With a fresh snow cover between the panels the shadows looked like panels themselves. I thought it a visually interesting scene.
Sauk Rapids
There are only a handful of rapids on the Mississippi - here's a clip of the Sauk rapids, with the town of Sauk Rapids in the background.
The previous day it was 50 degrees cooler and the river was full of chunks of ice.
Canadian Pacific Holiday Train
The CP Holiday Train is in its 18th year - raising money, food and awareness for local food banks and food shelves.
This photo was taken recently when it was pulling into Annandale, Mn. Despite temps in the teens a big crowd turned out to hear the live music and help out with the food shelf needs.
The lights of the train were quite impressive lighting up the fresh snow when seen from 100' up.
Ice crystal halo
So this morning I was flying by a ski hill that was making snow. This led to lots of ice crystals in the air.
Ice crystals typically refract visible light 22 degrees, which leads to the halo that one can often see around the moon or sun.
This was one of the better such halos I'd ever seen. Aerial photography let me put the camera up 400' above the ground to really capture the full view.
Just after this, with the temp at -4F and the wind chills at -25F I returned to the warmth of the car - boy it was chilly!
The new St. Cloud Lincoln Memorial
I didn't realize how well done the lighting was around the Lincoln Memorial on the north side of the new St. Cloud parking garage until I saw it at night.
I hope the city can find ways to block off the street and use this space for festivals, the art crawl or other events - it really is a downtown gem.
Annual lighting of the St. Cloud Hospital
Each year there is a celebration at the beginning of December to turn on the lights that outline the St. Cloud Hospital.
Here's a short clip of what it looked like form 200 feet up.
The Sauk Rapids Torchlight Parade
A view from over Jimmy's Pour House looking south to Coborns Grocery as the parade floats work their way through Sauk Rapids.
Fines Aerial Imagine is one of the first commercial drone operators in the US to have FAA authorization to fly at night.
FAA Authorized Night time Drone flights
Fines Aerial Imaging, LLC is now one of the first commercial drone operators in the US to have an FAA exemption for night time flights.
This opens up a whole new landscape - events, auto dealers and other large retailers, etc. Looking forward to it!
This is a quick demo drone video of the annual holiday lighting at the St. Cloud Hospital.
St. Cloud COP house ground breaking
Gray weather didn't stop the enthusiasm around the ground breaking ceremony of the St. Cloud Community Oriented Policing house today on the south side of St. Cloud.
Really impressive turnout of community members supporting this initiative.
As well I had the pleasure of discussing drone photography, aerial video and some of the associated laws with more than a few folks.
Swimming through the fog
Fog always makes for a great way to visually simplify a scene.
On a clear day one would see St. Cloud State University in the background here, but with the fog the scene becomes just a few visual elements.
Night flights
Fines Aerial Imaging is now one of the first drone operators in the US to receive authorization from the FAA to do commercial drone flights at night.
Have an event that lights up the night? Drone footage might be a great way to showcase and advertise it.
Muggle Photography
There are some days when drones just aren't going to fly - sleet and snow don't mix well with electronics and small motors.
On those days I'm often out with my camera and tripod doing ground based work.
This is a photo from one of those days that almost went awry for the tripod - I had accidentally left it down by the river I was using as a background when photographing wolves. Fortunately it didn't smell of venison or fish and so the wolf let it rest.
A fun email from the Google
I received a fun email from Google today stating that the images I had submitted had been viewed over 1,000,000 times.
The images I've put on Google are aerial photographs primarily taken in St. Cloud, MN and help promote the area in a wide variety of ways.
As well as photos I've done a fair bit of aerial video for the City - again offering a great way to showcase the town.
The Sauk Rapids Bridge
A quick aerial photo looking over the Mississippi River to Sauk Rapids, MN while on my way to work. There are only a few "rapids" on the entire length of the Mississippi - neat to live right next to one.
4k ProRes Aerial (drone based) video and photography
For clients with more exacting needs i can produce 4k ProRes or DNG sequences shot in a variety of log color spaces to allow for your own custom color grading.
St Cloud COP House construction aerial video
A few clips from the St. Cloud COP house project that recently started on the south side of St. Cloud, MN.
The troubled property has been demolished and the construction of a new home is off to a fast start.
Aerial video and Thermal Imaging
Once a solar farm is running I use aerial thermal and visual cameras to do inspections for bad panels and signs of faulty connections between panels.
As well I can do inspections of the electrical components connecting them, the grounds and perimeter fencing and more.
Drone based aerial video
With a still lake having any other boats out on the water would ruin the pristine feel of the scene. Filming from a drone let us position the camera so the fall colors composed the background and the water around the crew team stayed still and reflective.
Fines Aerial Imaging - when you need professional results.
Aerial Photography
A drone based photo of the new traffic circle in Sartell, MN just before sunrise. One of the keys to good drone based photography and video is having a professional grade camera and lens.