#steppe glider

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Steppe Glider

It glides over the landscape. It also happens to be one.

Artist: John Severin Brassell TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[tbsangstersgf]

Dumb Plan

Gally x fem!reader We LOVE a confident Gally, and he definitely is in this one.

Part 1/2

Dumb plan, dumb dumb. Dumb plan. This could not end well. 

Would it help with your situation? 

Definitely 

But shit man, it has been hard enough to become the man’s friend. He’s not one to open up easily.

Alby and Newt have a good point though, some of these gliders just have no respect for you or your personal space. They just wouldn’t lay off.

I mean, he’s definitely scary enough and wouldn’t for sure scare off any unwanted attention. 

“Y/n what do you say “all eyes are on you Newt, Alby, Minho, and…Gally.

“ you don’t have to decide right now, will give you a day, but the sooner the quicker we can be sure that this problem is solved.”

New looks at you waiting for an answer.

“ no, no, no. I don’t need any more time. It’s a good plan.” You say quickly.

Alby nods his head sharply, “ all right I want you to come up with a plan, stage something. if I don’t find out from someone by the end of the day that you two are dating, then I’m gonna plan it out myself. We need this plan to work, or theees no point in trying it”

 Alby, Newt, and Minho leave the room, giving you and Gally some time to think about a plan.

The idea was for you to get yourself a fake boyfriend so that you wouldn’t have to worry so much about your personal space being invaded by overly friendly gladers. Minho and Galley were some of the obvious options, as you were relatively close with both of them, and people wouldn’t be too suspicious. You’d decided to choose Gally, because well, not one single person would dare go against him I mean hell, he’s terrifying.

While you knew it would work, but it felt more painful than it should.

“ OK, I was thinking something along the lines of holding hands, maybe even just a quick peck on the cheek?” Gally stared at you intensely, but you refused to meet his eye.

“ that could work, but I’ve seen you hold hands with Meho too. It’s not just a strictly dating thing. No, if we really want people to think we are dating, then we’re going to have to take it up a notch.”

You looked up to find that he was already staring at you, and you feel a flush creep up your cheeks. 

“ Oh OK, so what does that entail?“

Maintaining eye space contact, he walked around the table until he was standing right in front of you. 

“I’m not sure, but I know we’ll have to make it super exaggerated so that Albie doesn’t have to step in. We both know that that would not go well“

You laugh at his joke, breaking eye contact and looking down. 

“ the only thing that I can really think of, that would truly make people think that we’re dating is something as extreme as a kiss. “

At this, you look up sharply, and find him looking at you with a smirk on his face. 

He laughs at seeing how flustered you get at the suggestion.

“I was only half joking, not like the shanks here are stupid, they should be able to pick up on little things. It’s not like we can just make an announcement.” He still refuses to lose eye contact. Realizing that you need to add more to the conversation, you slowly breathe out. 

“ Yeah, and we can start to drop more obvious hints if they don’t seem to get it.” You smile at him, “ oh and by the way, thank you for helping me with this ya shuckface” 

“Anytime slinthead, anytime” He returns the the smile with a grin.

Wait, half joking? What does that mean? Does he want to kiss me? No, stop it’s FAKE dating.

“Ok, let’s just let it play out and we’ll see what’s best.” You both nod, and then he steps forward a bit more to grab your hand. I’ve never seen him so confident in his life, what’s with sudden change? And his hands are surprisingly soft…

Gally was definitely confident in himself, but when it came to social interactions… he was a little reserved. For you, it was almost the exact opposite, not that you didn’t know your worth, but you were definitely a very sociable person.

“Come on y/n, let’s go flaunt our relationship in everyone’s faces.”

As you stepped outside, not one Glader looked at you two holding hands. 

The day wore on and you two kept on having to do more noticeable things to grab people’s attention. It’s started with holding hands, then he put his arms around your shoulders everywhere you went, and some point he even kissed your cheek. 

But nobody seemed to notice, and so by lunchtime you were getting a little desperate. As you were sitting down next to Gally, you looked across the room and happened to make eye contact with Alby, who raised his eyebrows at you, telling you that nobody knew yet.

With a sigh, you look back down to your food, until you feel a hand on your thigh.

You quickly look at Gally, feeling heat rise to your cheeks.

“Is this okay?” He turns to you as he sees you tense up.

“Oh um yeah no it’s fine just scared me for a second”

HOW DID NO ONE SEE THAT HES LITERALLY HOLDING MY THIGH

The day dragged on, with many more touches and hints, but not one single Glader picked up on anything.

Finally, when most Gladers were on their way to dinner, you saw Gally across the Glade. He waved at you and gave you a big smile. 

Shuck this man I’m not doing this stupid plan for nothing. 

