Drone – Bill Swartwout Photography

September 17, 2022

My Mini and the Moon

Attempting a drone range test with my DJI Mini SE…

Well, not really, I was flying to catch a sunrise over Little Assawoman Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

More seriously, I was flying the drone at sunrise in our back yard – to catch early morning sky colors – and looked up to see a waning gibbous moon. I moved the drone a bit south and east (at 200 ft.) to catch this silhouette.

dji mini se silhouette with moon — DJI Mini SE silhouetted against a waning gibbous moon.

Well, I didn’t catch it at first because all I had for a camera was my cell phone. While the best camera to have is “the one you have with you” – I also realized I need a bit more reach with a telephoto lens than what my iPhone 12 could provide. It was an interesting enough image (to me) that I thought it might make a cool photograph. In this particular case the “best camera to have” was in my office upstairs in our house.

I landed the drone so I could go inside to grab my Olympus E-M10 Mark IV and mounted my Olympus 75-300 f/4.8-6.7 zoom lens. Techies might be interested in the EXIF data: 228mm focal length; 1/200 sec; f/22; ISO 1600; Aperture priority; center-weighted metering.

Oh, yes, here is the morning sunrise that prompted the silhouette image of My Mini and the Moon. Yes, the contrast and colors have been “boosted” a little – to make the morning flight on Saturday, September 17 a bit more worthwhile.

sunrise over little assawoman bay and the atlantic ocean — Sunrise over Little Assawoman Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and Fenwick Island

I’m sure I will be asked about maintaining VLOS (Visual Line of Sight) which is, by law, defined as normal vision without the use of any extra optics like binoculars or a spotting scope. A long, long time ago I learned (and got used to) peering through the viewfinder of a camera while keeping both eyes open. Yup – believe it or not!

Don’t believe that works? Try a Google Search and you might find something like this: “Most photographers close one eye when looking through the viewfinder, but keeping the other open allows you to remain aware of your surroundings. It means you can see things coming into your frame, keeping you ready to press the shutter at exactly the right moment.“

August 26, 2022

First Video Attempt with my DJI Mini Drone

Mostly I am a still photographer but may be learning a new avenue.

I’m starting to explore the video capability of my (small) DJI Mini SE drone. This was done from our back yard just after sunrise this week – no sound/music, titles or anything – just the raw video that eventually pans from Fenwick Island to Ocean City.

Here’s one of my still photographs of a sunrise captured from the exact same location…

Sunrise over Little Assawoman Bay behind Fenwick Island, Delaware

Of course, the jury is still out…about video and me…or me and video.

What do YOU think? Feel free to comment below.

January 7, 2022January 20, 2022

First Flight and First Photo with the Mini SE

I managed to fly, perform basic maneuvers and land with no problems.

Enough snow melted so I could find some grassy areas and the wind died down – so I figured it was time to overcome my nerves and fly this thing. A long, long time ago I flew Radio Control airplanes and helicopters – and remember a lot of happenings (crashes?). This drone is much easier to control than what I remembered from the past. Much easier!

So, here is my first photograph (that looks like anything other than a test shot). I was 50 meters ( 165 feet) above our back yard and facing southeast toward Ocean City, Maryland. The high-rise buildings of Condo Row (just right of center) are about five miles away.

Drone View of Ocean City Skyline 750x300

The water in the foreground of the Ocean City Skyline is Assawoman Bay and the water on the horizon is the Atlantic Ocean. This look quite impressive as a semi-panorama 4,000 pixels wide by 1,600 high.

I did not want to put the drone on the grass for launch so I made a makeshift takeoff/landing pad from a piece of heavy cardboard reinforced with Styrofoam strips. I may waterproof and paint the cardboard to make a more permanent landing pad. Of course, if I paint an “H” in the center it may become my Heliport.

I first tried a short flight in a sheltered area on one side of our home. I did the “Auto takeoff” and hovered a bit right in front of me to check the drone over. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary so I explored the controls. I went up and down a little and yawed left and right with the left stick. As I gained a bit of confidence I tried the right stick and propelled the aircraft forward, backward and to the each side. Next I took a short flight out and back and then proceeded to “Auto land” my new airship.

For a second flight I moved to the back yard where I had more “space” and figured I would expand my reach, so to speak, a bit higher and further. I hovered in place to make sure the drone could handle the slight breeze. It did, so I ascended to 50 meters (165 feet) and yawed in a circle a couple of times – all the while changing my gaze from the screen to the drone. I was impressed with what I could see and took a few pictures. The most interesting one, in the fading light, was the one posted above – the skyline of Ocean City, Maryland.

The batteries are charging now, as I type this, for my next adventure into the sky. So, of course, there is more snow in the forecast for tomorrow morning and I can hear the wind howling right now. I may have to practice continued patience – but I do not want to “push” anything until I am well experienced.