In my quest to get more familiar with my drone, I flew it above Big Sky Park in Bend. This park, a few miles from my home, is 97 acres in size. It includes playing fields, an off-leash dog park, miles of trails, picnic areas, and a new bike park. It’s a great place to go for walks.

On this trip, I wanted to try out a couple specific video features on my DJI Mini 4 Pro drone.

MasterShot

With this option, you get several effects with the push of a single button. You select a point of interest (POI) on the screen by dragging a shape around it. The drone then goes through a series of maneuvers. It goes up high and points in one direction, then it points right below. It zooms in on the POI, a goal net in this case. Then it circles high, moves closer to the POI, then farther away. It goes high and looks in the opposite direction of the first shots. Finally it focuses on the POI.

Asteroid above Big Sky Park

Another option I tried that day was Asteroid. The drone flies backward and upward, takes several pictures, then returns to the starting point. It then combines the footage it takes into a globe shape. The video I took above Big Sky Park turned out really cool!

Active Track

I’ve tried the tracking option a couple of times. Last week, we went to a hilltop park with rocky trails. I selected myself as the POI, and had my drone track me as I walked. When you fly drones, you should always be aware of your surroundings. The drone pilot watches the drone’s progress on the controller screen, while the spotter helps keeps track of where the drone is. Unfortunately, I was paying too much attention to the screen and not enough to the trail. Since I had both hands on the controller, I tripped and fell face first. Yikes, how embarrassing!

I had a few cuts and some swelling on my nose, but otherwise was okay. I spent the rest of the day icing my face off and on. A couple doses of Acetaminophen eased the pain.

The funny thing is, my drone recorded the fall. The picture above was part of the video it recorded. Sorry to tell you, but I will NOT be sharing the entire video.

Here’s a photo of my drone following me at Ochoco Wayside State Park before I fell. The lesson I learned that day was, keep your hands on the controller, but your eyes on what’s going on around you.

Jo’s Monday Walk (JMW)

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