Cascade Freeride - Bad Moon Rising (drone vid)

My vids are my art. I need technology to get footage to make vids.

Just keep in mind there are many of us who find the tool you use to produce your "art" extremely annoying.  Calling it "art" doesn't make it any less annoying. 

The noise of a drone makes me want to jump out of my skin and shoot the d**n thing down. And I don't even own a gun. I can imagine how it makes elk feel.  

So, yeah, keep to the rules and practice consideration and common sense.

I'm not trying to start an argument with you Griff but those two statements are completely at odds with each other.

Hovering a drone 35 ft above a herd of elk would be a textbook definition of wildlife harassment!

No argument. We see it differently. But that said, completely irrelevant from the standpoint that the elk footage was 100% random and I have absolutely no desire and/or reasons to film any wildlife, ever, for any reason. I was practicing at my local ball fields and the elk were in the field/farm adjacent where they are regularly. All coincidental. I was there that day, I know what my motivations were and what I was being sensitive/respectful about.

I literally will not be filming wildlife at all. So that case is closed.

But I did learn something very tangibly from this thread. And today was reinforced at lunch in Seattle with my colleagues. There is plain and simple drone hate.

No reason for me to try and change anyone's mind. I am not a drone lover per se. Again, I am using it as a tool for my art. No quotations needed, you don't have to like my art or feel that it is not art, but I do it only for artistic reasons.

So it is time for me quit while I am very far behind. You will never see me or my drone again.

So all of that said, I've always enjoyed Griff's posts..   

Griff, I always enjoy your vids. Thanks for posting. Always good stoke.... BTW, On the drive home from work last night I noticed that the fall city market had a sign up for fresh elk meat...

So all of that said, I've always enjoyed Griff's posts..   

X2 - Keep-on Keeping-on Griff.
CU@lot4

Edited to add:
Personally I am not a fan of the tech, and the potential for invasion of privacy.
That said, instead of hijacking Griff's thread and turning into an ersatz referendum, let's start a new one that highlights the subject in the title. IMO it's a worthy subject worth debating, just not here.

Not a big fan of drones in the hills. I go out there for the quiet and have been buzzed by those annoying things on several occasions - once in a designated wilderness.

Regarding the elk thing - it's complicated. As a wildlife biologist with 35 yrs experience there is a lot of information out there in the literature. Yea - there may have been people on the ground taking pictures - but this is a common occurrence in the valley and one in which the elk have become habituated.

Because elk don't stampede doesn't mean you are not causing behavioral changes, increases in stress hormones, and generally affecting them. The Washington Administrative Code that WDFW refers to addresses drones but the language is vague - you are not suppose to "harass" them.

I would say being only 35 ft above a herd is too close. 100 ft - depends on the circumstances. 200 ft - maybe that is ok. Don't make assumptions, be over cautious. The US Forest Service drone hobbiest guidelines specifically say this:

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Do not fly over or near wildlife as this can create stress that may cause significant harm, and even death. Intentional disturbance of animals during breeding, nesting, rearing of young, or other critical life history functions is not allowed unless approved as research or management.

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www.fs.fed.us/science-technology/fire/un...tems/responsible-use



wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/drone-operat...ng-elk-herd#stream/0

"Even though an animal might not appear to be disturbed, it could be quite stressed--for example, a bird may choose to remain near a UAV even when stressed because it is incubating an egg or protecting its hatchling," says Jarrod Hodgson of The University of Adelaide in Australia. "It is likely that animal responses vary depending on a variety of factors, including the species, environmental and historical context, and the type of UAV and its method of operation."