Blog

Five Islands and an Updated Video

Our favorite lobster pound in the Midcoast Maine area is Five Islands. After flying by it a couple of days ago I decided to make a short video of it from the air. I then added an earlier video of my grandson jumping off their wharf into the cold Atlantic. Brr, but fun!

I also updated my video of the same flight this time from Waldoboro to Friendship and my sister’s cabin. This one clearly identifies her cabin.

I Got my Medical Cert Back and More…

Yay, I can fly again by myself. I actually enjoying it more when I am flying with others, but its nice to know I can go up alone. A big thank you to Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s office for assisting me regain my certificate.

I think that it is time to redo this web site. Thus far I’ve been concentrating on aerial photography and video stuff. My overall photography, videography skill level needs improvement. So. I’ll be reworking this web site to incorporate both aerial and land based images, maybe even some drone work. My primary subject matter will be Maine, but other areas will be added when feasible.

Final Cut Pro goes to Mt Washington, NH, USA

I’ve been working to improve my editing chops with a Ripple Training course on Final Cut Pro. The on-line course is excellent, my old brain, not so much. But it’s fun and sometimes you can teach and old dog new tricks.

I’m only about halfway through the course, so there is much more to come.

Flight tomorrow (April 25, 2022)

After a couple of test flights and a few tweaks, my plane is ready to fly. Unfortunately, the pilot is still waiting for the FAA to approve his medical certificate, but on photo shoots I take another pilot, so it’s all good.

If the weather is good we’ll either video the upper Androscoggin River or grab some shots of Mt Washington. Either, will be fun.

I’m busy improving my Final Cut Pro video editing chops, using Ripple Training. It’s an online course that digs deeply into all the nuances of FCP. Good stuff, there’s a lot to learn about that program.

More Research, More Learning

I’m working to get a better handle on the scenes I see from the air. As I research the rivers and their contribution to human habitation, I’ve also relearned how recently the glaciers have disappeared and the first humans arrived. We are speaking of only 15,000 to 13,000 years ago. What did the landscape look like then?

Perhaps it had a similar appearance to the upper elevations of today’s Katahdin. Once the glaciers melted away, treeless tundra and plains were left behind. Maybe it looked something like this.

Katahdin above the tree line.

It seems the first humans arrived on foot, hunting game which included the Wooly Mammoth and Mastodons. Sea levels rose and fell and the forest crept in. As of approximately 9000 years ago, the tundra and plains had given way to tree and forests, impeding the easy movement by foot. Access and life along the rivers became essential.

Kennebec River, North of the Forks.