Panorama of the tallest bridge in Florida - Sunshine Skyway at Sunset

[herein2021]

The Sunshine Skyway bridge is the highest bridge in Florida at 430 feet high. I have taken many photos and videos of the bridge over the years but recently the state paid to add RGB LED lighting to the bridge, so I decided to create a panorama of the bridge at sunset. The below image was taken with the Autel EVO II 6K. I followed my usual workflow (shoot RAW > post process in Lightroom > stitch in PTGui > Crop with Paint.Net > Finalize in LR > Final Export). I also used my usual camera settings, F2.8, ISO800, 1/30s shutter speed.

I tested the composition from different altitudes and when the drone was high enough to see the cars the support cables disappeared into the darkness of the ocean so I dropped lower to ensure the center of the bridge and the support cables were silhouetted against the sunset.

 

[Kiwineill]

Awesome photo

 

[Enroute]

The Sunshine Skyway bridge is the highest bridge in Florida at 430 feet high. I have taken many photos and videos of the bridge over the years but recently the state paid to add RGB LED lighting to the bridge, so I decided to create a panorama of the bridge at sunset. The below image was taken with the Autel EVO II 6K. I followed my usual workflow (shoot RAW > post process in Lightroom > stitch in PTGui > Crop with Paint.Net > Finalize in LR > Final Export). I also used my usual camera settings, F2.8, ISO800, 1/30s shutter speed.

I tested the composition from different altitudes and when the drone was high enough to see the cars the support cables disappeared into the darkness of the ocean so I dropped lower to ensure the center of the bridge and the support cables were silhouetted against the sunset.



View attachment 13258

Gorgeous image. Great Composition. Impressive quality for ISO 800. I stopped mid-day on my way to Naples to check out the bridge in February. Had quite a bit of wind. How calm was it for you shooting at 1/30s. I use everything except Paint.net (?). Could not find it online.

 

[herein2021]

Gorgeous image. Great Composition. Impressive quality for ISO 800. I stopped mid-day on my way to Naples to check out the bridge in February. Had quite a bit of wind. How calm was it for you shooting at 1/30s. I use everything except Paint.net (?). Could not find it online.

It was actually pretty windy, I would say approximately 15mph winds, and the drone had to fly over 6 miles round-trip but it handled it with no problem. Due to the wind I overlapped by 40% vs the typical 20% to ensure I could straighten the horizon without cropping into the composition. I used Ludicrous mode to make it back with 40% remaining.

Here is a link to Paint.net, I have used it for years for simple tasks like cropping, resizing, and saving for certain file sizes. It is also great for converting JPGs to transparent PNGs. Of course PS will do all of the same things but I stick to the simplest application I can get away with for simple tasks. My favorite features are the transparency wand and the ability to see exact file sizes when saving a file based on quality; this is how I make my YouTube thumbnail cover photos since YT has a 2MB limit.

Another obscure application that I use for batch processing is Faststone Image Viewer. It is fantastic for initial culling, sorting, etc. Faststone helps me process thousands of images from say an event or a wedding within minutes.

Below is a quick list of the media editing applications that I use and why:

Images

• Faststone Image Viewer - Batch processing, culling, batch image preview image watermarking
• Paint.Net - Transparency wand, resizing, compressing, occasionally for adding simple text to images
• Serif Draw - Vector graphics for video covers/closing, text, shapes, backgrounds, etc (they no longer offer the free version so if you don't already have it you can no longer download it)
• PTGui Pro - Panorama stitching
• Photoshop - Advanced editing, layers, advanced object removal (clone stamp)
• Lightroom - RAW image processing

Video

• Davinci Resolve - NLE, Video editing, color grading, audio editing, transitions, effects, etc
• Handbrake - CODEC conversion
• Corel VideoStudio - Slideshow creation for things like presentations / weddings / events. Corel VideoStudio for some reason is really good at this

 

[Enroute]

It was actually pretty windy, I would say approximately 15mph winds, and the drone had to fly over 6 miles round-trip but it handled it with no problem. Due to the wind I overlapped by 40% vs the typical 20% to ensure I could straighten the horizon without cropping into the composition. I used Ludicrous mode to make it back with 40% remaining.

Here is a link to Paint.net, I have used it for years for simple tasks like cropping, resizing, and saving for certain file sizes. It is also great for converting JPGs to transparent PNGs. Of course PS will do all of the same things but I stick to the simplest application I can get away with for simple tasks. My favorite features are the transparency wand and the ability to see exact file sizes when saving a file based on quality; this is how I make my YouTube thumbnail cover photos since YT has a 2MB limit.

