Monday 11 August 2014

Amazing Ariel Footage of Common Seals

Recently my friend David Craig asked me to go along with him to film while he flew his DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter. It has a  GoPro camera, flat field lens an Zenmuse 3 axis gimbal.  We went about 9 miles down the Country Down coast from Bangor where we both live.  This is a fairly new hobby he has just taken up although he has always been an amateur photographer and from a young age wanted to be a Pilot.  So this is now the next best thing. 


I will be showing you 2 videos.  The first one is one taken by me of David explaining a bit about the quadcopter and then watching it take off and land. (sorry about the rain!)  The second one will be the video that David took of the seals and their pups as the quadcopter flew over some small islands off the coast.


David explained to me that when you are flying these machines there are rules laid down by the Civil Aviation Authority and recently a person has been prosecuted for breaking some rule.  I found this fascinating and below I am leaving you with the links of 2 video relating to the rules in the UK.  Other countries may have different rules.



If you are interested in knowing the rules surrounding flying these quadcopters, here are 2 helpful links.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djS3Q0d7CcU


This is the control box and I found it quite complicated as there are so many things to be thinking about at one time.  Very much like flying a plane!


You can access the first video at

http://youtu.be/1ea3FDmhlkA

If there is a black space below, click it and the video will appear.



I suggest you put this video into full screen and it can be accessed at

http://youtu.be/BxjXr-TFD7A

If there is a black space below, click it and the video will appear.



I am thrilled that David has found a new hobby that he so much enjoys however I would like you to know that 13 years ago he and his wife Barbara started working in Sierra Leone to try and help the Orphans after the terrible Civil War that country endured.  As I also have worked in that country on a hospital ship, so this work has always touched my heart. 



Over the past 13 years, they have established a Rescue Centre for 42 children, 29 new churches, active ministry programs with Street Girls (outreach and skill training), single mums, prison outreach, remote village mobile medical clinics and Farming Gods Way. Please look up their web site to see more about this wonderful work as it is still growing.

Website is www.fresh-hope.org and Facebook for newsy items is www.fb.com/freshhopeministries

I hope you enjoyed this more unusual post from me.

Thank you for visiting and also to David for giving me permission to show his video.

Many thanks for leaving comments on any of my posts.

13 comments:

  1. Very impressive. I am not sure the seals thought so.

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  2. Beautiful video - from a beautiful man. Thank you - and him.

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  3. thanks Margaret, and David too for this interesting post. So this would be classified as a 'drone' I suspect? I have heard about this type of photography and so enjoyed actually seeing it in action. Didn't realize they'd be as loud as it is; I thought this could be somewhat disturbing to wildlife and the seals looking up and then shifting kind of substantiated that they were a little perturbed by this strange object to them naturally. So that aside, yes, the photographic opportunities would be staggering. I can understand how fascinating this hobby would become. Congratulations David. It did seem to be very high at times, and I wondered how long it can travel on a full-tank? And for a laugh, at one time I saw pizzas being delivered on a trial basis to your front door via a machine like this - and a text message says - just arrived. Not sure if this concept was going to 'take off' or not. I'm sure there would be too many aviation and safety restrictions involved.

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  4. This is amazing! Phil's hobby is flying remote controlled planes, so he was very interested. Did he invent it? There are strict rules about where you can fly here, too! Is the seal video from the Quad copter?

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  5. Found this very interesting. Something I've been looking at recently Margaret.
    Slow internet here, but I'll watch the videos later.

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  6. These drone-cameras are great. I would love to have one myself. They can really give you great ariel shots from unique perspectives and angles. Thanks for sharing.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  7. Margaret, I love the seal video. They look so cute! Kudos to David and his wife! They are doing wonderful work to help these children in need! Enjoy your week!

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  8. i hate that the seals were nervous about the quadcopter, but i'm sure i would be, too. beautiful footage, however.

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  9. David and his wife are extraordinary people.
    I admire them. They do a lot for children in Sierra Leone.
    Thank you for the wonderful post and beautiful pictures.
    Greetings to you Margaret.
    Lucia

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  10. We saw a news segment on the GoPro camera last night. So interesting what you can do with those.

    God bless David and Barbara. What wonderful work they are doing.

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  11. Incredible footage of the Seals with their pups. Well done to David.

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  12. What amazing people your friends are. They have done wonderful work with the children and obviously are people of wide-ranging interests . That 'plane' is quite something. I've never heard of it; interesting it must follow civil aviation rules. And what great footage from the air. Fascinating post in oh so many ways.

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  13. Wow---what a fantastic way to take photos... I thought at first it might have been a tiny drone.... I loved seeing the video. Thanks for sharing. What a fabulous couple...

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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