captivatingillusions
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This shot is of Malibu Pier taken at sunset.Time
We were lucky to catch an outstanding sunset just before the sun set below the horizon, but was behind clouds.Lighting
Try to land the drone before it gets too dark, but an experience flyer can us the on screen map to get home.Equipment
Used a Mavic Pro drone with a polarized filter. Initially the drone was at a low altitude, but I did not realize that there was a hotel on shore. Someone was concerned and the hotel sent someone out. There was no problem and I said I would show what shots I had taken to demonstrate that I was not taking any pictures in the direction of the hotel. Just move to a higher elevation.Inspiration
Malibu will always be my home town and I visit when I am in the LA area. Malibu Pier is the icon for Malibu and I spent the vast majority of my youth on the beach and pier.Editing
As I shot in RAW, there is always post-processing. I darken the blacks, open the shadows, lower the highlights and adjust the whites. Adjust the Exposure as needed. Go to Levels and play with the dark and lights. I then hit colors with a little saturation if needed and then work the luminosity to brighten or darken individual colors. Sharpen to around 35 and mask the sharpen to 50%. Distortion adjustment if slight.In my camera bag
My standard camera is a Sony alpha 7 iii. A great camera. Sony 16-35mm, Sony 70-200mm and Sony 200-600mm handles most conditions. Use mostly UV filter but have a few ND, mostly for video, and Polarized filters when needed.Feedback
If you do not have a great desire to capture photos from a birds eye level, but want to spy on neighbors, then the drone will most likely sit in the bag after a few weeks. Good for you as you can get a less expensive used drone from a peeping Tom. Get a larger mini iPad, and an adapter, for the screen, as a iPhone is too small to see well. Get an anti reflective protective cover for the iPad, as outside light make viewing screen difficult. Get extra batteries, I have 4, and a multi port charger. Charge all batteries the night before flying. Buy good filters for the drone camera, especially if doing videos. Practice often so you will not be afraid to fly further away with only your screen to guide you and in an area that does not have trees or high buildings. Sea shores are wide open. There is a map on the screen that shows where you drone is and if you point the triangle towards your spot on the map, it is easy to get home. Drones are coming under far too many Federal Regulations. I guess the politicians do not want us to spy on them as they spy on us.