Professional Commercial Portraits along the Rio Grande in Corrales
I was already back on location doing more commercial portrait photography for awesome new client Precision Surveys, Inc, (see first shoot), this time in the Bosque area of Corrales, New Mexico right on the banks of the Rio Grande River. I had never been to this area of the Bosque before, and have since already been back for a personal day out enjoying this rather different stretch with more trees, higher view points, and more areas to access the river itself. Precision Surveys needed just one location for this shoot, so after a bit of trekking with the photo gear and the survey gear, we found this spot that had a view of the river and the Sandia Mountains in the background. Thank you once again to the crew who were great in front of the camera and to Larry for choosing me again as his company’s photographer.
Drone photography delivers the Albuquerque image wow factor
Needing a signature look of Albuquerque for their client, WSI Web Enhancers asked me what I think that would be. They sent me a few samples from other cities, and most of those included water. Well, the only water around Albuquerque is the Rio Grande River, so I knew I needed to incorporate that in the 360 panorama drone photo I was to make for them. That same evening there was a spectacular sunset in the making, so I took my drone to an area near the river and put it into position to capture the Rio and the Albuquerque city skyline plus the Sandia Mountains as the background. You can see the results for yourself above. Both WSI and their client were very, very happy with the final 360 drone product!
Back out on another project for WSP, this time flying my drone over the Rio Bravo Blvd bridge over the Rio Gande River. This was quite a change from the urban area in central Albuquerque for the first project. Surprisingly there were more flying restrictions in this more remote area than in the city. I had to for the first time use a DJI custom unlock request to even be able to launch the drone here. Once up in the air, the views were quite stunning with some color in the trees stills and the Sandia Mountains providing the background and the Rio Grande River the foreground.
Luxury Home with Stunning Mountain Views in Rio Rancho
My photography work often takes me to nearby Rio Rancho, New Mexico, but never before have I seen views of the Sandia Mountains like this from a residential home. Step out into the backyard and there before you, totally unobstructed by anything artificial, loom the Sandias. Look to the north and south and catch a glimpse of the Rio Grande River. Inside this architectural home features those views from all the rooms on the east side of the home, with its open floor plan. Want to own these views? You have a choice of one night or forever as the owner does list this house as an AirBNB, but is also thinking of flat out selling it. If you value views, privacy, and an awesome home office space, this is the property for you!
When I first got my DJI Mavic Pro drone in November 2017, the first place I really flew it was in Taos, New Mexico. Driving there I had no idea there was a mini-Grand Canyon just on the edge of the town, so to my great surprise was the Rio Grande Gorge revealed to me! I thought the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge would be a great place to fly the drone, but having such little flying experience and with it being so windy when I visited the bridge, the drone stayed in its case that time. Fast forward to the present, with dozens of flights of experience, having already flown under the Bixby Bridge, with the weather at near ideal conditions I did not hesitate to fly over the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge this time!
I have been flying my DJI Mavic Prodrone all over New Mexico making dozens of 4K videos. But what to do about places the drone cannot fly? Or if I wanted to actually record the sound of the place I am recording video of? The iPhone 8 records good 4K video, but if you just handhold it the video is all choppy. In my search for a smooth solution, I discovered the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 smart phone gimbal. However, it was sold out everywhere. Finally it was back in stock and mine arrived just last week!
