drone pilot
My work as a rural land real estate drone pilot takes me to some very small and out of the way places, like Regina, New Mexico. You probably have never heard of it, but I know it well! It’s northeast of Cuba, New Mexico (heard of it??) and as you can see from the 4K drone video above, has some great views of mesas and mountains.
Read MoreI always enjoy getting a call from Shyann of Cinelease Studios Albuquerque (formerly I-25 Studios) because I know that means it’s a chance to fly the drone on an active, working movie studio lot! Of course pretty much everything happens indoors and I am of course outdoors with the drone, but it still feels kind of cool. The drone photography work for the latest project is not Hollywood cinematic, but more practical showing the construction progress being made on the lot. In this series of photos, you can see what the area looked like in January, and now what it looks like 4 months later. Lots of progress is being made to update, modernize, and expand the studio property. Thank you Shyann for continuing to choose me as your drone pilot!
Read MoreIf you are traveling from the east into New Mexico, then Tucumcari is the first town you will come across. It is a historic Route 66 town feature a Route 66 Museum and some of the old motels and eateries leftover from those classic 1950s days. Tucumcari also has a great dinosaur museum. I have had the opportunity to stay in town twice while out on photoshoots. This last time the client wanted drone video and photo highlights of the town. I recommend spending at least a night in Tucumcari the next time you are passing through!
Read MoreIt was a very, very windy visit to Ute Lake State Park in Logan, New Mexico (see map below for directions). It was so windy I was afraid I would not be able to fly the drone at all to get the content I needed for my client. Thankfully, the DJI Mavic 3 Cine drone is next level over previous drones for flying in strong winds and producing usable content. I was even helped out by one boat driving across the lake, and two kite boarders zooming over the rough lake surface! On the south shore of the lake you can see it has a rocky coast, fun for scrambling around on. The north shore has a gravely beach of sorts good for a sunset stroll. Have you been to this state park? It is out of the way, 35 minutes NE of Tucumcari, but a nice lake retreat area with the small town of Logan having restaurants, gas, and groceries. Check it out sometime!
Read MoreMy first shoot for PianoWerkes was back in December 2020 for their interior showroom, which was jam packed with pianos. Fast forward two years and PianoWerkes is now moving to a bigger location with more space for the pianos to breathe! The PianoWerkes team wanted to make a teaser video for the new location, showing its much different, and much better setting. I sent the drone up to capture this location and the exterior design of the building, all while someone was playing piano inside and other videographers were recording that! Thank you to PianoWerkes for continuing to choose me as their drone pilot and photographer!
Read MoreI was contacted by a dentist in Gallup, New Mexico with a very unusual drone video and photography idea. He told me that he wanted to both jump his dirt bike over his dental staff and then drive the dirt bike through his practice! Dr. Porter had me curious for sure! After some discussion about what was feasible that I could do both in terms of drone video, regular video, and still photography, we had the details set and I was off to Gallup where I spent the night to be ready for the early 7am start in the morning. Despite many “never done that before” shots, the morning went off nearly flawlessly and I was able to make all the content Dr. Porter wanted. Thank you to Dr. Porter and his entire team for being so great in front of the camera and the drone, and below the dirt bike!!
Read MoreCounty Line Restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico basically sits atop the city nestled right up against the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. It made for a great setting as I visited the restaurant a different times over two days to make interior and exterior photos as well as a 4K drone video showing the restaurant in its stunning setting. I used a variety of shooting techniques to get the interior shots, likewise for the exterior shots. As a professional commercial photographer, I am not set on one particular style of shooting, but rather choose the best for the shooting environment that will get the best results for the client. So for the interiors, sometimes I used off camera lighting, sometimes HDR shots, and sometimes a single exposure worked best. It was great working with the team at County Line Restaurant to make this wide ranging series of dynamic visual content for their branding, marketing, and social media.
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