You started to run towards him and his grin got even bigger. Once you reached him you jumped into his arms and he started laughing like crazy. All of the sudden you felt lips on yours. 

HOLY SHIT WTF OMG AHHH

Slowly you kissed back. Your lips moved in sync as he wrapped his arms around you. Reluctantly, you pulled away. It was not real, it should mean nothing. But to you it meant everything. 

“I hope that was okay” Gally whispered into your ear. 

Speechless, you just nodded, smiling.

Then you saw some Gladers passing by and giving you two weird looks.

“Gally i think that it worked, look”

Turning to see the Gladers, he smiled and put you down. 

“Alrighty then let’s go to dinner babe”

Ugh y/n remember it’s FAKE it doesn’t mean anything.

(Requests are open, and I would love any critiques you have🥰)

[circlique]

Random question of the day: So Earthbenders have the sandbending tribes, Waterbenders have the Foggy Swamp tribe, and firebenders have the Sun Warriors. If Airbenders were to have a sub-group like these in your opinion what would they be like and how would they differ from average Air Nomads.

Hmm this is kind of tough because air doesn’t have a super obvious sub-bending class, so it would have to be more location and style based like the swamp benders, I think.

Anyway, what I first thought of was a group of airbenders that lives on windswept plains instead of in the mountains like most of the of the other airbenders. There’s some real world precedence for this with the Plains tribes of North American and the tribes of the steppes in Eurasia.

Many of the plains tribes were nomadic to follow the bison, which makes sense with the Air Nomads and the sky bison! Although the Air Nomads would probably follow them for milk and shed fur rather than to hunt, and maybe travel between pre-established agricultural areas to maintain vegetarianism. Meanwhile, the Eurasian nomads were known for domesticating the horse (which enabled them to cover large distances), so maybe there would also be a group of Air Nomads who tamed some kind of horse hybrid (winged horses!).

Anyway, I think in either case their airbending would focus more on horizontal extent than vertical. They would use the constant blowing of the winds over the plains to their advantage, maybe have kites instead of gliders and use them in conjunction with carts or wagons as wind powered vehicles. Maybe just straight up kites + air scooters and basically become wind surfers! They would be able to very quickly cover large distances without growing tired, and their airbending tends to be more speed based and direct/uni-directional than airbenders who live in the mountains. I think they’d be able to bend huge volumes of air, but have a lot less finesse about it. Like most Air Nomads, they don’t carry money, but do carry items from the far reaches to barter with for things they need. Maybe they almost run a Silk Road kind of thing across the plains. They also don’t mind giving travelers a lift in exchange for stories and good company.

Sort of related but unrelated, I think coastal airbenders who have a temple on a seaside cliff and are windsurfers would also be cool.

[afoolandathief]

Informal Intro Tag

Tagged by @diphthongsfordays for this, and since I don't have a formal intro post for Yonder (but I do have this really cool graphic), I thought I'd chat about my giants and witches and whatnot:

Title

Working title is currently Yonder, formerly known as Untitled Giants WIP

Genre

Fantasy, a bit of steam/solar punk

Setting

The story starts in two different places: the forests of fantasy medieval France/Britain known as the Gallic Kingdom; and a floating vegetable farm ship known as a bukjoll. The next part takes place in the fantasy Scandinavian-ish floating city of Junndär occupied by the Jotnar, or giants, and the ven, or witches allowed to live in safety there. Additional references to a fantasy thalassocratic empire based on Mediterranean and Asian empires; fantasy Russian steppes; and fantasy Caucuses.

Tropes

Giant monster man and his tiny feral wife; the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one; unbury your gays; (brief) mutual pining

Story

Logi Leifsen is far from home, lost, and hungry. But when he finds a princess locked in a tower, he’s sure he’s walked right into a fairy tale.

Thera Thermopoli is no princess. A witch and one of the most feared forces in her empire’s navy, she’s been imprisoned as a war criminal. But she wasn’t expecting a giant of all creatures to break her out of this tower and offer her a journey to a utopia in the sky.

Rasim Rayanov learned very quickly Junndär is no utopia. A witch chased out of his homeland, his escape to Junndär relies on working half the year in the giants’ farms or factories. But he finds himself drawn in as others begin questioning this ancient system.

Soon, all three find themselves uncovering a conspiracy in the city up yonder.

Characters

Stealing this partly from a previous post (though I've gone back and forth on Rasim's name):

Our main trio -

Logi Leifsen Is baby. Has panic attacks whenever violence is involved. An aspiring politician who prefers solving problems with mediation. Fire-red hair, sky-blue eyes, 44' 3" tall.

