I headed down to Baltimore's Inner Harbor tonight to capture some fireworks video for the 4th of July. I almost decided not to go but, at the last minute, decided I should because it would be a year before the opportunity arose again. The inner harbor was not my first choice. I would have much preferred Oregon Ridge as it is a better venue, they have choreographed music, and they have a much longer and elaborate display. Oregon Ridge would have been doubly cool because last night's show was cancelled, so they had two days worth of fireworks ready to launch. Had I a backpack for my Phantom, I probably would have headed to Oregon Ridge. With my GoProfessional hard case, I figured I would get a lot of scrutiny waltzing in with a case that looked like I was carrying a nuclear bomb.
I initially hit the Rusty Scupper/Rash Field parking area, where it cost me $15 for the 15-20 minutes I was there. The place was packed with people, crawling with cops, and there were two helicopters and a light plane flying overhead. I spoke with a couple of cops about flying my Phantom. They both thought it was cool, but didn't think it was a good idea because of the huge crowd. So I packed up and drove a mile or so down the road behind Domino Sugar. There I found a huge & almost deserted parking lot that was perfectly suited to my low-key Phantom deployment.. Lots of space, few people, no cops, and the aircraft were no where near. On top of that, I was actually closer to the fireworks barge!
I forgot my electrical tape to black out the front LEDs, but I am still pleased with how this turned out. Early on, I had to descend because a helicopter was heading in my direction. I wasn't sure where he was heading, and I didn't want to take any chances. I realized he was just doing a circular pattern over my prior location. Now, just so you know, I was expecting them to do TWO waves of fireworks like they did the last time I was here. On the second wave, I was planning on going INTO the heart of the bursts. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately...lol), they only did a single 15 minute display this year.
2014 Fireworks @ Baltimore's Inner Harbor:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31GjMXHdL4Q[/youtube]
I initially hit the Rusty Scupper/Rash Field parking area, where it cost me $15 for the 15-20 minutes I was there. The place was packed with people, crawling with cops, and there were two helicopters and a light plane flying overhead. I spoke with a couple of cops about flying my Phantom. They both thought it was cool, but didn't think it was a good idea because of the huge crowd. So I packed up and drove a mile or so down the road behind Domino Sugar. There I found a huge & almost deserted parking lot that was perfectly suited to my low-key Phantom deployment.. Lots of space, few people, no cops, and the aircraft were no where near. On top of that, I was actually closer to the fireworks barge!
I forgot my electrical tape to black out the front LEDs, but I am still pleased with how this turned out. Early on, I had to descend because a helicopter was heading in my direction. I wasn't sure where he was heading, and I didn't want to take any chances. I realized he was just doing a circular pattern over my prior location. Now, just so you know, I was expecting them to do TWO waves of fireworks like they did the last time I was here. On the second wave, I was planning on going INTO the heart of the bursts. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately...lol), they only did a single 15 minute display this year.
2014 Fireworks @ Baltimore's Inner Harbor:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31GjMXHdL4Q[/youtube]