The hope is each time I put the Mavic up in the air, I’ll bring back a remarkable image or stunning footage. But really, that’s more the exception than the rule. Most of my droning endeavours result in teachable moments. Like putting the drone 300 feet high, and then realizing I’m using the wrong neutral density filter. Or after making a stunning cinematic camera move, I’ll notice I’ve failed to hit record. I’ve stopped counting the times I’ve used the wrong camera/color profile combinations.

Decommissioned Power Plants 5 & 6, Pueblo, Colo.. Video by Mike Sweeney/©2018

It’s a wonder that I get anything worthwhile at all from the drone. And it’s easy to understand why swearing’s become a significant part of my missions.

But I’ve found even my pedestrian clips and images present opportunities for learning after the Mavic’s been put away. Like the clips of the decommissioned power plants in downtown Pueblo (above) and a center pivot irrigated field in Rocky Ford. They’re simple repetitive clips, yes, but I had to match the color grading for the respective clips (or at least try to) in Final Cut Pro, then tweak the edits to sync with the music files.

Center Pivot, Rocky Ford, Colo. Video by Mike Sweeney/©2018

The end products aren’t necessarily great viewing. But for me, they are necessary if I hope to get better with this whole “flying camera” thing. Damn it.