Thera Thermopoli Feral woman. Talks about her former ships like her exes. A naval navigator known for her lightning strikes, and the only one in the group who's actually killed people. Black to dark-brown hair, glass-green eyes, 5' 0" tall.

Rasim Rayanov Bastard man who did not sign up for this, yet somehow he's now a labor organizer for the witches (even if his main talent is glamour). The grumpy half of the grumpy-sunshine pairing, until he lost his sunshine (or did he?). Black hair, brown-black eyes, 5'8" tall.

For reference: their height differences

Some other characters here

Plot

A brief rundown:

Background: Giants around the world used magic and advanced technology to retreat to floating cities long ago, including the Jotnar up north

Originally, Jotnar could practice magic as volka, the same as the human witches, or ven; volka are now known for studying sciences, and are primarily women

Jotnar return to Earth when they are the equivalent of a human’s early twenties (i.e. 75) and explore and hunt in the Old Forest for 1000 days (the equivalent of a Jotunn pregnancy; it stems from a tradition of going out to seek your fortune for your child)

A Jotunn (Logi) finds a tiny feral woman in a tower (Thera), who wants revenge for her slaughtered crew

Stuff happens, and they decide Thera should be snuck into the floating city where Logi lives, because it will eventually make a stop at a port near her home

Bastard man (Rasim) starts out as a scab but eventually decides to help unionize the witches

A cop, a girlboss scientist, and a corrupt politician meanwhile have a disturbing plan to stop the witches and bring magic back to the Jotnar

Cool Stuff

Taking it mostly from here but

Megafauna like giant deer and boars living in the Old Forest

Jotnar who may have snuck in “little companions” get tailored clothing with elaborate embroidery and epaulets serving as ladder rungs and crows-nests for humans to climb on;

Witches may also get wing-like gliders they can fly with by heating air currents, sometimes earning them nicknames of “fairies”

A character gains weight near the end and it's not seen as a bad thing.

This image:

Status

Outlining and drafting the first couple chapters, but it's mostly in stasis.

Open tag, but also tagging @artbyeloquent, @thegreatobsesso, @authortango and @faelanvance (since you seemed interested in this), if you'd like.

[gorogues]

By Alex Garcia (linework) and David Stepp (colours).

The guy on the glider is The Fool from Earth-2.

[tern-rp]

Khar, Prompt #10: Heady

From so high, clinging precariously to the chilled hand railing at the back of the airship from thousands of fulms in the sky, the wind smashed against every inch of my body. It's worse than sinking too far into the ocean, I think. The ocean puts pressure on you from every angle, but it's consistent. It makes sense, too. You can see every bit of that contact and you know you can't avoid it because you can't breathe, either. You can feel it get worse the further down you go. But, in the air, one gust of invisible force shoved me back into the hollow wall of the airship while another, no more than a few seconds later, pulled me toward the ledge, threatening to steal me away and start my fall prematurely.

But, I'm used to it by now. I'm used to that pressure. Hundreds and hundreds of jumps later, I know what to expect from the air on the most calm days, and the ones where I really shouldn’t be jumping at all... but do anyway. Staring down at the ground from so high, nothing's really distinguishable. It's all a wash of color -- green and brown if I'm in Gridania, beige and brown if I'm over Ul'dah with the occasional apology of pale life, like every sad fucking tree so spread out from each other is trying to make up for the general lack of interesting landscape. I don't actually hate Ul'dah. Maybe it's just that it reminds me too much of the Steppe. That endless, shifting fucking desert.

Whatever the case, I saw my landing target. It's always the same. A bright red sheet so visible in that almost-monochrome landscape. Sometimes, I avoid it because I can. Sometimes, I practice landing right in the center after a few trips around on the glider, and sometimes I jump without a target at all. But, I actually had someone to take with me that time. Had to have a focus for the infant jumper.

Wide eyed, she stared at me and clung onto the railing with the entirety of her small body. She was questioning her decision... Realizing that she was putting all of her trust into some strange asshole she'd just fucking met. I did it. I did it hundreds of times so I could be the one taking her down to the ground safely, too. I don't know why, really. I don't know why.

As I wrapped my fingers around the collar of her safety vest and yanked her closer, she yelped. I know she did because I felt her body jolt against me and saw her lips part, but I couldn't hear it; you can't hear anything over the wind whipping around your horns or -- I guess in her case -- ears. That dumb, tiny Hyur was probably just trying to find some thrill to break up the monotony of her uninspiring life in Ul'dah. She sure got what she wanted.  

She knew what was coming. We went over it several times in the cabin. I made her repeat it to me. But, that look in her eyes told me all that memorized knowledge drained right the fuck out of her nose the moment she realized it was actually happening. The moment she saw the ground and, at the same time, couldn't really *see* the ground. Just another jump where I had to do everything. I'm used to it.

