---
title: DJI Flip
slug: dji-flip
description: Today I learned how to operate a drone
<!--- authors:
  - name: David Windham
    title: Something Else
    url: https://davidawindham.com
    image_url: https://davidawindham.com/wp-content/themes/daw/img/opengraph_image.jpg -->
tags: [photo, tech]
image: https://davidawindham.com/wp-content/themes/daw/img/opengraph_image.jpg
hide_table_of_contents: true
---

Today I learned how to operate a drone.

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I'm not sure why it took me so long to get one. I've loved watching drone videos since the DJI Phantom[^1] first hit the first hit the market back in 2014. I did get a toy drone at one point on a whim but it didn't really have many features or a decent camera. The main reason I got one is because I've been doing a lot of bike rides with the dogs and I always think it'd be fun to share a video of the dogs hitting 30mph and it's a bit tough to capture it on the phone. It's a DJI Flip[^2] and it is pretty fun so far. 

<video src="https://davidawindham.com/media/dji_first_flight_hd.mp4" width="100%" controls="controls">
</video>
<div style={{display: 'flex',  justifyContent:'center', alignItems:'center', fontSize:'small', marginBottom:'20px'}}>my first recorded flight 👆🏼</div>

<video src="https://davidawindham.com/media/dji_bike.mp4" width="100%" controls="controls">
</video>
<div style={{display: 'flex',  justifyContent:'center', alignItems:'center', fontSize:'small', marginBottom:'20px'}}>my first bike ride - yes it's a bit 🥶 cold out and it lost me in the shadows</div>

<video src="https://davidawindham.com/media/dji_sunset.mp4" width="100%" controls="controls">
</video>
<div style={{display: 'flex',  justifyContent:'center', alignItems:'center', fontSize:'small', marginBottom:'20px'}}>my first sunset and the pond that will likely eventually eat my drone 🪦</div>

We lost one of the dogs recently while he didn't have his satellite collar on because he likes to chase deer. If I'd had the drone then, I woulda put that thing up in the air and found him. I loaded up a couple videos on the big screen and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with the imaging capabilities and the range. Now I'm thinking about some professional use so I could bulk it into a business expense. Panoramic photos of real estate is one of the very first things that got me into web development so maybe I'm headed full circle at some point. For now, I'm still pretty cautious and just getting comfortable navigating out of sight. My next little drone project is photographing all of the trees still down from Hurricane Helene[^3] in our neighborhood. 


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[^1]: DJI Phantom - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJI
[^2]: DJI Flip - https://www.dji.com/flip
[^3]: Hurricane Helene - https://davidawindham.com/til/posts/hurricane-helene