Drone photography is ever increasing in popularity and it’s not hard to see why. Capturing places from a bird’s eye view provides you with the opportunity to see it from another perspective and makes for engaging and exciting content. Collaborating with Bad Wolf Horizon gave us the opportunity to get some amazing shots of the many gorgeous areas in South West England. We’ve put together our top five locations for drone images in the area along with five tips on taking the perfect drone shot.
Dartmouth, South Devon
Dartmouth in South Devon provides the perfect location for shots of the picturesque River Dart and the comings and goings of boats and canoes. This image perfectly captured the gorgeous colours of the water and the activity on the river. Dartmouth has plenty to see and do, including historic houses, gardens and Dartmoor National Park for walking and explore the Devonshire countryside.
Port Navas, Cornwall
With glittering turquoise waters and gorgeous surrounding countryside, this shot taken of the small village of Port Navas in Cornwall makes you wish you were there. Port Navas provides a great base for exploring the Helford River and the nearby Falmouth.
Helford, Cornwall
With its secluded creeks, the Helford in Cornwall is full of scenic beauty and gorgeous countryside and this shot does a great job of showing off the local area. Exploring the Helford is best seen by boat, and a great way to discover everything the area has to offer, including the Helford Passage, Durgan and Frenchman’s Creek.
Beer, East Devon
Head to Beer in East Devon for its stunning location on the Jurassic Coast, with miles of gorgeous walks on the coast path and the perfect place to spend an afternoon relaxing on a deckchair on the beach. This shot of the jellyfish surrounding the boat was certainly unexpected but makes for an incredible photo.
Appledore, North Devon
The pretty fishing village of Appledore in North Devon makes for a picture-perfect location, and this image perfectly captures the countryside and the many moored fishing boats. Appledore is a great place to spend a day crabbing, relaxing on the beach and enjoying a cream tea in the sunshine.
So, do you like the idea of trying out some drone photography? Tom from Bad Wolf Horizon has put together five tips for taking the perfect drone shot:
Plan your flight in advance
There is so much information on the internet, allowing you to research a scenic spot from the comfort of your own home, in advance. Most of our pre-flight planning uses Google Maps, allowing us to identify a safe take-off location and flight area before we even leave the office.
Think about directional light
Think about what time you are going to reach your location. Will the light be on the front of the object you want to film? There is no right or wrong answer. At certain times of day, we love to shoot directly into the sun (especially sunrise/ sunset) and we try to avoid the midday bright lighting, as the lighting is top-down and can be is quite harsh.
Tide times
When flying near the sea, think about what time you are going to reach your location. Is the tide going to be in or out? Sometimes you might want to capture your location at low tide, for nice sand bars and beautiful white beaches, while other times, you want to capture the scene when the tide is in as it will be less muddy. Again, plan in advance!
For video – smooth movement
Smooth movement of your panning, yawing and moving, helps to make drone footage much more cinematic and professional.
Drone safety
This is the most important aspect of drone flying. Of course, take off and capture some awesome photos and videos, but make sure to be safe. Planning your flight in advance will help you with this, by identifying a safe take-off area, away from people and property, while analysing potential risks if something goes wrong.
Simon Tregoning is the Chairman at Classic Cottages. Classic Cottages have an exclusive portfolio of places to stay, handpicked in the best locations from the tip of far west Cornwall across the south of England and over on the Isle of Wight.If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.
Simon Tregoning is the Chairman for Classic Cottages. Classic Cottages has an exclusive portfolio of places to stay, handpicked in the best locations from the tip of far west Cornwall across the south of England and over on the Isle of Wight. Classic Cottages find holiday cottages that make you say wow. From bijou fishermen’s cottages on a harbour’s edge, to sprawling country pads, we’re picky about what we offer so you can be sure you’re always getting the best. Holidays with hot tubs, properties that welcome four-legged friends and homes set up with babies in mind all feature in our eclectic mix of home-from-homes.
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5 Comments
We are living in very exciting times. Technology is creating new art forms. The drone is giving us the ability to see the world in new ways. Only just over a century ago only a handful of people, a brave and fortunate few who had flown, would have been able to have seen this remarkable views. Now drone technology means that many of us can capture these astoundingly beautiful scenes.
Perhaps the greatest compliment that anyone can pay to Britain is to say that you could have produced 5 shots just as good, maybe even better from any of Great Britain’s regions. Perhaps another day we can have another five or six or seven great shots from another region?
Oh and fantastic drone photography too – awesome skills!