Before she could protest, I hooked her to me with two different clips... And I jumped. Being so much taller than your jumping partner just makes it easier to take away their agency. With me standing up fully, her feet couldn't even touch the ground. Perfect.

She belted out a scream that I could actually hear as we fell freely and I made her spread her arms out to slow our fall. I could see, even on her cute, thin face, her pale skin pull tight against her sharp cheek bones. Even her eyes looked more sunken as the wind smashed into her features. But the moment the glider unfolded and our fall slowed, I saw that shift from terror to thrill... And maybe that's what I live for on those jumps. Maybe that's why I do it.

Living vicariously through idiots with so little life experience and watching their fear turn into excitement: that flick of a switch when they realize they actually have some potential. Life’s not just about those predictable interactions in Sapphire Avenue or in the Quicksand. Maybe it’s instead that I envy their safe, boring life. Could be that I want nothing more than to break their consistency because I want for everyone to hurt a little bit; make them realize their life is boring so they start questioning their decisions because I don’t have the luxury of being bored enough to question my own. I don’t really care to figure it out. I don’t. All I know is that it's intoxicating.

[paragonbroadcasting]

July 25th, 2017 Release Notes for Living World Season Finale - “One Path Ends”

The Paragon Broadcasting Readable Edition

ParagonBroadcasting.com note: It took a bit longer then hoped to get our Blog’s readable version of the “One Path End” ready for press. The text is the same as that published by ArenaNet but some items have been marked in bold or place in italics to draw the reader to their importance:

ALSO, as requested by our readers, the notes now feature a jump cut!

Balthazar has disappeared again, and it’s top priority to find him—especially if what he’s planning could bring disaster to Tyria. And if one thing’s for sure, it’s that he’s gearing up for something big. He’s already managed to collect magical power from a bloodstone, and now he’s set his sights on an Elder Dragon. With Taimi’s device broken, you’re on your own—for now.

New Legendary Sword

A new legendary weapon is now available. Speak to Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs in Lion’s Arch to learn how to craft the new sword precursor, Save the Queen, and forge the new legendary sword.

New Legendary Hammer

A new legendary weapon is now available. Speak to Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs in Lion’s Arch to learn how to craft the new hammer precursor, Might of Arah, and forge the new legendary hammer.

World Polish

General

Players can now turn in midair while jumping.

The event “Kill the Risen before they reactivate the Statue of Lyssa” now rewards players with the same chest as the event “Kill the Corrupted High Priestess.”

The skeleton and his treasure hoard have been located and returned to their ship in the Gilded Hollow.

Blazeridge Steppes

Fixed an issue in which the Shatterer event failed to start when both prerequisite events were completed.

Prerequisite events for the Shatterer will now automatically fail if they are not completed within the time limit to lure out the Shatterer.

Fractals

New Fractal: Shattered Observatory

A new fractal is accessible through the Mistlock Observatory.

Added a new Shattered Observatory fractal achievement category under Fractals of the Mists on the Achievements tab of the Hero panel.

New rewards are available from BLING-9009 in the Mistlock Observatory.

The continued perseverance of adventurers has again caught the eye of the Harbinger.

Molten Furnace

Fixed a bug in which wiping during the final fight with the Weapons Test Engineer could cause the instance to stall on retry.

Molten Boss

Falling from the platform during the battle against the Molten Berserker and Molten Firestorm will now result in death.

Nightmare

Fixed a bug in which completing the fractal would not award some daily achievement progress.

The Nightmare fractal is now accessible at scales 24, 49, 74, and 99, replacing the fractals previously at those scales.

Mistlock Instabilities

Adrenaline Rush now permanently enrages enemies and applies a 150% damage increase instead of a 200% damage increase.

Miscellaneous

The glider animation for Ad Infinitum has been updated to be more suitable for a legendary glider.

Fixed a bug in which Fractal Avengers were prevented from finishing players.

Mist-potion boon icons are now invisible outside of fractal maps.

Reduced the gold cost of medium and heavy ascended chest pieces by 1 gold to match the WvW ascended armor cost.

Raids

Added a new achievement for acquiring legendary armor pieces.

Bastion of the Penitent

Fixed a bug in which safe zones in the Cairn the Indomitable encounter became out of sync with certain attacks.

Adjusted the initial impact arc of Orbital Sweep during the Cairn the Indomitable encounter.

Fixed a bug in which players took multiple instances of damage from Cairn the Indomitable’s Energy Surge attack.

Fixed a bug in which Rigom behaved erratically when stunned and brought to 0 health at nearly the same time.

Fixed a bug in which Samarog abandoned the fight when pushed past certain health thresholds too quickly.

