Flights of Fancy by William Daugherty
Much thanks to Jess Ferrecchia for the heads-up. This was a really fun outing. The video (stills are below) starts off slowly with some nice shots of the falls at the covered bridge, then things get much more exciting!
Some explanation is in order. When I arrived at the river, there was a mile-long stretch above and below the falls with a huge ice jam. I shot a couple of FPV runs up and down the jam, then I took some stills with a different drone. As I was packing up to leave, I suddenly heard tremendous cracking and crunching sounds. I looked over at the river and saw the ice floes flying by! I quickly launched another drone and took the last photo in the series, and the last two clips in the video. The final timelapse shot in the video shows what happened to all that ice that left the upper part of the falls. Fascinating!
Video is below stills. Last two photos are closest thing I got to before-and-after shots.
The video has some really unusual footage in the latter half. Ice floes breaking against the rock was mesmerizing, and I was just floating above and around it. This deserves viewing in 4K on a big screen if possible.
As always, VERTIGO WARNING! The crash occurs at 4:00. It was non-fatal and because the drone settled upright, I didn’t have to go out on the ice to retrieve it. Whew!
During a Zoom call today (2/19/26) that included a lady who used to own a Christmas Tree farm in our town, I mentioned that I had made a drone video of the farm some time back. She sold the farm two years ago and had never seen the video, so we watched it together right then. I was not prepared for the emotional impact this would have on both of us. Here’s the video. Her farm starts at 1:11.
We made the rounds today. The photos from the covered bridge are particularly beautiful I think, and the FPV video at Edgewater Farm was really fun. I’ve always wanted to fly through those greenhouses!
With the icy conditions, I knew this had to be on my agenda. The Gorge did not disappoint. We got nice footage from high and low, along with shots of the VINS Forest Canopy Walk, Quechee Inn at Marshland Farm, the ice skating trail on Dewey Pond (who knew?), and of course, we wrap things up with a couple of FPV runs up and down the gorge. Such a joy!
Subscribe for email notifications and escape the algorithm!
Another local favorite swimming hole, transformed into a visually stunning environment by snow and ice. Video is another two-part exploration: it starts with cinematic footage, then at 3:23 shifts to FPV. Vertigo warning!
Video link is below photos.
I realize this may not be as interesting as my normal work, but it is just so much fun!