fourpointedstar

At some point in life, most of us realize that we don’t have time for everything that we’re interested in – we’re forced to drop a hobby because we don’t have time.

Photography reached that point for me a few years back; I used to photograph anything, but I discovered that I wouldn’t edit certain photoshoots or would be annoyed at editing certain shoots. I enjoy certain subject matter and certain photo topics and would like to spend more time with those.

Old, abandoned buildings is one of those topics; it’s not that I don’t like the photos that I come up with, it’s that I’d rather be photographing something else. This was true on our trip to Southern Illinois with Keith French; on two days, we visited abandoned churches and barns, and I found myself wanting to wander through the woods instead.

I do like these photos, but …

My original thought was that tonight’s photo – the last of the week of flags – would be of a flag with the sunset from the drone, but a huge cloudbank rolled in and ruined that plan. So, I improvised. 🙂

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

A few years back, I attended a camera club meeting about street photography. One of the attendees asked about the privacy of those that you photograph, and the speaker responded “as long as they are in public, there should be no expectation of privacy.” A drone blurs this line even further; while a photo taken 300 feet away will to show fantastic resolution, you can easily see my neighbors back yards in this photo. Anyway, as much as I enjoyed trying to create an interesting composition with my own neighborhood, I won’t fly the drone over residential property any longer.

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

Now this is exactly why I wanted a drone. I hovered over this particular creek as it enters the Fox River for at least 5 minutes, flying the drone to different compositions and then taking a photo. I love the colors, textures, and the winding creek at it flows through the center of the image.

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

It can often be difficult to convey a sense of scale, and while I love the pattern of this image, you can’t really tell the scale … until you notice the canoe in the lower right. And once you see the canoe, you can feel the power of a river that carried those logs downstream.

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

You can easily create a strong image by composing in a way that highlights a strong central focus, and when I thought of this image, my intent was to capture the unique roof of the Elgin Transportation Center. However, once overhead, the tilt of Chicago and Highland became the obvious centers of the image; I simply love how the railroad tracks, row buildings, and the transportation center give the basis for the roads to “lean” against.

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

I’m new to this – drone photography; but I already love it, I can make shapes and abstracts out of our surroundings. Since I have a small drone, there are limitations to height, so my original vision of a photo of all of Walton Island taken from directly overhead didn’t work out, but that’s part of photography; adapting to your limitations to capture a new scene.

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

This DJI Mini 3 was my Christmas gift, but I’ve only started learning to fly it. With three teenage daughters, the school year is simply too busy!