw that thing in sports mode and send it back ASAP
Flying in Sports mode brings the drone back home faster but the battery drains unproportional faster.
If you are on the edge power wise, lower speed increases the chance the drone makes it back home.
But it's an endless wait ;-)

Eric13 Posted at 2018-5-4 13:32
That means, only a 3-5 minute capture, then throw that thing in sports mode and send it back ASAP
Flying in Sports mode brings the drone back home faster but the battery drains unproportional faster.
If you are on the edge power wise, lower speed increases the chance the drone makes it back home.

I should have clarified, sports mode to combat any presence of trade winds at that particular moment. When I was flying, it was always windy off the pacific coast (roughly 10-15MPH).

By the way, you definitely need a bird with sports mode when embarking on such a mission.

Gotta watch your battery consumption tho

PKPhantom Posted at 2018-5-4 12:43
Ha ha. Yes indeed. Nothing like capturing nature, more so, majestic sea creatures.

Thanks for watching 'DJI Forum friend', lol

Please keep up the great job of recording and editing these vids. Awesome.



RedHotPoker

One word............ superbrilliantawesomecool

A superb piece of filming and a humbling experience. Thank goodness these creatures did survive the massacre we inflicted upon them.

FuZZyPiLOT Posted at 2018-5-4 23:07
One word............ superbrilliantawesomecool

Ha ha. Another word in my vocabulary.

Thanks for the compliments.

embayweather Posted at 2018-5-5 04:14
A superb piece of filming and a humbling experience. Thank goodness these creatures did survive the massacre we inflicted upon them.

Yup. Really sad to think about 'whaling'. Human beings will be condemned forever, lol.

Thanks for your support.

Best video I've seen all year... just perfect.  

Oracle Miata Posted at 2018-5-5 18:01
Best video I've seen all year... just perfect.

Ha ha. Glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for the kind words

PKPhantom Posted at 2018-5-4 09:20
Thanks so much for your kind words.

Pleasure - this is one of the best vids I have seen on this forum to date - and I've seen quite a few ;-)

Wow. This is amazing. Great planning ahead, some luck and excellent flying skills.

Really great work all around!  Very enjoyable video...