Me and Jessica and the dogs had some free time on a rural land shoot weekend in Navajo Dam, New Mexico, and saw that Durango, Colorado was not that far away. We took the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk up a scenic highway, and kept on going right through Durango finding first a natural hot spring, and then later a crowd gathered around this small bridge. Not until you get up on the bridge do you have any idea the amazing views of the Animas River from it, and you really get a better look at the beauty of this area from the drone’s eye view! The crowd there, however, were mostly to watch people jump off the cliff bank 30+ feet into the Animas River below! It was tricky to time out and capture with the drone, but in the video you can see two people making the plunge!
Have you ever sat and stared in bemused amazement at the water feature in Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico? It was designed by Aqua Design International. They contacted me about making a creative drone video of the water feature really showing off the range of fountains and colors they display at dusk. This was my first time to fly my DJI Mavic Pro drone in such low light. After a brief test flight I was very glad to find out it could record video in these conditions and that the final, edited 4K drone video made Aqua Design so happy. The music I selected I think really compliments the visuals. Press play, and take a 3 minute whimsical break!
In a way I feel like the area east of the Sandia Mountains is kind of like the dark side of the moon -- it is a place not many ever see, yet it is right there. Cedar Crest, New Mexico is on the dark side of the moon, or rather east of the Sandia Mountains and has that feeling of being quite removed from the hustle and bustle of Albuquerque, but it is really close by. It's just tucked behind the mountains for safe keeping! This rural land property is available via Hemingway Land Company.
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!
This was my first drone video assignment for DroneHive which took me up to Waterflow, New Mexico, which is just west of Farmington. Things only got finalized less than 24 hours before I was supposed to fly, which was at 6:30am in the morning! From Monday afternoon I had to quickly find a hotel, get my gear packed up, then drive the 3.5 hours to Farmington, get to sleep asap, then before I knew it I was awake at 5:15am to drive to the construction site! I also did not really know what kind of flying I would be doing, or if I would be even flying my own drone! I am realizing just like being a professional photographer, being a certified drone pilot means having maximum flexibility with the need to produce results with very little, if any, prep time!
I had been to Taos before for rural land real estate photography and drone video work, but this was my first time to Angel Fire, New Mexico. Even though they are quite close to each other, Angel Fire feels very different from both Taos and everywhere else in New Mexico. The scenery was sweeping and wide open, but green and mountainous. The architecture and design of many buildings was that of a ski lodge. Even in the middle of August, there was a chill in the air! It was fantastic to escape the hot Albuquerque summer even just for a few days and get paid to watch a great sunset through my Nikon on the ground and my DJI Mavic Pro in the air.
Earlier this year I drove through Phoenix and the amazing saguaro cactus desertscape and kept thinking, around the next corner I will stop and get some photos. The next corner turned into the next corner and then at the next corner, the saguaro cactus were all gone. I had missed my chance. On a recent return to Phoenix I made sure to be ready to stop on the approach to the city, find a dirt road, pull off, and both get still photos with my Nikon and 4K video with my DJI Mavic Prodrone.
