We often use the term high school sweethearts to describe couples that have been together for a long time. These are couples that met when they were young, realized they were the one for each other, and stuck together for years until they were married. But what if they met before high school, or even middle school? What if they became friends in the third grade? Elementary school sweethearts doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but for Kelsey and Josh, this was the start of their story. And after many (and when I say many I mean close to 20) years of friendship, that included multiple proms, homecomings, high school graduation, breakups and three and-a-half years of college, they finally were together.
We managed to not get run over while filming this wedding…
When my wife and I finally met them it was, of course, over Mexican food. Hearing their vision for their wedding, it was incredibly apparent that they had a unique style all their own. Watch the film and you’ll see it: the palm fronds, geode wedding cake, Edison bulbs draped over the dance floor like a Willow tree. Kelsey even created a watercolor wedding logo that fit their theme!
If you’re having a unique wedding too, we would love to film it! Please get in touch. 🙂
About 9 years ago, before I was even considering pursuing a career in making videos, I entered a video contest put on by Texas A&M University called “Why I’m an Aggie.” My entry featured students speaking about why they chose Texas A&M and what they enjoyed about the university. Throughout the video, I featured pretty shots of campus that I shot with my trusty Sony HDR-UX1 (recording to mini-DVDs, SD cards weren’t fast or large enough yet).
The shot that set my contest entry apart from the others though, was an aerial video of campus that I filmed from a plane. Yes, I actually rode in a plane over campus to get a shot for my video! This blew away the judges considering that aerial video was still relatively rare (unless you happened to have a pilot father – thanks dad).
Nine years later, aerial video is now mainstream. People are buying Millennium Falcon camera drones, stuffing their dead cats and turning them into quadcopters, and anyone with a cell phone can purchase a flying camera for as little as $20. My aerial video in 2008 that took so much effort and timing, could now be accomplished by any kid with a drone Christmas present. It would probably look smoother and be better colored too.
In August of 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration passed their official rules for commercial drone usage in the United States. Up until this point, if you wanted to make money flying your drone you had to apply for a Section 333 waiver and actually possess a pilot’s license to fly a drone.
You can eat your drone, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
This all changed with the FAA’s Part 107 ruling, which made getting a license to fly your drone for commercial purposes as easy as taking a knowledge test, no pilot’s license required.
Now when I say easy, I mean easier than getting an actual pilot’s license, not that the test itself is easy. Which brings us to this video that I created today, which is all about why you should take the knowledge test, and how to study for and pass it.
In the video, I detail the exact resources that I used to pass the Part 107 knowledge test. These resources are now listed below in order that I speak about them in the video. If you study these materials, you shouldn’t need to spend any extra money on any courses or classes for the test.
But, if you find that you benefit more from a classroom setting, I would recommend checking out Drone Pilot Ground School and Remote Pilot 101.
Here are the study resources that I listed in the video, in order:
OTHER RESOURCES NOT MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO
– SkyVector
– AIRNAV
That’s it! Read and study these articles, listen to the podcast, take the practice test, and when you’re ready, go and take the real thing. If you take your time and prepare, you’ll pass like I did.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave one below or get in touch.
This past August, I finally had the opportunity to see what all the cruise fuss was about, with a 5 day sailing from Galveston to Cozumel and Progreso on the venerable Carnival Liberty.
When you film weddings, it is easy to get addicted to buying the latest cameras, lenses, drones, and other new equipment that seems to come out every week. Today though, I want to talk about something different than these normal topics, and instead focus on clothing (yes, pants and such!) that will greatly improve your quality of life while filming weddings, commercials, conventions, and any other event that requires you to be on your feet for many hours a day.
Because I’m based in Texas, I spend a lot of time in the heat. Today, mid-November, the temperature was 85 degrees Fahrenheit. That may sound high to you, but to me it feels practically chilly outside due to the temperature usually being in the mid-90’s. Because Texas enjoys high temperatures 95% of the year (with two weeks of freezing in the winter), I find myself filming many outdoor weddings that are easily over 100 degrees.
Watch this video, and I’ll even show you some leg.
Faced with the prospect of either dying from a heat stroke, or learning to cope with the heat, I have located several clothing options that keep me cool and comfortable no matter the temperature or weather when filming a wedding.
Clothing List
Underwear:MeUndies – Yes, it’s underwear, and yes, it’s comfortable.
Shirts:Mizzen and Main – I recommend checking out their Spinnaker collection as they are more stretchy and comfortable in my opinion.
Armed with these garments, you will be ready to face the harshest Texas Summer. Will you still sweat? Definitely, but you won’t feel like you’re about to die like you would in regular clothes.
As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave on below, or get in touch!
