Let me embark you on an epic journey in Transylvania. Autumn is my favorite season when it comes to drone photography. The multitude of colors is just insane. Along this this post i'll show you one of my best pictures shot entirely with my DJI Mavic 2 Pro. Be sure to scroll down, the best pics have been left to the end of the post.
Always shoot in RAW, this way you'll be able maximize the final outcome of your picture. Personally I use Adobe Lightroom to edit my pictures. TIP: On your Mavic 2 Pro (not only) you have several options. You can shoot .jpg, raw, jpg + raw. While .jpg i smaller in size it has less to offer when editing is a must. Professional photographers only shoot raw, photos straight out of camera need editing ! I strongly recomend choosing the option to shoot only raw since if you shoot simultaneously .jpg and .raw "dng" files they fill up your space faster and it takes more time because 2 images have to be saved.
To capture the beauty of autumn you need to pick the best date, in Romania October is the best month to capture the colors of autumn in it's fullest beauty. For me October 10th till 20 worked out the best. Having experience that goes back a few years I know the seasons when and where to pull the photo shooting trigger. TIP: An easy way to get track of you work is to upload your photos to different photo sharing/social media websites such as skypixel.com. This way you can search for your photos and check out the date you uploaded the photo.
Colors and Moods:
Autumn is colorful, yellow,orange,red are the dominant colors. During editing be sure to make the most out of these colors. For the best results be sure to choose the best time of the day for shooting. Golden hours in the morning or sunset are the best for the "moody" pictures, but if you really want to take advantage of the colors be sure to shoot in cloudy weather!
I really like how during the sunset the sun barely illuminates one part of the scene.
Be aware of yor surroundings ,be patient, search and find uncommon scenes. I managed to find a hidden creek between two different types of trees.
Photographing during the golden hour you get a bonus...shadows. Shadows offer you a second perspective the "full package" in one image. A top down shot that offers a bonus of another angle. You can see the full form of the objects.
Here's my favorite shot! I specially returned for this shot this year. I photographed this road last year, but I knew I can do it better.
With the DJI Mavic Pro 2 you're able to see the bigger picture. This statement is very true but it does not limit you to see only the big one. Signal vise and video stabilty is the best so far! I've been used to have signal loss for 1-2 seconds once in a while but Mavic 2 Pro is rock solid. Getting back to my initial idea, seeing the the little things in the big picture my also surprise you. Descending to a lower height can also take your breath away.
It's impossible to find an exactly the same road with the same foliage. That's why these kind of top-down shots will never get old.
Taking shot of a Creek:
First of all you need to find one ). If you see one near the road during your trip, you're lucky! Tip: Follow its path till you can! Try to find parts where the most of the creek can be seen between the trees. Post processing is essential to differentiate/highlight the water. I would recommend lower heights.
As you can see I really like taking pictures of roads be it manmade or a path in the forest. Straight lines or almost straight ones cad divide the "bigger" picture in two portions. Yes, you need to reach a higher altitude in order to frame your shot. Always keep your drone in sight, and fly with maximum concentration.
Cloudy weather:
This weather condition is my favourite! Not only because of the ability to capture the colours the way they're meant to be, you might have the chance to immortalise a never returning moment. Sunrays popping out from rupture of the cloud ☁️ carpet.
Lower heights may also surprise you. Especially flying a few meters above the foliage.
I saved my favourite photo to the end. Let me know what you think!
Note: Added some new pics and a video.! Thank you for the comments and likes!
As for video I guees you haven't seen my video I did back 3 years ago with my DJI Inspire 1. It's nice to see that the Inspire 1 is still a very capable drone. It's more of a close-range aerial filming demonstrating my drone controlling skills. Brings up a lot of memories! Enjoy!
Amazing last photograph ...whats great about it is that it leaves me wanting to see what the rest would look like if you had flown higher ...thanks for sharing, great work !
Felicitari! Very nice photos. Personally I think, in digital era, people use too much photo editing...We buy and eat artificial food, why shouldn't do the same with imagery...I'll always love and enjoy the beauty and authenticity of raw, unedited photos...In everyday life are harder to find and shot, but is like the taste of savage salmons as compared to farmed ones...Different taste, different color. Why now we need a good make-up for our pictures in order to become attractive ?...Good luck on the contest.
With available tools today, not being able to get wonderful images of such scenery will be much more challenging. Hop in the car, drive there, launch your Mavic, shot. Go back home, brew a mug of fresh coffee, sit in a leather chair and launch your Mac for insane image tweaking. Too easy ...
Matthew Dobrski Posted at 2018-10-28 13:17
With available tools today, not being able to get wonderful images of such scenery will be much more challenging. Hop in the car, drive there, launch your Mavic, shot. Go back home, brew a mug of fresh coffee, sit in a leather chair and launch your Mac for insane image tweaking. Too easy ...
Wish it would be that easy ). First of all you need to find the scenes and angles. Editing is also done manually not using automatic filters and stuff . If you had a bad taste and an eye even the best camera can become a useless tool.... .
TheDon Posted at 2018-10-28 21:34
Wish it would be that easy ). First of all you need to find the scenes and angles. Editing is also done manually not using automatic filters and stuff . If you had a bad taste and an eye even the best camera can become a useless tool.... .
Sure thing, I'm just pulling your leg ... But, seriously, do you hire a helicopter or hot air balloon to get these pictures?
Seriously... Hiring a heli or a balloon is so oldschool. I’m stuck with my jetpack for the moment till my antigravity capsule is ready . The flux capacitators fuel tank exploded during a flight, I had a radioactive leakage...
Kestrel Scot Posted at 2018-10-25 00:10
Amazing last photograph ...whats great about it is that it leaves me wanting to see what the rest would look like if you had flown higher ...thanks for sharing, great work !
15matjan Posted at 2018-10-25 00:13
Felicitari! Very nice photos. Personally I think, in digital era, people use too much photo editing...We buy and eat artificial food, why shouldn't do the same with imagery...I'll always love and enjoy the beauty and authenticity of raw, unedited photos...In everyday life are harder to find and shot, but is like the taste of savage salmons as compared to farmed ones...Different taste, different color. Why now we need a good make-up for our pictures in order to become attractive ?...Good luck on the contest.
Mersi! First of all thank you! I partially I agree with your opinion! As you say it’s a matter of taste .