Another View Above the Trees

[AlanLichty]

Another view from above the trees from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I wasn't in the most ideal location for getting entirely unobstructed views of the peaks in this part of the Cascades but still had no trouble getting the upper portions of Mt. St. Helens. I wasn't sure what the set of peaks were off to the right of St. Helens at first but can identify them now as the peaks just north of Spirit Lake and St. Helens. Not a view of them I have seen before. This is a 2 panel panorama taken with the 166mm lens on my drone. Click through for a wider view.

C&C always welcome.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Nice. I like the snow clad mountain in the scene

 

[IainGFoulds]

… I guess the challenge with drone photography is ending up with attractive, yet always flat and distant landscapes- to bring a dynamic of depths to the image.

 

[AlanLichty]

Nice. I like the snow clad mountain in the scene

Thanks Jameel - there will be more snow clad mountain peaks next time I go back up later this week with a higher elevation launch point.

 

[AlanLichty]

… I guess the challenge with drone photography is ending up with attractive, yet always flat and distant landscapes- to bring a dynamic of depths to the image.

Thanks Iain - for me it's all about capturing views I have never seen before and have no way of getting from the ground. These forests grow rather fast so even though there has been over a century of intensive logging in this area the trees near the road are mostly around 30 meters tall or more with very few views through them. You can drive on the roads for miles and beyond seeing elevation changes in the road you have no clue what things look like the tree trunks lining the road.

The challenge is trying to figure out where you should launch to get some interesting views. In cases like this forest it's almost a guessing game since you don't know what it looks like from the air. I did this exercise last year driving and shooting most of the length of the Oregon coastline down to the California border. There were some really neat views in places I didn't expect and places I thought would be interesting and didn't turn out that way at all. You never really know until you can see it in your viewfinder.

Quite a few of the images I took on this particular day last week are quite bleh for aesthetic interests but were informative for me in terms of getting a feel for the terrain. The only images that had something of interest out of this batch were the ones I showed a couple of days ago with Mt. Hood and this one.

 

[IainGFoulds]

… Alan: I am guessing that it is a very disorienting and unexpected perspective- full of surprises and fresh considerations.

 

[AlanLichty]

Ian - exactly: I call this periscope photography - I send my drone straight up to around 300' or so and then slowly spin around with a wide angle lens to see whatever there to see. Unless you have flown there before you really have no idea what the view is going to be and what might be interesting. I have 3 lens lengths to choose from in the air: 24mm, 70mm, and 166mm so I can explore things without really going anywhere except up.

 

[JimFox]

That's a great view Alan. I like how you got St Helen's in it too.

 

[AlanLichty]

That's a great view Alan. I like how you got St Helen's in it too.

Thanks Jim - I want to find a view of St. Helens that lets me see more of the peaks to the north. The tips of them peeking into the frame here makes them a tempting target.

 

[Beth]

another great drone view. love the pano format.

 

[AlanLichty]

another great drone view. love the pano format.

Thnx! This kind of view begs for a wide presentation.

 

[Alisa]

Beautiful scenery.

 

[AlanLichty]

Beautiful scenery.

Thanks - lots to see up in these hills.