My favorite Fourth of July holiday thus far...

Life goes round & round - and sometimes it unexpectedly comes full circle.

I've recently stumbled upon a passion for photography via taking aerial shots w/ my Quadcopter, since purchasing in April of this year.

On July 4th 2016, my first fireworks celebration day with a photography quad in hand, I decided to go to the park and couldn't wait for the views I would have from above.

After much location consideration - I selected "Chesterfield Park" which is mere 3 minutes from my home in Springfield Missouri.

The little white dot circled in red was the park bench I set up at. You can see that there are houses surrounding the area on 3 of the 4 sides. (Looking N, W, & S) I figured I was far enough away to be safe from any errant projectiles. I had also flown there many times before and felt comfortable with the surroundings & FPV view from the screen on the transmitter. Added bonus: I assume some of the vehicles passing by on the adjacent Highway assume they are seeing a UFO during night flights. :-)

As I was setting up, I left my cell phone placed on my steady cam mount and sat it down on the park bench pointed towards the north, where people were already beginning to set fireworks off. I ended up catching a cool sunset vid just off that cell recording, including a flyby of my quad while landing nearby.

The Quad video I shot that night was very fun. I only had 2 batteries at the time, so I pretty much came out of experience with 2 videos from the air - one of them I've already posted on steemit before, ( https://steemit.com/photography/@giftedgaia/4th-of-july-fireworks-shot-w-a-drone-2016 ) the second video is new to steemit via this post today.

Its amazing to me to see how many little sparkles of light are flickering all around the place. I knew going into it that it would be a first time perspective - but the wide lens was more giving than I had expected. I had many people stop and ask to see the controller screen, as the Quadcopter was in the air. For all the negative connotations that the Media portrays regarding "Drones", people generally seem pretty intrigued by the devices & on that night in particular the feedback was optimistic about how cool the fireworks video would be.

It also is somewhat thought provoking - in that by the national anthem this spectacle is meant to symbolize "The Bombs bursting in air!" While watching the event unfold on my FPV screen, I couldn't help but think that there are places in this world this evening where these sights and sounds would not be received in a celebratory fashion, and fear would accompany them. The perspective in that thought left me feeling a tinge thankful that I was born where I was.

The evening left me yearning for next year's holiday, and with ideas on how to capture better video. I have acquired 2 more batteries already, and plan on several more by next summer. The fireworks continued for several hours after this short video, and I want to see more of it as the buildup progresses!

Point of observation: I used to love this holiday as a child and personally have felt very disconnected from it over the past several years. I've been single for a while and this holiday is very much a shared experience themed model, in that you go someplace beautiful with someone and 'watch the show'. I've not done that, and have stayed indoors the past several years. Its funny to me that a small piece of technology can reinvigorate a childhood level of excitement that I thought had faded away with age.

My 37th July 4th was my favorite thus far, and my 38th looks to be even better. Hope you enjoy!

Kind Regards Steemit!

---Giftedgaia

(Who I am: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@giftedgaia/we-rise-by-lifting-others-greetings-steemit )

(Steemit Talk Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/steemittalkpodcast )

(My DJ Mixes: https://www.mixcloud.com/JasonDeal/ )