June 6th 2023: Wings

The advent of drones has completely changed the world of photography. For a very long time they never had the capability to produce high resolution images like the ones we pride ourselves on from the latest Canon cameras we use. Then they got kind of close ... halfway there at least. Enough for me to step into that world about five years ago. Imagine all the times I have moved to higher ground or wished I could teleport to a mountain peak instead of spending hours climbing there? Every angle was suddenly within easy reach. It was a mind bending, game changer for me.

Most people don't realise that about 50% of my commercial work is actually shooting and producing films for clients – needless to say, drones have completely revolutionised that world, too.

This past week I started to use the very latest tech from DJI – the Mavic Pro 3. It's a three-lensed beast that looks like a flying hippy grasshopper. We were in Kaikoura for the O'Neill Coldwater Classic and its maiden flight. Every time you fly one of these for the very first time you're riddled with nerves ... even after 1000s of flights. Luckily the Mavic Pro 3 was as predictable as my previous drone. It has the added benefit of up to 40-minute flight times, which makes life much easier and the response for the shutter is far quicker making shooting stills of surfing less about being good at predicting a surfer's next move.

The three lenses sounded a bit gimmicky to me initially but actually they are super useful for compressing scenes and reframing certain shots. They use a 12.1 and an 11.8MP sensor that is nothing like the larger prime Hasselblad camera sensor (20MP), so you won't be ordering any 2m-wide framed prints from those ones, but really useful for editorial usage. The main sensor produces images that are a fraction cleaner than the older model and with more detail across the frame and, yes, we can make large prints from those ones.

I'm hopeful it's a long and crash-free relationship with the Mavic Pro 3!

Oh, and while we were up there in Kaikoura, my daughter Rewa won the Under 18 division and is now the Under 18 champ for the South Island. Rewa and Keo were both ripping up there along with most of the Dunedin crew who made the trip north for fun waves and smoky campfires. Good times.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS Not only is Kayla Drinkwater a fearless water photographer and chaser of big waves (I've seen her charging an 8 foot plus set at Long Point a few months back on her bodyboard), she's also a talented physiotherapist. She's just opened her new business on Vogel St and is ACC-accredited for injuries etc. She totally understands surfing and the path back to your best physical surfing self after any injury. Check out Kayla's website right here.