CANADA DAY - Fire in the Sky - 1 Jul 2018 - Sarnia Ontario
This Event was really an experiment in both Mission Planning and Photography. Getting all the appropriate permissions, filing NOTAMS, and test flying the routes, not to mention the scouting of a decent launch location away from the crowds were all challenging, especially with the huge crowds that come to these events. Night flying was the least of my worries. The trickiest part was just figuring out which drone procedures and camera settings might work with no prior experience on tehse events. Collision avoidance OFF, Forward LEDs OFF. Strobes ON both sides of the craft. Wind was a factor 15mph gusting 20 all day but it calmed down just in time for the show. A test run just 20 min prior to the show and the controller software crashed in flight. Hit "Return to Home" and it came home fortunately, Reboot, Change Battery. . . relaunch! No time to spare the show has started. This video is less than half the full display but I spliced together all the different bomb styles . . . plus the big finish during the last minute. Enjoy. Some awesome Still shots done by Observer Ian Sanderson here.
The Mystery Magical Tour - St Clair River 4 Jul 2018
Along the St Clair River south of Corunna is a place made famous by its magical owner James Stewart "The Einstein of Magicians". This is a short video of it's place along the river with a bit of Sky Magic . . 4th of July Fireworks courtesy of the town of St Clair Michigan across the river. The scene blends are not as smooth as I would like but I learned a fair bit from messing with the edits. Will do some more smoothing later.
|
Car Show - These car enthusiast meet every September to show off their prize wheels. Some really amazing examples of automotive fun. These cars are not just for getting from "A" to "B". Their owners are just as interesting. I especially like the expression of the you passenger waving goodby at the end of this clip.
|
Fore the Cure - This annual "FORE the CURE" benefit golf tournament is run by volunteers every year by local golfers and their goal of $1,000,000 was reached this year. This video was my donation to the cause. You will especially like the slow motion sequences at the end.
|
|
|
|
|
The FLOAT DOWN - The annual Port Huron MI "Float Down" event under the Bluewater Bridge attracts over 1500 participants and many more fans while they travel down the St Clair river in virtually ANYTHING that floats. This clip gives you an optical illusion if you watch the floating groups. As you watch they seem to sit stationary for a while as the shoreline and the bridge appear to move to the right. The year before, bad weather brought over 1000 of them into Canada. None of them had passports. As illegal immigrants, they were immediately "arrested" by Canadian Border Services, given a hot cup of coffee, a blanket, a hug and a free bus ride back to their homeland. Those Crazy Canuks!
|
Powerboat Racing - The Sarnia Powerboat Race has been an annual event for years since the days of "Miss Supertest", the pride of Sarnia originally driven by Bob Haward of Picton ON. This was a nightmare to coordinate over 3 months of planning. Not only was I flying on a race course but there was a rescue helicopter flying in the same airspace see how soon you can spot it in the opening sequence. This was my first attempt at some slow motion shots too. A couple of them worked well but this video is a little overdone with SLO-MO. Also, because of the crowds it was nearly impossible to find a safe takeoff and landing zone. Look here in the second set of my still photos page and you will see how I solved that.
|
|
|
|
|
Drone Racing - These guys are demonstrating their drone racing skills at an indoor UAV convention in Toronto. With all the fear and hype about low flying drones and personal safety watch as one of the participants buzzes the Transport Canada booth. The crazy flashing video the racers see in their goggles is primarily due to their transmitter frequencies bouncing all over the building and steel structures they are racing through.
|
|
Dedication Ceremony - The Aamjiwnaang First Nations celebrated the launch of a new hand built cedar canoe christened "Niigaanii Kanoo" south of Sarnia and Inskyphoto was contracted to record the event. An aboriginal song sung by local women overlays the heat beat of the nation.