Chochis

“The greatest chapters in history always begin with risk, and the same is true with the chapters of your life.”

MARK BATTERSON

A new chapter in my life, I’ve bought a drone. The DJI Mavic 3, no less. This week was my first real experience flying it in anger. And it takes a bit of courage to fly something that is worth more than my beloved Vespa behind a big rock formation. It reaches a point where you lose communication when it goes to the other side of the rock. It’s 2 km away, you can’t see it and it is flying over a thick jungle. You have to trust that it will come back home. You also have to trust that it won’t come back in a straight line and crash into the rock. It has sensors and the smarts to fly around the obstacle. In the heat of the moment, you hope that you set this option before take off. The relief to hear it arrive and then recovering line of sight is unbeatable. Only if you are willing to take these risks can you capture images like these. Looking forward to developing this new chapter in my life.

El Mirador del Valle de Tucavaca

Every flight has its adventures. It was pretty windy when I filmed these shots. But the Mavic 3 handles the wind really well. It has a top speed of 75 kph. As I took it up and headed for the rocks on my left, the drone warned me, “I don’t like the lighting so I’m turning off all safety features.” So no going behind the rock on this flight. After filming this outcrop, I headed for the escarpment on the other side. It was deceptively far away. I soon lost sight of the drone. But I wasn’t going to miss out on filming a point of interest. Then came my final warning from the drone, “You know what, it’s really windy up here, you’re probably not going to see me again.” Exaggerating like my wife. I hit the panic return home button and in no time at all, I heard the drone buzzing overhead. Another couple of years off my life, but my drone came home safely.

Aguas Calientes

Every flight has its story. What is there to say about this one? Well, it was over water, which always makes you a little bit nervous. It was windy, which adds to the mix. And plenty of trees to hang up on. Otherwise, it was a walk in the park.