Personal Story

Items

Exotic backpacks acquired from the Druid Stone collections in the “Flashpoint” release now have an upgrade slot.

Fixed a bug in which killing the Eye of Zhaitan in the Promenade of the Gods in Cursed Shore would not progress the Flameseeker Prophecies III collection.

The Jade Maw Lens is now required to test items at the Metal Forest for the Bifrost III collection.

Players who have deleted the Humming Krait Crystal without crafting the Krait Focusing Crystal for the Kraitkin III collection can now purchase a replacement from Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs.

Players who have misplaced components for the Incinerator III collection can now purchase replacements from Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs.

Fixed various legendary journey text bugs.

Two sets of Heirloom Seed Pouches have been renamed to avoid champion loot bag confusion.

Fixed a bug in which certain weapons prevented progression of the Twice-Told Legend achievement.

The Charged Quartz Orichalcum Amulet now has a chance to drop from grand exalted chests in Auric Basin.

The following jewels can be converted into infusions in the Mystic Forge:

Preserved Queen Bee

Chak Egg Sac

Poly-luminescent Undulating Refractor: Black, Green, Orange, and Teal

Vial of Liquid Aurillium

The following legendary weapons now have custom projectile effects:

The Juggernaut

The Moot

Bolt

Meteorlogicus

Charged Thorns are now classified as Rare.

Elonian Wine is now classified as Exotic.

Mystic Forge Stones are now classified as Rare.

Fractal Research Pages are now classified as Rare.

Mystic Runestones are now classified as Legendary.

Bricks of Clay are now classified as Uncommon.

Bank

The Material Storage tab has been updated and now allows many additional items to be deposited.

Two new Material Storage collections have been added:

Cooking Ingredients

Scribing Materials.

The Common, Fine, and Rare Materials collections have been renamed to Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced, respectively.

Structured Player vs. Player

PvP Lobby

Cautrell the Traitor has returned from his exile and is back to vending in the new lobby.

World vs. World

General

Made the following adjustments to participation grace times:

Defending caravans has been changed from 2 minutes to 5 minutes.

Hitting a player/objective with a siege weapon has been changed from 1 minute to 2 minutes.

Capturing a shrine has been changed from 2 minutes to 5 minutes.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

For a limited time, a new set of Abaddon weapon skins are available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for 2 Black Lion Claim Tickets. Keys can be found in the Special category of the Gem Store for 125 gems each.

The Shield of the Goddess has returned for a limited time and can be found in the Style category of the Gem Store for 600 gems.

Introducing the Mistlock Sanctuary—the most elaborate Black Lion lounge to date. In addition to a full suite of general services and amenities, the Sanctuary also contains everything a fractal explorer could need. For easy access, pick up the lifetime pass in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 1,000 gems, or check out some of the Mistlock Sanctuary’s unique features with a two-week pass for 150 gems.

Improvements

The Black Lion Chest has been updated to the Return to Orr Chest and can be previewed for a full list of its contents.

The Black Lion Material Bag has been added as the new guaranteed item. It contains a collection of high-quality crafting materials, special Living World Season 3 materials, and a few surprises.

The Unidentified Dye and Tome of Knowledge have been removed, and the Mystic Forge Stone and the new Black Lion Booster have been added as common drops.

The Communal Boost Bonfire has been added as an uncommon drop.

The new Mini Dwayna’s Messenger is available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Return to Orr Chest.

The new Feathers of the Zephyr Package with the Golden Zephyr Backpiece and Feathers of the Zephyr Glider is available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Return to Orr Chest.

The new Advanced Leather Rack and Advanced Cloth Rack are available as rare drops.

The Daydreamer’s Weapon Collection is now available as a rare drop for the duration of the Return to Orr Chest.

The Dwayna’s Weapon Collection is now available as a super rare drop for the duration of the Return to Orr Chest.

Mac Client

Fixed an issue in which the command-key symbol was not shown in some contexts.

Enabled use of the minimize button in windowed mode.

Fixed keyboard navigation behavior in text boxes.

Improved the support for non-US keyboard layouts.

Improved the rendering of some visual effects.

Fixed a few shadow bugs.

Source:

GW2 Forum: Game Update Notes - July 25, 2017

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Steppe Glider

Artist: John Severin Brassell TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[pauldeckerus]

10 Pro Tips for Taking Your Drone Photography to New Heights

Ever since I began traveling for work, I’ve looked for ways to capture the beauty of planet Earth from above. As early as the 1990s, I began experimenting with every alternative imaginable: ultralights, helicopters, seaplanes, hot air balloons and hang gliders. For me, the drone was simply a dream that materialized in front of me – the beginning of a new era that opened all the doors I desired and freeing me in my search for new photographic elements, perspectives, and composition.

