Drone video and photography for asphalt marketing content in Rio Rancho
Sunland Asphalt has become a new, and already returning, drone video and photography client where I go out and get “before and after” drone content of huge parking lots they have resurfaced. This time I went to a school in Rio Rancho to get drone video and aerial photos of the crew in action doing the resurfacing. It is always a challenge flying over live action where I do not know what is going to happen next and there are trees and light poles all around. I have to admit, my instincts were uncanny, or I just got super lucky, to often have the drone in the right place at the right time to capture the action just as it happens! The “after” drone content was much easier to get of course, as I just went on an evening near sunset time to get glamour shots of the finished parking lot. I really cannot believe how much of a difference a resurfaced parking lot makes aesthetically! Thank you Sunland for choosing me as your drone pilot and I have a new appreciation for the beauty of the parking lot the crew created.
In my car photography career, I have had the opportunity to photograph a lot of expensive cars, including a Rolls-Royce Wraith over $350k (and even drive it too!). However, the Duesenberg Model X photographed in Albuquerque, New Mexico is above and beyond any other car in terms of both value and rarity. This Duesenberg model is just one of five still in existence in the world! Who owns one of those other examples? No less than Jay Leno! The owner of this Model X is selling to to replace it with a Duesenberg Model J. He hired me to make photographs to help sell it for the highest price possible, as well as make drone video of the car in motion on Tramway Blvd.
Downtown Albuquerque like you have never seen before
Part of my drone photography work for WSI Web Enhancers took me to downtown Albuquerque at sunset to get beautiful, attention grabbing drone imagery for WSI to in turn wow their own client with. Mother Nature greatly cooperated with perfect clouds and warm setting sunlight to paint the view of downtown ABQ with, and for me to send up my DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone up to capture. I was west of the downtown skyline so I could provide both a more unique view of the city (most photos show it from the east) and also to have the Sandia Mountains serve as the backdrop. I am very excited to offer 360 panorama drone photos on Jason Collin Photography for my clients!
Out on a drone photography assignment for local Albuquerque, New Mexico business WSI Web Enhancers, I launched my drone from the top of a parking garage in downtown, set the photo mode to panorama sphere, and the above is the result. As a certified drone pilot for over 2 years, I regularly share drone content on Jason Collin Photography, but this is the first time to feature a 360 panorama photo! The drone did all the shooting itself. I flew it into position, and let the drone do its thing. The big challenge for me was, how to share this 360 panorama image on my site. I did a lot of research into this and found no clear process actually. After a while I came to find that I need to upload the huge panorama image the drone stitched together for me, to a website that will host the image and format it. Basically it’s like putting video on YouTube.
I was actually out scouting a location for a client (WSI Web Enhancers) for making a panoramicaerial drone photo, when with the last remaining battery life, I decided to give the new Hyperlapse mode a try. This very short 5 seconds of video took the drone over 4 minutes to make as every 2 seconds it took a photo, in total over 100 photos make up this 5 second clip! I will soon be going out making more purposeful (and longer) Hyperlapse videos of Albuqureque.
Overcoming challenges as an Albuquerque drone pilot
This luxury real estate property in Sandia Crest, New Mexico, which is in the east mountains of the greater Albuquerque metro area, was a particular challenge to make both drone video and drone aerial photos of because of the tall trees surrounding the house on all sides. Add to that the very high winds (see trees bending in the video), the cold temperature, and the sun facing the property casting a drone shadow on any low shots, this all made for a drone flight that needed an experienced (and certified) drone pilot like myself to produce a video that was still cinematic and representative of what the property looks like. I wanted to highlight the mountains in multiple directions as the setting for the property, while getting what views of the actual house I could. Especially given the conditions, I am very glad with how the drone video came out!
Barb & Dr. Norm are long time photography clients and networking friends here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Recently they become drone video clients as well and I got to visit their home in Corrales! They wanted a drone video for branding that showcased both their personalities and their lifestyle. Well, their personalities are fun and quirky, and their lifestyle is very natural and healthy. As you can see in the drone video above, we captured both! One of my all time favorite drone shots is the clip of them lying on their backs by the fish pond and the drone just slowly spiraling up while the fish (very cooperatively) swim around.
