Who else is thinking about filming Fireworks this 4th?
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Check this out... The video is awesome... No manned aircraft would dare do this video.. 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcne ... fireworks/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcne ... fireworks/
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I needed to shoot a fireworks photo to fit a 1200x527pixel box on a webpage. Shooting 'vertical' fireworks as a loooooong horizontal image dictated that I shoot from a pretty good distance from the fireworks. Using Google Earth, I scouted a location at the proper distance and with only trees (rather than parking lots) in the foreground and flew a recon mission the evening before. I had to get up and over some trees and could not see the P2V+, but I was able to navigate by the 'camera view' on my iPad mini. All looked good except that the red navigation lights showed up on some of the test photos.
The photos turned out o.k., I've been getting a lot of positive feedback from the image(s), but I think it really sucks quality-wise. Next time around I'll do a couple of things differently and hopefully, DJI or a competitor will have a better camera by next 4th of July.
Here are a few things I learned....
I taped over the front LED lights before my firework photography. I don't know what the LED plastic lenses are made of, but even after cleaning them with rubbing alcohol, the gaffer's tape (like duct tape but does not leave sticky residue) came off and was lost in flight. (Seriously, DJI should give us the ability to turn the lights on/off in the DJI app.) Next time I'll use a lot more tape and go all the way around the arms a couple of times.
Unlike my recon flight, all surrounding street lights and stadium lights were turned off for the fireworks and once I lost direct sight of the P2V+, it was difficult to navigate in-between the fireworks. Not a big deal, just scary at first.
I didn't realize the P2V+ camera would go as high as 1600-ISO since 400-ISO is the highest setting on the app and the ISO that the P2V+ used on my recon flight with the street lights on. Next time I'll set the camera to 400-ISO because 1600ISO really sucks on the P2V+.
My favorite shot was early in the show, when there was still a touch of light on the horizon, then it got really dark and the fireworks were few and far between (small town fireworks show). I was hovering for about 15-min while there were lots of lame fireworks in the middle of the show, then just as I decided to land for a quick battery swap because I was at 30%. I got the P2V+ on the ground and was feverishly swapping out batteries and they had the big finale as I got back above the trees. Next time I'm shooting like mad for the first 10 min. then swapping to a fresh battery wether I 'need' it or not so as not to miss the big finish.
The photos turned out o.k., I've been getting a lot of positive feedback from the image(s), but I think it really sucks quality-wise. Next time around I'll do a couple of things differently and hopefully, DJI or a competitor will have a better camera by next 4th of July.
Here are a few things I learned....
I taped over the front LED lights before my firework photography. I don't know what the LED plastic lenses are made of, but even after cleaning them with rubbing alcohol, the gaffer's tape (like duct tape but does not leave sticky residue) came off and was lost in flight. (Seriously, DJI should give us the ability to turn the lights on/off in the DJI app.) Next time I'll use a lot more tape and go all the way around the arms a couple of times.
Unlike my recon flight, all surrounding street lights and stadium lights were turned off for the fireworks and once I lost direct sight of the P2V+, it was difficult to navigate in-between the fireworks. Not a big deal, just scary at first.
I didn't realize the P2V+ camera would go as high as 1600-ISO since 400-ISO is the highest setting on the app and the ISO that the P2V+ used on my recon flight with the street lights on. Next time I'll set the camera to 400-ISO because 1600ISO really sucks on the P2V+.
My favorite shot was early in the show, when there was still a touch of light on the horizon, then it got really dark and the fireworks were few and far between (small town fireworks show). I was hovering for about 15-min while there were lots of lame fireworks in the middle of the show, then just as I decided to land for a quick battery swap because I was at 30%. I got the P2V+ on the ground and was feverishly swapping out batteries and they had the big finale as I got back above the trees. Next time I'm shooting like mad for the first 10 min. then swapping to a fresh battery wether I 'need' it or not so as not to miss the big finish.
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I shot our local fireworks show last night in Calistoga, will full support and coordination with the fair management, and pre-planning with the pyrotechnic team shooting the show. We met two days prior to identify my spot, which was 80 meters upwind of the shells. I was nowhere near the crowds watching the show, and could have fallen from the sky >100 meters in any direction and hit only golf course, creek, or misc maintenance buildings. I taped over the front lights with electrical tape. I flew the mission FPV, mostly in the goggles, then used Lilliput and VFR for the last bit of the descent. I rarely saw the P2 in the sky, and fly principally by OSD feedback in the goggles. In the ~200 meter altitude range, I felt chances of a direct hit were fairly good, so I climbed up to 430 meters, hovered there until battery hit 60%, then started descending slowly. For better or worse, I was out of gas and on the ground before the grand finale, and given the increased radius of that finale, probably a good thing for my P2. I shot the GoPro at 1080p / 60fps, and at the last minute decided to pull off my ND filter and counterweight, and fly the GoPro naked. The lens is an aftermarket 5.4mm lens. The audio is from my Lumenier DVR on the ground, grafted on to the muted GoPro video. At times audio seems well-synched, at times not so much. If this was a commercial gig (note FAA it was not), I would probably spend several hours tuning the audio timing.
Fairly pleased with the results. Skip to about 2:20 for the better stuff, if you're short on time.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjqA7y1L3os[/youtube]
I have some interesting ideas for next year. Independent of that, I would LOVE to find a sponsor that would underwrite the kind of kamikaze mission flown on the Forbes link. Yikes.
Kelly
URL if embedded youtube didn't work: http://youtu.be/mjqA7y1L3os
Fairly pleased with the results. Skip to about 2:20 for the better stuff, if you're short on time.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjqA7y1L3os[/youtube]
I have some interesting ideas for next year. Independent of that, I would LOVE to find a sponsor that would underwrite the kind of kamikaze mission flown on the Forbes link. Yikes.
Kelly
URL if embedded youtube didn't work: http://youtu.be/mjqA7y1L3os
This guy thought about filming it and flying through it.
It's a youtube sensation at the moment.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KZ3jgbbmI[/youtube]
This guy is ballsy.
It's a youtube sensation at the moment.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KZ3jgbbmI[/youtube]
This guy is ballsy.
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