The advent of drone photography also gave me a newfound interest in shooting video. In 30 years of photography, I had always avoided it. But in working with drones, I was inspired even more than photography itself by video’s dynamic qualities and found myself excited to seek perfection in motion and enjoy the challenge and focus required to coordinate the eyes, hands, and mind.

I began my drone career with the DJI Phantom 1, then the 2, 3, 4 and 4 Pro, as well as the Mavic Pro, the 2 Pro, 2 Zoom and the Parrot Anafi. Since 2016, when the reliability and quality of drones finally satisfied my every need, I began flying everywhere and have since shot with drones in 17 countries around the world for my project, “Over the Horizon.”

I increasingly specialize in extreme environments with flights as long as possible. In a multitude of environments, including glaciers, icebergs, waterfalls, geysers, deserts, steppes, savannahs, oceans, coral reefs, and volcanoes, I’ve tested the limits. I’ve flown beyond the 80th latitude north, at 20 degrees below zero, reached a flight distance of than 3.5 kilometers and even reached the altitude threshold of 1,500 meters in order to capture the beauty of Madagascar’s stunning Nosy Iranja islands, never seen from such a view before then.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve also flown just 30 meters from the mouth of Stromboli’s erupting volcano and the glowing Lava of Sicily’s Mt. Etna.

Here are 10 of my tips:

1. The first rule of drone flight is to think about security, not so much that of the drone but people. For this reason, despite having pushed the drone beyond all limits, I generally never fly in close proximity of people and avoid crowds & gatherings and, if possible, even cities, unless working on a special assignment that requires and allows for such footage.

2. The second rule could be defined as the Steve McCurry philosophy — rules are meant to be broken. But in drone work as with traditional photography, the same basic principle applies: rules must be learned before they can be broken. That said, despite having earned two drone pilot license certifications, I do exactly the opposite of one rule taught in such courses (taking into account the remote areas in which I typically fly) and that is the much-discussed rule of keeping the drone in sight! The VLOS flight (Visual Line of Sight) is really only necessary when flying very close to subjects near your take-off point. Otherwise, in order to have maximum control of the craft and fully immerse yourself in a flight while making images, you must work in total harmony with your remote without ever looking away from your screen/phone. For maximum efficiency when returning for a landing, manually turn the nose of the drone towards yourself so you can see what the drone sees. Using the DJI Go 4 App, follow the map and direct the arrow towards the starting point. Also, if you are flying from a boat, remember to set the remote control for the dynamic starting point and not the static one for RTH (Return to Home) — otherwise your drone may land in the water!

3. Although drones are increasingly sophisticated and equipped with smart batteries, my advice is to always check the status of batteries and cells, especially at the outset of a flight. Before taking off, allow the drone to hover for a few seconds, then try pitching and rolling in all 4 directions with your sticks to make sure the drone remains stable. In case of missions at low temperatures (-20 degrees Celsius/-4 degrees Fahrenheit and below), it is a good idea to keep the batteries warm and perhaps add a hand-warmer, attached with simple tape, while flying. Also, never put batteries in checked baggage while traveling by air, but always carry them with you in your hand baggage. Discharge the batteries to avoid any risk of fire on board (see Samsung Note 7 combustion problems for reference).

4. Beyond the batteries, the other fundamental element for ensuring a successful return of the drone to home base is the compass. Rather, “compasses” as there are two redundant units. So every time you proceed, always perform the compass calibration step first, especially if you are working in a country different from the previous flight. The worst message that your drone can give you is “compass error” which means that it can literally lose the compass and its orientation, and even the RTH function will not work. In this case, your only recourse is to try to turn off the GPS and, if the drone is not too far away, bring it back in “ATTI (Attitude) mode which, especially in windy conditions, is not easy. DJI suggests never flying beyond the 70th parallel north due to its proximity to the magnetic and geomagnetic north pole that affects the compasses. DJI is certainly right. In fact, one of my drones goes “crazy” precisely at the 80th parallel but the arctic beauty that can be captured at those extreme latitudes is well worth every risk!

5. For video, even more so than for still shots, it is absolutely recommended, even mandatory, to use a neutral density (ND) filter. It’s best to have an entire series of ND 4 to 32 on hand so you can easily choose the right one depending on the lighting conditions and type of landscape below (sea, forest, ice, sand, etc.). To create video that is as smooth and fluid as possible, especially during flight motion, it is ideal to shoot at 25 or 50 FPS (frames per second). Therefore, especially for drone models that do not have an aperture control setting, it is absolutely essential to decrease the amount of light that the camera will read in order for the shutter to reduce its speed at the above values ​​accordingly.

