My first drone

DroneLabs
DroneLabs
Jul 21, 2017 · 3 min read

I unwrap this massive box that is lying under the Christmas tree. What possibly could this be? The first thing is see on this white box is ‘PHANTOM’. Oh my! I can’t believe I have been so lucky to receive my very own DJI Phantom 3 Standard! I was unbelievably grateful but very excited to start taking great shots.

I started to become interested in drones when I first started working for DroneLab as a Digital Marketing Executive. On a daily basis, I would have to find engaging articles and stories to post on their twitter page. I had watched this YouTube video of someone kite surfing. He had used a drone to capture this and I thought that the shots were breathtaking and much more different to a camera.

I took my drone down to a local field for my first flight. I calibrated it which you have to spin the drone around horizontally and vertically — I always get funny looks doing that! Anyways, I placed the drone on a flat surface and put it in the correct mode. I had watch countless YouTube videos on how to do your first flight so I felt pretty confident. I swiped the button and the drone took off. I was hovering just off the grass so I tried to raise it a bit, but suddenly the screen said the drone has went into ATTI mode (where no satellites are not in operation). I panicked not knowing what to do and the drone fell into the grass. GREAT! I crashed within 2 minutes. This knocked my confidence to about -1000.

I took my drone back to the shop because every time I was using it, the drone would not connect to any satellites. Fortunately, the shop identified the problem and fixed it. I was so excited to try it out now, but nervous that it would do the same thing.

I went down to Blyth Beach where I sorted the drone out ready for flight. I took off and the drone just hovered in the same place. I was so amazed! How could it fly so still? I took my drone up and flew down the beach. Below is a picture I took of the beach. I was overwhelmed that I had achieved my first set of decent pictures, without crashing!

Blyth Beach

A few months on, I am now confident enough to fly over water. I usually go down to Blyth Beach with my friends to jet ski. I thought it would be a good idea to capture them in their element using my drone. I try and get as low as I can to get good angles, without taking the drone for a dip! This video below is one of my favourite shots that I have taken which I am very proud of.

Jetskiiers at Blyth Beach

Do you have a drone? If so, what do you like to capture?

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