Another obscure application that I use for batch processing is Faststone Image Viewer. It is fantastic for initial culling, sorting, etc. Faststone helps me process thousands of images from say an event or a wedding within minutes.

Below is a quick list of the media editing applications that I use and why:

Images

• Faststone Image Viewer - Batch processing, culling, batch image preview image watermarking
• Paint.Net - Transparency wand, resizing, compressing, occasionally for adding simple text to images
• Serif Draw - Vector graphics for video covers/closing, text, shapes, backgrounds, etc (they no longer offer the free version so if you don't already have it you can no longer download it)
• PTGui Pro - Panorama stitching
• Photoshop - Advanced editing, layers, advanced object removal (clone stamp)
• Lightroom - RAW image processing

Video

• Davinci Resolve - NLE, Video editing, color grading, audio editing, transitions, effects, etc
• Handbrake - CODEC conversion
• Corel VideoStudio - Slideshow creation for things like presentations / weddings / events. Corel VideoStudio for some reason is really good at this

It was actually pretty windy, I would say approximately 15mph winds, and the drone had to fly over 6 miles round-trip but it handled it with no problem. Due to the wind I overlapped by 40% vs the typical 20% to ensure I could straighten the horizon without cropping into the composition. I used Ludicrous mode to make it back with 40% remaining.

Here is a link to Paint.net, I have used it for years for simple tasks like cropping, resizing, and saving for certain file sizes. It is also great for converting JPGs to transparent PNGs. Of course PS will do all of the same things but I stick to the simplest application I can get away with for simple tasks. My favorite features are the transparency wand and the ability to see exact file sizes when saving a file based on quality; this is how I make my YouTube thumbnail cover photos since YT has a 2MB limit.

Another obscure application that I use for batch processing is Faststone Image Viewer. It is fantastic for initial culling, sorting, etc. Faststone helps me process thousands of images from say an event or a wedding within minutes.

Below is a quick list of the media editing applications that I use and why:

Images

• Faststone Image Viewer - Batch processing, culling, batch image preview image watermarking
• Paint.Net - Transparency wand, resizing, compressing, occasionally for adding simple text to images
• Serif Draw - Vector graphics for video covers/closing, text, shapes, backgrounds, etc (they no longer offer the free version so if you don't already have it you can no longer download it)
• PTGui Pro - Panorama stitching
• Photoshop - Advanced editing, layers, advanced object removal (clone stamp)
• Lightroom - RAW image processing

Video

• Davinci Resolve - NLE, Video editing, color grading, audio editing, transitions, effects, etc
• Handbrake - CODEC conversion
• Corel VideoStudio - Slideshow creation for things like presentations / weddings / events. Corel VideoStudio for some reason is really good at this

Thanks for the follow-up. Wow! Sending your drone 3 miles out over the water takes faith it won't drop into the sea for whatever reason. Obviously, you got the goods and returned safely. I'm a Mac guy, saw Paint.net is PC only. I love PTGui, Photoshop and Lightroom. I use Photo Mechanic for initial culling, sorting on jobs with tons of images. Working with DaVinci Resolve. Still learning to edit and properly color grade Log. I have the EVOll Pro V1. I'll definitely check out Corel VideoStudio.

 

[herein2021]

Thanks for the follow-up. Wow! Sending your drone 3 miles out over the water takes faith it won't drop into the sea for whatever reason. Obviously, you got the goods and returned safely. I'm a Mac guy, saw Paint.net is PC only. I love PTGui, Photoshop and Lightroom. I use Photo Mechanic for initial culling, sorting on jobs with tons of images. Working with DaVinci Resolve. Still learning to edit and properly color grade Log. I have the EVOll Pro V1. I'll definitely check out Corel VideoStudio.

I live in Florida so many of my flights involve water in some way, I actually consider flying over water far less risky than flying over land. No people, cars, or obstacles below to worry about and typically much better signal strength since there are no interference sources over water either. Over open ocean is where I have proved that in ideal conditions, the EVO II's range is only limited by battery life; having achieved around 11 miles round trip and landing with 10% battery remaining. My favorite projects involve filming boats or anything over open ocean. The main risk IMO when flying over the ocean is keeping close track of the wind direction and speed; if you miscalculate you could lose the drone due to running out of battery life on the way back.

I have heard of Photo Mechanic, one of the Olympics photographers mentioned using it to cull his Olympics photos. I ended up sticking with Faststone because it is free. As far as color grading LOG, this thread may help you. It is really easy in DR to grade the LOG that comes out of the EVO II.

 

[Barney]

nice !!