Aphelion Well I’ve decided to take the plunge into aerial photography and bought myself a drone. Admittedly, I was really skeptically about buying one. I have to admit that part of my hesitation of buying a drone was not knowing what I could and could not do with a drone (where I could fly it and when, etc.). So I decided to take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) test for part 107, which I might add, is not mandatory. It was a pain studying for the test, but after passing it, I was glad that I did it. For those of you who are thinking about buying a drone, I would strongly consider at least reading some of the study material to familiarize yourself with the FAA, laws and what to be aware of when flying and also how the FAA protects you as a drone operator. For instance, statute 18 USC 32 prohibits interfering with anyone engaged in the authorized operation of such aircraft and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.  Since drones are considered aircraft, threatening a drone or a drone operator, would also be a federal crime subject to five years in prison under this same statute.

For months I was going back and forth with which drone to buy, but in the end I went with the Mavic Pro for its portability. I’m still amazed how small it is and how easy it is to travel with. This first video was taken while on a trip to Vermont, during the Aphelion, which is when the Earth is at its furthest point from the sun. In this video, I wanted to capture the sunlight in all its glory along with the beauty of Vermont.

To shoot this video I used Neutral Density/Polarizing filters (PolarPro Filters) to control the shutter speed. This video is also my first video to be solely color graded and edited in Davinci Resolve 12.5, which is a free program. Honestly, it took me longer to learn how to use this program than study for the Part 107 test! But the more I use it, the more I’m really starting to like it, and best of all its totally free and super powerful.