Hope you enjoy watching this as much as I did filming it. Was a great trip, and I only got to capture a fraction of the things I wanted - but got fantastic footage regardless.
I shot the aerials with the DJI Phantom - it's an R/C helicopter that can carry the payload of a small camera. Flying has proven to be challenging but rewarding. I spent 5 months flying (read: crashing) a pocket-sized quad before making the jump to a real machine. The months of practice paid off - and I'm glad I didn't spend all that time wrecking more expensive equipment.
It's been a fun addition to my kit, but it comes with some responsibility. The word "drone" is a pretty heavy buzzword these days, and all it takes are a few careless mistakes by pilots before lawmakers drop the hammer on unmanned aerial vehicles. It's important to never fly near airports or flightpaths of airplanes. I wouldn't fly over crowds, and certainly not over busy streets or freeways. If something goes wrong, it can go wrong in a hurry. The shots you see above were fun to get with the quad because I was flying in open spaces with plenty of room for error. The biggest danger was crashing into the ocean, which effects only me (and my wallet).
Thanks for reading, aloha!
