Short video of humpback whales in Kauai. Taken with a Phantom 4 Pro.
They were around 2000 feet offshore. I did maintain the required minimal distance per the NOAA guidelines. Shooting in 4K allowed me to zoom in for detail in post when I downsized for YouTube. The wind was tough enough to deal with 20k at some point, then flying to where you thought you saw them and maintaining enough power to safely return. I ended up with about an hour of footage from 5 days. Only in post on a large monitor was I able to see lots of the spray that I missed in the bright sunlight on the iPad.
I considered an offer to fly from a boat, but thought about the risks of a hand catch in 5 foot swells made me back away from it. You guys that have done that are braver than I am.
They were around 2000 feet offshore. I did maintain the required minimal distance per the NOAA guidelines. Shooting in 4K allowed me to zoom in for detail in post when I downsized for YouTube. The wind was tough enough to deal with 20k at some point, then flying to where you thought you saw them and maintaining enough power to safely return. I ended up with about an hour of footage from 5 days. Only in post on a large monitor was I able to see lots of the spray that I missed in the bright sunlight on the iPad.
I considered an offer to fly from a boat, but thought about the risks of a hand catch in 5 foot swells made me back away from it. You guys that have done that are braver than I am.