Matthew Lobegeiger
 lvl.1
Australia
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These are my 3 best photos from 2019. I use a DJI Mavic Air which continually impresses me. The super compact, relatively cheap drone can capture some absolutely stunning shots. People often ask me which model Phantom I use to take my photos. These photos were all taken by me.
1. Snorkelling at Pelorus Island on the Great Barrier Reef in Far North Queensland, Australia.
This year I've learned that completely vertical shots are always worth considering. I had no intention of taking this shot. I was throttling up to get sme more altitude for my next video pass and happened to tilt the camera to vertical while I was moving. The image on my phone screen looked great, so I swithed to HDR mode and took a few shots. I then simply auto editied the levels with Google Photos directly on my phone to make the colours pop a little more, but this photo is almost free of post processing. I love the colour contrast between the black rocks, the blue water, the green coral and the yellow sand. I think this is the best drone photo I've ever taken.
My first tip: Always have look at vertical shots while flying around.
2. Camping on the Murray River, Victoria, Australia.
I was gettling late in the afternoon and I thought some sunset shots might be nice. I got to this altitude and realised that the sun was reflecting off the water in the background. So I moved around until the sun reflection was above the camp site. I love how the sunlight streaming the the camp site itself looks like it's coming from the reflection on the river. Again, some very basic auto level editing with Google Photos directly on my phone.
Second tip: If you have beautiful natural scenes to photgraph, very little post processing is needed.
3. Tropical Rainforest Canopy. Cardwell Range, North Queensland, Australia.
I love the detail in this shot. Zooming in to check out the different species of trees in very mindful. Again, a vertical shot is always worth a look. Again, I've just increased the colour depth slightly on this shot using Google Photos on my phone to make the green slightly more vivid.
Tip 3: For me, drone photography shouldn't include hours at the computer editing shots. Less is often more with nature shots.
4. Sunset at Shelley Beach, Ceduna, South Australia.
Again, I love the detail of the water ripples and sand banks in this shot. This shot is completely unedited. It does feel a little dark, but the contrast of the suns reflection against the darker ocean and sand is what I wanted. That deep, golden colour directly from the Mavic Air's sensor is to die for.
Tip 4: You don't always have to post-process. If it's already a great photo, go with it.
5. Shelley Beach, Ceduna, South Australia.
I just love the colours in this shot, a little like shot #1. The green water, the black sea grass, the white sand and the blue sky. Again, the colour depth has be adjusted slighty with Google Photos to make the colours slightly more vivid.
Tip 5: In great photographic locations like Ceduna, be sure to try different times of day for your shots. The sunsets here are breathtaking, but don't limit yourself to that.
These photos are also posted on Imgur: https://imgur.com/gallery/xdVXT29
I'd love some feedback! Thanks for looking.
Matt
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Captain
Second Officer
lvl.2
