Shooting Dead Horse Point from a DJI Phantom quad-copter... are you crazy?

So I got in my head that I really need to go and shoot several of the really well known locations of natural wonders that we have here in Utah at least before I get told that I can't.  So I headed down to Southern Utah, and tried to go to both Dead Horse Point and Arches.  I had exactly 4 hours of shooting time and the following is the best of what I came away with.  Enjoy.


So here are the things that I learned:

1. Don't try and shoot this much in so little time.  People don't like when you tail gate them because you are racing to spot to get a good shot.
2. Moab is a cool little town.  People have told me this, but I was skeptical.  Lesson learned.
3. Always bring tools.  My GoPro locked up on me and I didn't have an allen wrench to take it off the DJI Phantom to reset it.
4. Don't be so scared of flying.  I told myself that I was willing to risk the $1,500 to get the good shots, but I held back because of my fear of the wind taking the copter.
5. Always have a good model with you for those people related shots.  Or at least carry a model release so you can have strangers fill in for you.

Huge price drop ($200) on the DJI Phantom over at Dronefly.com

---BREAKING NEWS---  DJI Phantom price drop

If you are interested in getting into the fun of flying your GoPro Hero 3 using a quadcopter, now is the time. Dronefly has dropped the price of the DJI Phantom down to $479.00 (from $679.00) That means that you can get the whole package, DJI Phantom ($479.00), DJI Zenmuse Gimbal (still $679.00), and GoPro Hero 3 Black (now $329.00) for a total of $1487.00. Of course you will still need extra batteries, extra props, and other accessories but this is huge.  I have worked with the guys over at Dronefly and they are great guys who go above and beyond to help all their customers.  Tell them that David Watson sent you.

This amazing quadcopter is so easy to fly and easy to get amazing HD aerial film. It is so easy to fly that even a child could do it!  Here is some of the amazing video that I have shot with this great combination.

Wild Tarantula crossing... up close and personal

So another day out looking for amazing video... Today's venture took me to the west side of Utah Lake. A long stretch of two lane highway with shooting ranges and beautiful views of the mountains all around.  I haven't been out there since I use to ride my bullet bike at speeds faster than I should have.  The weather was stormy, but not a bit of wind.  Perfect conditions to fly the DJI Phantom quadcopter.  I flew around for while, trying to capture some the beautiful light that was shooting through the clouds.  Got some footage.

It wasn't until the ride back that things got interesting.   It was about 7'oclock when I saw something on the road from quite a distance. As I came by and passed it, I realized that this thing was a big tarantula!  I flipped my car around and drove back to find this guy hanging out in the middle of the road.  I grabbed the camera and went to get up close and personal with him.  I realized that this guy was not going to move, despite the danger of staying in the road.  I grabbed a stick and helped him along to get out of harms way.  Luckily all the cars that passed stayed out of the lane and he safely made it to the other side.  I got back in my car and started driving home again.  I wasn't another mile later that I saw yet another one!  I decided that I wouldn't go back this time and kept going.  Another 1/2 mile, and another one and this one was even bigger than the last two.  I stopped and got the camera, and the tripod and got right up in this ones face.  Wow, what a face.  These creatures are amazing.  They are so tall when they stand up and get all defensive.  So I got some good video of that one and set off again.  I saw 3 more on the road.  I knew that we had tarantula's here in Utah, but I had no idea where they were, or how many there must be.  Scary!

So here is the video.  I added some of the flight video as to not scare you too badly.  Watch in 1080p if you aren't scared at all.


As always, this was shot with Canon 5D Mark III, Magic Lantern Video Raw (14bit), 24fps, DJI Phantom with GoPro Hero 3 attached to Zenmuse H3-2D, 1080P 48fps and color corrected in Adobe Premiere.

BYU Football opening game... oops, wrong stadium

So I am officially dumb.  I drove to Provo today thinking that the first BYU football game was today.  About half way there I realized that there was not nearly enough traffic on the road and finally checked with Siri.  Turns out that the are opening against Virginia, in Virginia.  Well, I decided to practice shooting the with the DJI Phantom quadcopter anyway.  So here is a short segment of flying around at the empty BYU Stadium on BYU's 2013 opening game.  Hope you enjoy...



So I freaked out a bit when I saw jello (warpy movement) in the video.  When I got home I thought that maybe I had screwed up the props and needed to re-balance them.  Well, after checking the props, turns out that one of the rubber grommets had disconnected, so the video didn't turn out as good as it should have.