That’s interesting to know, I’m learning more about Devon. It’s beautiful and secluded and I think I’d like to visit just to say I’m in a town called Beer. Ha!
I caught the middle of a documentary on a guy taking his drone pilot’s licence. I didn’t know that such a thing was available and I didn’t know how difficult it can be to safely fly a drone. It makes me realise how good these images are.
I know there has been quite a lot of negative attention around drones, but there’s no denying the technology is pretty impressive. In terms of photography, the opportunity to capture scenery from that kind of perspective is amazing. I must admit I’ve been totally uninterested in drones until reading this, and now all I can think is where I can get one from to give this a try myself! Really good tips and especially the reminder about safety. I think these could be more appropriately used and cause less problems if more people are aware of the rules and regulations before they purchase one.
Helford, Cornwall
With its secluded creeks, the Helford in Cornwall is full of scenic beauty and gorgeous countryside and this shot does a great job of showing off the local area. Exploring the Helford is best seen by boat, and a great way to discover everything the area has to offer, including the Helford Passage, Durgan and Frenchman’s Creek.
Beer, East Devon
Head to Beer in East Devon for its stunning location on the Jurassic Coast, with miles of gorgeous walks on the coast path and the perfect place to spend an afternoon relaxing on a deckchair on the beach. This shot of the jellyfish surrounding the boat was certainly unexpected but makes for an incredible photo.
Appledore, North Devon
The pretty fishing village of Appledore in North Devon makes for a picture-perfect location, and this image perfectly captures the countryside and the many moored fishing boats. Appledore is a great place to spend a day crabbing, relaxing on the beach and enjoying a cream tea in the sunshine.
So, do you like the idea of trying out some drone photography? Tom from Bad Wolf Horizon has put together five tips for taking the perfect drone shot:
Plan your flight in advance
There is so much information on the internet, allowing you to research a scenic spot from the comfort of your own home, in advance. Most of our pre-flight planning uses Google Maps, allowing us to identify a safe take-off location and flight area before we even leave the office.
Think about directional light
Think about what time you are going to reach your location. Will the light be on the front of the object you want to film? There is no right or wrong answer. At certain times of day, we love to shoot directly into the sun (especially sunrise/ sunset) and we try to avoid the midday bright lighting, as the lighting is top-down and can be is quite harsh.
Tide times
When flying near the sea, think about what time you are going to reach your location. Is the tide going to be in or out? Sometimes you might want to capture your location at low tide, for nice sand bars and beautiful white beaches, while other times, you want to capture the scene when the tide is in as it will be less muddy. Again, plan in advance!
For video – smooth movement
Smooth movement of your panning, yawing and moving, helps to make drone footage much more cinematic and professional.
Drone safety
This is the most important aspect of drone flying. Of course, take off and capture some awesome photos and videos, but make sure to be safe. Planning your flight in advance will help you with this, by identifying a safe take-off area, away from people and property, while analysing potential risks if something goes wrong.
Simon Tregoning is the Chairman at Classic Cottages. Classic Cottages have an exclusive portfolio of places to stay, handpicked in the best locations from the tip of far west Cornwall across the south of England and over on the Isle of Wight.
If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.
We are living in very exciting times. Technology is creating new art forms. The drone is giving us the ability to see the world in new ways. Only just over a century ago only a handful of people, a brave and fortunate few who had flown, would have been able to have seen this remarkable views. Now drone technology means that many of us can capture these astoundingly beautiful scenes.
Perhaps the greatest compliment that anyone can pay to Britain is to say that you could have produced 5 shots just as good, maybe even better from any of Great Britain’s regions. Perhaps another day we can have another five or six or seven great shots from another region?
Oh and fantastic drone photography too – awesome skills!
That’s interesting to know, I’m learning more about Devon. It’s beautiful and secluded and I think I’d like to visit just to say I’m in a town called Beer. Ha!
I caught the middle of a documentary on a guy taking his drone pilot’s licence. I didn’t know that such a thing was available and I didn’t know how difficult it can be to safely fly a drone. It makes me realise how good these images are.
I know there has been quite a lot of negative attention around drones, but there’s no denying the technology is pretty impressive. In terms of photography, the opportunity to capture scenery from that kind of perspective is amazing. I must admit I’ve been totally uninterested in drones until reading this, and now all I can think is where I can get one from to give this a try myself! Really good tips and especially the reminder about safety. I think these could be more appropriately used and cause less problems if more people are aware of the rules and regulations before they purchase one.