One of my first longer trips with my new Phantom brings me to Miami Beach. It is a perfect place to hang out and enjoy the sun and beach. Weather is always perfect, and even the occasional small thunderstorm adds to the drama of the place. Miami has always been one of my favorite places in the U.S. for photo shooting, and now, with the Phantom, it becomes even more perfect.

Due to lack of time, I’ve focused my shooting to two areas: A less-crowded strip of Miami Beach, between South Beach and Mid Beach, as well as the lagoon on the backside, where all the big boats and mansions are. I used a hotel terrace located on the 7th floor for some of the shots, as it gave me a superb view both over the beach and the lagoon side. Plus, we had some interesting chat with interested hotel guests watching from their balconies.

 

Flying over long stetches of beach can give an interesting dynamic to videos. I like to fly my Phantom backwards, so I can fly at relatively high speeds without having the rotors in my picture. Another interesting shot is coming from the ‘usual view’ of a beach visitor, which is mostly ground-based 2D viewing, up into the air into a really 3-dimensional world. The size of the buildings along the beach, and the skyline of Miami in the background, adds to that dramatic.

To me, the most interesting parts of shooting in a tropical environment like Florida are both the special light and the colors, especially the lush green and the aqua from the water. You don’t find these colors anywhere else, except on some really perfect days. The combination of both makes for amazing images that need little correction.