Bisti Badlands, New Mexico
I have major FOMO (fear of missing out), especially if David and Willie are involved. I’ve always admired David’s desert photos and when he invited me to join on a trip to New Mexico, I knew I couldn’t pass. Never-mind that the trip fell smack-dab-in-the-middle of a really good friends wedding. The trip was planned for Wednesday through Sunday and I figured I could join for 2 days and fly home in time for the wedding.
Willie and I arrived Wednesday night and drove over to Bisti. By the time we arrived there was no point going to the hotel – instead we drove straight to a sunrise location and slept for a few hours in the car. David joined us just as we were about to wake up. Sunrise was fun with the best photos taken with the drone, we caught a few hours of sleep, met up with Paul Rojas, and scouted for sunset. The area was looking like a dud, so we tore off for a different spot that David knew would be great from the drones.
We all flew the drones through 3 batteries that evening. The light on the badlands was beautiful, creating some really abstract and unique shapes. Just as my first battery was depleting I brought the drone back towards me and noticed this scene. I loved how the light was playing on the circular, brain-like shapes. Rather than landing, I kept the drone in the air until the battery nearly completely drained. I was standing just off the top of the frame here but kept coming back to this spot for these shapes.
The trip and the next few days turned out to be crazy. After spending 2 days in New Mexico, I drove back Friday night, flew out Saturday morning, drove to Yosemite for the wedding, came back Sunday morning, then turned right around and drove to Tahoe, skied one of the top 3 days of my life Monday, and was back home and at work on Tuesday. Quite the whirlwind week!
DJI Mavic 2 Pro:
10.26mm (28mm equivalent), f/4, 1.0 sec, ISO 100
