We had 10 days of vacation in Kennebunkport this
year and rented the Federal House again
for the 5th year. There were
19 of us but many drifted in and out because of work schedules, etc. It was great family relaxation time for all. The weather was great with temps in the high
70’s to low 90’s and only a couple humid days. As usual, I went picture hunting every day.
This was the first year I had a drone. I bought a camera pack so I could carry the
drone and my camera… NO !! I didn’t forget to take camera pictures ... I got to be pretty good at maneuvering to get
the pictures I wanted. You see things
differently from different heights and I was no longer confined to taking
pictures from the shore, a dock, a parking lot, etc. flying out to boats, etc. Basically a 360-degree option with a 400-foot
ceiling.
I sync up my controller to an iPad instead of my phone. The large screen makes it much easier to see and
read the flight data and is great for viewing and setting up my pictures. Flying
around seeing what the camera sees by looking at my iPad is like looking through
the window of an airplane. I can also fly
using the GPS map. One setting looks
like google earth so you see houses, streets, fields, water, etc.
I enjoyed early morning and late day pictures as usual. When on vacation most people sleep in. The location and distance I had to travel determined
how early I got up. I was up between
3:50AM and 5:10AM every day. ISN’T THAT NORMAL??!!
I had a lot of fun in “Ogunquit, ME” at “Perkins Cove”
taking pictures of the boats in the harbor from high up. I was chased by 10 or so barn/tree swallows
at one point. They seem to perceive my
drone as a predator and want to push it away and give chase like they do with
crows and birds of prey. Needless to say,
they couldn’t keep up with me. All the other
birds I encountered seemed to avoid me.
I have been told many times that I am supposed to avoid predator
birds. I saw several red-tail hawks in
different locations so didn’t take off or I landed quickly so my drone wouldn’t
be looked at as a potential snack for them.
I parked at Ogunquit beach to take pictures of the “Marginal
Way”, a walk along the rocky coastline. In the lower part of the picture on the right, you see a person in a yellow kayak. The tide was starting to come in. I got
closer and took a picture of him riding a wave like a surfer. He turned around
and hopped over another wave going out. I liked the way the water looked.
I took pictures up and down the river in “Kennebunkport,
ME”. You get a different view up
high. I liked the shape of a dock I spotted on the river. I also took pictures of more boats up and down the river. 
I drew a crowd a few times when flying. Several times the family paddled the kayaks to where
I was flying so I took some pictures of them.
I was excited about pictures at “Cape Porpoise”. I took pictures of the lighthouse, many boats
in the harbor, and the dock from positions only accessed by using the drone. I did have one near miss here when talking a
boat picture. I moved the wrong control
and went down instead of backwards.
Alarms sounded and it was telling me I was landing on the water. With 18 inches to go I made a save … Whew … would
have been an expensive lesson.
One of the lobster boat owners liked my drone and we
started talking. I landed my drone and showed
him some of my photos. Turns out I had
taken pictures of his boat, his sons’ boat, and his daughters’ boat … I guess
It’s an all in the family profession for them.
After vacation I sent him some pictures of his boat from years past and
some drone pictures.
I went to “Wells, ME” harbor a few times. Seems like there are more birds around there
so I was cautious. One time before I
took-off I saw a hawk being chased by those swallows. I know I can outrun the swallows but not the
hawk. I took camera pictures instead.
I decided to take pictures of the “Nubble Lighthouse” in “York,
ME” at sunrise. These were early
mornings because of the distance.
I arrived at 5:05AM the first morning and the lighthouse
was lit up with Christmas lights. I
asked a woman who told me they were celebrating Christmas in July. This was to show the people vacationing what
it looks like in December. There were
already a couple people there with tripods and cameras ready to go. I fired up the drone and was able to start
taking pictures and mover around before they could as I was taking advantage of the sunlight due to increased altitude. 
FOG … yes fog rolled in … I wasn’t very far away but used
the GPS map to fly back and land. It
cleared and I went up again. The fog
rolled in and out several times, so it was neat to photograph. Dilemma, should I take sunrise pictures facing
the sun or fly to the other side where the sun is backlighting the
picture? I did some of both. 
I went to the Nubble a second morning. Again Fog … I didn’t want fog a second time
but you must make the best of things.
Interesting how the fog was rolling over the water. Looked more like the top of a mountain.
My picture taking pattern was to fly in the early morning, mid-day, then
again late day. I enjoyed experimenting
with the drone camera.
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