Sundance ski resort... a little piece of heaven

Hi all.  One of the most amazing places here in Utah is Sundance ski resort.  It is about 15 minutes up Provo Canyon. My family try to make it at least a few times a year to see the sites and take in the fall colors. While the leaves haven't changed yet, I could definitely see signs of colors coming.  (photos of last year below)

While they don't have any cool amusement types of rides like Park City, they do have amazing scenery, food, drinks, biking, hiking, and just about anything outdoors that you could want.  They also do weddings, company parties, family get-togethers and everything in between.  They also keep the ski lift running to take people up on top of the mountains!  Some of the hikes that they recommend also start at the top of the mountain.  Even if you are just looking for a little refreshment while traveling in the area, Sundance is great place to stop in for a treat.

I gotta say, I have been kicked out of a lot of places trying to shoot some aerial shots with the quadcopter. Some really stupid places that had no real reason other than just "no".  I was approached by a security guard at Sundance and I thought for sure that this was going to be just another "no" type of place... To my utter surprise, he actually pointed me to a open area that I could use and film to my hearts desire.  He not only said "YES", but helped me out!  Awesome place, awesome staff.  Thank you for your hospitality Sundance!

click for high res version

Provo Temple at night - but in the air?

So I went out in search of good video and photos tonight here in Utah County.  It wasn't easy... Lots of wind and dark clouds.  I stopped off and one of the iconic temples here, the Provo LDS Temple.  There were two lovers sitting on the grass, as there always is above the temple.  I must have scared them away because they left as soon as I started flying above them.  I put the GoPro into timelapse mode in order to capture this photo.  It was one of the only photos that stayed still long enough (.3 sec) to look good.  Let me know what you think?

Shot with the DJI Phantom Quadcopter with Zenmuse H3-2D Gimbal
GoPro Hero 3 - Timelapse mode (every 1 sec)
F2.8 at .3 sec

Sunset in American Fork - from the air

Hi everyone, just thought I would share some great shots that I got flying over American Fork tonight at Sunset. I set the GoPro in time-lapse mode just to see what quality shots I could get from the stills from the DJI Phantom quadcopter. Out of the 400 shots it took, I was surprised to see that most were in focus and some were amazing.

Towards Lehi, Utah Aug 6, 2013

Back towards Mt. Timpanogos and American Fork Utah, Aug 6, 2013

Pioneer Day Raft and Run in Provo Canyon

I set out this morning to take some video and photos of the the first ever Pioneer Day Raft and Run in Provo Utah!  You can see all about the race here.  The race began at Canyon Glen Park (Provo Canyon) with buses taking participants in buses to the upper Provo river. Teams of eight to twelve ran the river with a raft guide to steer. I got to meet Dave, the organizer of the event and some of the volunteers, all great people who were very helpful and friendly.  I hope you enjoy the video Dave.  Make sure you watch the HD 1080 version.  

After the rafting race, each team had to run a 5k down the canyon from Vivian Park.  I was able to catch most of the competitors coming out of the water, and then starting down the canyon.  The race ended up at Canyon Glen park and I got to shoot the Quadcopter at the finish line at the end of the run.  It was a bit windy and the canyons always hinder the GPS signal so I didn't go very crazy with it.  

It was fun to see people having such a good time.  A couple of friends of ours came in first for best costume!  Congrats to Tina and the Rootin' Tootin' girls.

Bridal Veil falls flying high with the DJI Phantom Zenmuse H3-2D gimbal

Hi all.  Enjoy the flight around Bridal Veil Falls using the brand new Zenmuse H3-2D Gimbal attached to the DJI Phantom Quadcopter.  Thanks to my awesome daughter who let me follow her around for some great shots.

It was a bit windy and the canyon makes for some interesting flying in GPS mode.  I decided to shoot with the GoPro in 2.7K mode with Protune turned on.  Officially, this is my second flight with the gimbal attached... I did a test flight last night in my neighborhood at about 11:30, my new neighbors are probably going to regret moving in.  I didn't quite have the daring ability to go all the way up the falls.  It scares me a lot to be flying over water even though I have never had a single hiccup with this thing.

The cost of being on the bleeding edge of technology sometimes pays off.

If I can get enough practice in, and feel comfortable with it, I am hoping to make a trip to Yellowstone and southern Utah for some amazzzzing footage.  Cheers.