6. Night flying is always the riskiest as you can never rely entirely on the sensors that work in the daytime, nor on the four sides when flying in manual mode because at night they auto-switch off completely. The easiest way to keep an eye on the drone is to place the bicycle lights on the drone arms.

7. Pay particular attention while flying in strong wind conditions. Always use the anemometer to understand if the wind is over 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour) and never take off from the ground but always from the hand accompanying the launch of the drone itself. It’s always best to fly against the wind so that even in the worst-case scenario, the drone will still be pushed in your direction. In case of rain, it is always best to avoid flying altogether, not so much for the protection of the engines, as for the camera lens, as drops of water falling on the lens will render the shots and especially video, unusable.

8. I once flew over a huge area of terraced rice fields in China and landed with 1% battery! Apart from that it is absolutely not recommended, mainly due to the stress on the batteries that should never get so low. However, you must take into account that at 20% the drone will signal Return to Home (RTH) but once the battery charge drops below 10% the drone will begin to automatically descend wherever you are, still trying to land. Only by pushing the control of the engines can you can keep it at altitude, but this is very difficult to manage, especially if you are not used to performing the maneuver and the scenario is best avoided. Always set the altitude of the RTH depending on where you are. It’s best to stay high to avoid any risk of collision and I personally set my default at 100 meters.

9. Learn to fly your drone in full-manual mode, especially while handling the most demanding maneuvers. This is the only in this way to become fully skilled and to accomplish special effects. For example, rotations on static central subjects like the beautiful dolly zoom effect that, if managed manually, often makes the difference in mediocre versus great footage. To be “good” you should be able to manage 3 manual stick movements simultaneously. In order to achieve “phenomenal” status, you must get to 4!

10. Last but not least, always take at least two if not three drones with you to a shooting location, because conditions and flight events are always unpredictable. This is especially critical in remote locations. If you are working in the Mongolian taiga, for example, or filming above the reefs of Raja Ampat, immediate solutions will be difficult, if not impossible. Remember that every flight could be the last one. For this reason, I change the SD card and battery at the end of each mission. I also recommend that you download the streaming video data via your app, at least. By doing this you can ensure that even in a worst-case scenario, at least your video, even if it is low quality, will not be totally lost. With this, I wish you good fun and good flights! And above all, remember the first rule — respect for people and their safety must always come first.

About the author: In 32 years of photography and reportage, Italian photojournalist, explorer, and television producer Luca Bracali has traveled to 141 countries documenting the world’s most fragile ecosystems and threatened cultures. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Bracali specializes in arctic exploration and is a licensed drone pilot, a Fuji X-Photographer and lifetime Ambassador for “Save the Planet,” a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of environmental issues. The author of 13 books, Bracali is a frequent National Geographic contributor and has enjoyed more than 50 solo shows worldwide, including an exhibition at European Parliament highlighting the global impacts of climate change. You can find more of his work on his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

from Photography News https://petapixel.com/2019/02/05/10-pro-tips-for-taking-your-drone-photography-to-new-heights/

[kalino-thesims]

Download: Simfileshare

Includes:

10 new animals with recolors

Squrriel, Chipmunk, Sugar Glider, Degu, Steppe Lemming, Chinchilla, Bunny, Guinea Pig, Gerbil, Ferret

6 natural cage recolors (no orginal cage colors)

Note:

I only use my recolors for the cage for more recolor animal

Bug:

When the animal is on vacation: No sign and frozen animal in cage.

Frozen animal when there are unusal activities (Rocket)

Right now this effects are not supported by Sims 4 Studio. I will update the package when the bug is solved.

Download: Simfileshare

Note: It's overwrite the original cage. (Includes the orginal colors, plus my recolors) 

Need help?

--------------

Visit my Website: https://thekalino.jimdo.com/

You can support me at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheKalino

or BuyMeACoffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheKalino

Your Kalino 💚

[sailorrrvenus]

10 Pro Tips for Taking Your Drone Photography to New Heights

Ever since I began traveling for work, I’ve looked for ways to capture the beauty of planet Earth from above. As early as the 1990s, I began experimenting with every alternative imaginable: ultralights, helicopters, seaplanes, hot air balloons and hang gliders. For me, the drone was simply a dream that materialized in front of me – the beginning of a new era that opened all the doors I desired and freeing me in my search for new photographic elements, perspectives, and composition.

The advent of drone photography also gave me a newfound interest in shooting video. In 30 years of photography, I had always avoided it. But in working with drones, I was inspired even more than photography itself by video’s dynamic qualities and found myself excited to seek perfection in motion and enjoy the challenge and focus required to coordinate the eyes, hands, and mind.

