Sunset Droning

A few days had passed after my last flight. I decided to be a bit more adventurous. I took the drone out of town, enjoying a 30 minutes drive to Putrajaya.

I could not leave early since I had a meeting in town until almost 6, I had to rush across time to get to Putrajaya. Luckily the traffic was light and I had 30 minutes to spare before sunset.

The gorgeous Harriot-Watt University campusAt the opposite side of the lakeHeading back to the marina from the lakeI had a few choices when it came to the spot to take off from. For that afternoon, I decided to do it at Marina Putrajaya in the hope of catching the sunset.

I got what I wanted and managed to drone around exploring the marina, the nearby Lakeside Pullman Putrajaya as well as a smaller marina nearby which was hosting the floats for the upcoming Pesta Flora Putrajaya.

The Pullman Putrajaya located right next door to the marinaLooking down onto Marina PutrajayaYou can find me there somewhere ....And the sunset was great, despite the cloud cover at the horizon. I decided to use the 1080p resolution this time around rather than 4K since I was still getting familiarise with the drone. I concentrated more on aerial photography this time around after discovering how good the camera was. I felt confident to increase the range of the flight from then on ....

Off to Tasik Perdana

It was a workday afternoon and as I didn't have a clinic afternoon clinic that day, I managed to leave the hospital early. Idlan had tuition in Melawati, so I was alone at home. Time to get my drones out then.

Again, I wanted to keep things quick and simple, I went to Tasik Perdana this time. I arrived there at around 6 but the light was not right. I had some ice-cream and waited until 6.30, got the gear out and started flying.

Trying to get a feel of the place ...The KL skylineGoing to the edge of the lakeIt was overcast but the light was good enough. I flew from one end of the park to another. I also tried out the 4K video for this outing. It took me longer at post-processing to get the footage out, but in terms of quality, it was definitely better. But since I couldn't play the footage at such high resolution with my 4K TV, I wasn't sure if it was worth it.

But the photos I managed to snap from this outing was definitely worth the trouble. By the end of the flight, I was gaining confidence on what I can do with the drones as well as appreciating its limitation. Again, both the snaps and video footage exceeded my expectations. But I must do some more training on how to use the Final Cut Pro ....

The pavilion at the parkThe Masjid Negara at the foregroundThings look different from up above ....The park was empty at the timeI finally packed up before Maghrib. By that time, the park was almost empty ....

The Maiden Flight

Sunday Morning, and I have less than half a dozen patients to review in the ward. I decided to start the day early with a short drive to Taman Tasik Titiwangsa. There was a fun run going on in town and some of the route were diverted. I didn't have any issues getting there though and at around 7.30 am, I got everything set up.

Then came the calibration and pre-flight stuffs. All the connections were in order and I have updated the firmware on the drone the night before. All charged up and with the press of a button - or in this case, a swipe on the screen - the Phantom 4 was airborne. And off it climbed!

I picked an open space around 100 meters from the car park. There was no trees to block my view and I soon got the drone flying above the famous Tasik Titiwangsa. I snapped some photos, pointed the drone towards the city centre and snapped some more. Next came the video recording. For the first flight, I decided to keep things simple and recorded the footage in HD rather than 4K.

45 minutes later, I was out of juice from both the battery packs and it was time to head home and study the footage.

A new perspective into my photography from this angle. Shame that the light was not the best ...There was a miniature radio car circuit right next doorMe with some spectators at base camp ...The maiden flight went off without an issue. There was a couple occasions where the connection with the drones dropped due to interference, but it reconnected within a few seconds. ANd the footage looked amazing.

I wished that the weather was a bit better. It was an overcast morning and the sun was well hidden behind a wall of cloud. There was hardly any contrast in my snaps but the angle alone from which the photos were taken guaranteed a different perspective on my snaps. I kinda loved it! And the quality of the camera was much more than I expected!

I also realised than how important planning was for each flights, what route to take and when to get images or video. I still got plenty to learn plus I would need to sharpen up on my post-processing workflow as well. I needed some training for Final Cut Pro!

All in all, it was a great outing which made me dream for more .....

Denied!

It had been raining in the afternoon lately and I have not been able to fly the drone after work. I reached home early yesterday and check the internet on the weather.

Apparently the chance of rain in Putrajaya was less than 5%, but with a heavy cloud cover - of around 40%. Good enough I thought. So, I rushed 45 minutes away in the traffic in the hope of catching some subset at one of the landmark there.

Reached there in ample time. Got my parking space and the take off spot. All ready for the lift off. And guess what? I left the controller back home! Denied.

Without the controller, there woukd be no flying! Time to head home disappointed! At least there was no beautiful sunset as the cloud cover remained unlifted. Hopefully better luck tomorrow ... Lesson learned ...