Though over 90Km away, a trip to Gougane Barra is never a chore. Tranquil, contemplative, scenic are words that readily come to mind about the place; photographers' haven are others.
With a reasonably favourable evening forecast we decided to make the journey and following radio reports of record downpours at the K Club and Semple stadium where Rory McIlroy and Cork were respectively bidding for glory, we hoped the bad weather was not coming our way.
On arrival, all was quiet with very few visitors around so we had an unobstructed view of the place from all angles and, with only a few light squalls to contend with, the evening was beautiful with intermittent sunshine, interesting cloud cover and above average temperatures.
To some extent a photographic cliché, Gougane Barra is charming and it is impossible to resist pressing the shutter release even though you are well aware that there are no 'new' shots to be had there. One man who set out to disprove this though was ECCG member, James Brady who sent his drone off on an exploratory flight around the lake in search of the alternative shot which he certainly got. The place is as beautiful from the air as it is from the ground.
With an hour and a half left to sunset, we decided that enough was enough. We packed the gear and headed east happy with a successful shoot. In common with us, Rory Mcllroy was also a happy camper having won his first Irish Open Golf Championship by three strokes. Not so good in Thurles however, where the Cork senior hurlers were outclassed by Tipperary in the first round of the Munster championship. Best not even mention the score! Instead, take a look at James Brady's stunning (and calming) aerial footage below.
Click here for to see a gallery of images from the shoot. Enjoy!
Members: See more here.
Beginning with some classroom work, James outlined the features of the drone and controller, discussed flying the drone including the regulations now in place governing their use and using the drone for photography and videography. Then with all questions suitably answered, we went outside to a nearby park for a practical demonstration.
The experience was mesmerising! This little package, weighing a little over 1Kg is packed with enough smarts to practically fly on its own with minimal input from the pilot. James demonstrated the start up procedure and flew the drone expertly around the park while a live video feed streamed back to the display on the controller, immediately revealing a view of the town rarely seen. The images were breathtaking and solid as a rock even in the blustery and overcast conditions that prevailed.
The return to home feature, implemented automatically when the drone is out of range or by pressing a command on the controller, landed the drone back automatically within two feet of where it had taken off from - simply amazing.
