Above Monument Valley

The area that can best define what you might picture as the setting for the classic American Western is Monument Valley. The area gets just a fraction of the visitors the Grand Canyon does, and as jaw-dropping amazing as the Grand Canyon is, this was the highlight of my whirlwind trip through the American Southwest.

Took this shot with my 3DR Solo drone. Frustrations continued unabated with this drone that promises so much. I'm still optimistic this will eventually work out, but I've largely been disappointed. While I'm still waiting on the gimbal, even though I preordered the drone on its initial day, I've found I can generally use it for photos as stabilization is less critical for photos than for video. The problem is, the drone is supposed to make it super simple to just connect your GoPro and smartphone, and have a live video feed stream to you to aid in flight navigation.

The reality is, that almost never works. I've spent a ton of time following the recommendations of turning off the GoPro, and the drone, powering them back on, etc.. Done this several times without much luck. I did get the video feed working on a few rare occasions, but so far it's been an incredibly frustrating experience. I really do hope they fix this up