Michael the homeowner hired me to drone his home last week. His septic failed and he wanted images of the work that was being done to his yard. When I arrived, I was happy to see my friend Paul Lauterbach. We played college baseball together and my dad was good friends with his dad. He does great work and I was so happy to see him.
The drone is such a useful tool to show work that is being done to a property. You will never get a shot of this area open again and this shows the whole layout.
Here is Paul in action. Always a good friend.
Video is always a good idea to have it is invaluable. These shoots are nice and quick and not expensive. Well worth the return on investment.
I was fortunate enough to have Westport Downtown Association hire me to capture Westoberfest. Westoberfest is a beer tasting, food eating music playing festival that takes place in downtown Westport. The previous beerfest there were 750 people and in this one there were over 1200. So I think people were in the mood to taste beer and have fun.
For me, I really enjoy getting down tight with people and getting their expressions. I will also mix anything like this with some drone footage. I do have my drone license so I am authorized to fly above people. For a perfect day like this, it is really fun to capture candid photos of what is going on.
I photographed Rach’s walk at South Compo Beach. This year’s weather was perfect and it made flying my drone so much easier.
Rach’s Hope is an annual walk to raise awareness of families effected by a child’s illness requiring extensive stays in a hospital or intensive care. The Pizza Pie Wagon Truck catered the party and the pizza was delicious. I use a variety of lenses on every photoshoot. I love my 70-200mm, but I will often change to a wide angle to complete the story.
Compo Beach Westport
Ned Dimes Marina
Compo Beach
Pizza was really really good. Pizza Pie Wagon Truck out of Monroe.
It has been a fun summer so far. I have a few images that I am dying to get and one of them is right here and I wanted to share it with you. I flew the drone from my boat and I like doing this because there are no people out in the sound when I do this. This shot was captured right at sunrise off of Compo Beach in Westport, Ct.
Sunrise at Compo
I like it that it is low tide. The sandbars make the image more interesting. Enjoy.
As a photographer you need to have inspiration and a great way of getting this is by going out with your camera and attempting on being creative. I had a lot of help being creative the other morning by my 14 year old son Penn. He inspired me to photograph a lighthouse located a mile or so offshore. I do have a boat, so why not? We got up at 4:30am and were down at the dock a little later. After a few pulls at the engine, we got her started and were on our way.
Here is Penn at the bow of our little Whaler getting the shot.This image was taken with my Fujifilm XPro 1.This image was taken with my DJI Mavic air2.
Things got a little hairy when my drone’s batteries were running very low and I knew I did not have enough battery to reach our boat over the water. So I chose a nearby island, called “grass island” and I landed it in the middle.
Grass Island.
I had to use the “find my drone” feature because their were thousands of sea gulls with their babies, nests and eggs. Even though the drone was blinking lights and beeping, it took Penn and I a few minutes to find it. The gulls were not happy with us and they were all making a ton of noise.
We really did not have that much snow in Southern Connecticut. I did have the opportunity to get some “snow” shots, but I also like the winter light and I think the sunsets are very beautiful. There is something about the contrast and crisp light that winter brings. As a tribute to winter, I have here an image that received the most dialogue from any other image I took this winter. It is a drone shot looking straight down with trees dappled around a long streak of road. I had this printed with a float frame and it is simply gorgeous. Thank you for looking. Bring on spring!
I am a sponsor for a very great cause. This cause is Rach’s Hope. I covered the event with my photography and used my drone to capture video footage of the event. The shoot was of Lisa Doran’s father walking the last mile of a thousand mile journey to raise money for Rachel’s Hope. Walking with (Pa), were many friends who helped contribute to a worthy walk. The final mile was held at Westport Compo Beach. As you can see from the drone video, it was a beautiful day. At the end of the walk walkers were greeted by live music and pizza from Fire engine pizza company.
Pa walking the last mile of a thousand.Lisa and her dad, Pa
When drones started coming out a few years back, I always wanted to get one. But, I had to wait. Wait for technology, because when they first came out, there were tons of flyaways and it was hard to control the drone. Fast forward to today and I have the latest technology at my fingertips and the drone is so much fun to fly.
I photographed the group image here with a DJI Mavic Air 2. I adore the size and capabilities of this drone and the images are phenomenal. The shoot was at the best place to be before halloween…… Sleepy Hollow New york, right on the Hudson river.
I was asked to photograph a property in Lordship in Connecticut. It is a gorgeous little neighborhood right off I-95 and very close to the small airport and beaches. After getting clearance from the FAA to fly my drone in a class D airspace, I was all set to go. After the shoot I was all set to visit one of my most favorite places to go it is Riley’s by the Sea. A great little restaurant right on the water. Another great place to visit in Lordship is Surfside. Here you can get a nice little bite and enjoy the beach. When ever I am on a shoot, I love to explore what is around me, and always bring your camera.
not a bad place to hangFrom the ocean viewI can get used to this.Happy homeownersFrom way back
A Connecticut Photographer 