I began my drone career with the DJI Phantom 1, then the 2, 3, 4 and 4 Pro, as well as the Mavic Pro, the 2 Pro, 2 Zoom and the Parrot Anafi. Since 2016, when the reliability and quality of drones finally satisfied my every need, I began flying everywhere and have since shot with drones in 17 countries around the world for my project, “Over the Horizon.”

I increasingly specialize in extreme environments with flights as long as possible. In a multitude of environments, including glaciers, icebergs, waterfalls, geysers, deserts, steppes, savannahs, oceans, coral reefs, and volcanoes, I’ve tested the limits. I’ve flown beyond the 80th latitude north, at 20 degrees below zero, reached a flight distance of than 3.5 kilometers and even reached the altitude threshold of 1,500 meters in order to capture the beauty of Madagascar’s stunning Nosy Iranja islands, never seen from such a view before then.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve also flown just 30 meters from the mouth of Stromboli’s erupting volcano and the glowing Lava of Sicily’s Mt. Etna.

Here are 10 of my tips:

1. The first rule of drone flight is to think about security, not so much that of the drone but people. For this reason, despite having pushed the drone beyond all limits, I generally never fly in close proximity of people and avoid crowds & gatherings and, if possible, even cities, unless working on a special assignment that requires and allows for such footage.

2. The second rule could be defined as the Steve McCurry philosophy — rules are meant to be broken. But in drone work as with traditional photography, the same basic principle applies: rules must be learned before they can be broken. That said, despite having earned two drone pilot license certifications, I do exactly the opposite of one rule taught in such courses (taking into account the remote areas in which I typically fly) and that is the much-discussed rule of keeping the drone in sight! The VLOS flight (Visual Line of Sight) is really only necessary when flying very close to subjects near your take-off point. Otherwise, in order to have maximum control of the craft and fully immerse yourself in a flight while making images, you must work in total harmony with your remote without ever looking away from your screen/phone. For maximum efficiency when returning for a landing, manually turn the nose of the drone towards yourself so you can see what the drone sees. Using the DJI Go 4 App, follow the map and direct the arrow towards the starting point. Also, if you are flying from a boat, remember to set the remote control for the dynamic starting point and not the static one for RTH (Return to Home) — otherwise your drone may land in the water!

3. Although drones are increasingly sophisticated and equipped with smart batteries, my advice is to always check the status of batteries and cells, especially at the outset of a flight. Before taking off, allow the drone to hover for a few seconds, then try pitching and rolling in all 4 directions with your sticks to make sure the drone remains stable. In case of missions at low temperatures (-20 degrees Celsius/-4 degrees Fahrenheit and below), it is a good idea to keep the batteries warm and perhaps add a hand-warmer, attached with simple tape, while flying. Also, never put batteries in checked baggage while traveling by air, but always carry them with you in your hand baggage. Discharge the batteries to avoid any risk of fire on board (see Samsung Note 7 combustion problems for reference).

4. Beyond the batteries, the other fundamental element for ensuring a successful return of the drone to home base is the compass. Rather, “compasses” as there are two redundant units. So every time you proceed, always perform the compass calibration step first, especially if you are working in a country different from the previous flight. The worst message that your drone can give you is “compass error” which means that it can literally lose the compass and its orientation, and even the RTH function will not work. In this case, your only recourse is to try to turn off the GPS and, if the drone is not too far away, bring it back in “ATTI (Attitude) mode which, especially in windy conditions, is not easy. DJI suggests never flying beyond the 70th parallel north due to its proximity to the magnetic and geomagnetic north pole that affects the compasses. DJI is certainly right. In fact, one of my drones goes “crazy” precisely at the 80th parallel but the arctic beauty that can be captured at those extreme latitudes is well worth every risk!

5. For video, even more so than for still shots, it is absolutely recommended, even mandatory, to use a neutral density (ND) filter. It’s best to have an entire series of ND 4 to 32 on hand so you can easily choose the right one depending on the lighting conditions and type of landscape below (sea, forest, ice, sand, etc.). To create video that is as smooth and fluid as possible, especially during flight motion, it is ideal to shoot at 25 or 50 FPS (frames per second). Therefore, especially for drone models that do not have an aperture control setting, it is absolutely essential to decrease the amount of light that the camera will read in order for the shutter to reduce its speed at the above values ​​accordingly.

6. Night flying is always the riskiest as you can never rely entirely on the sensors that work in the daytime, nor on the four sides when flying in manual mode because at night they auto-switch off completely. The easiest way to keep an eye on the drone is to place the bicycle lights on the drone arms.

7. Pay particular attention while flying in strong wind conditions. Always use the anemometer to understand if the wind is over 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour) and never take off from the ground but always from the hand accompanying the launch of the drone itself. It’s always best to fly against the wind so that even in the worst-case scenario, the drone will still be pushed in your direction. In case of rain, it is always best to avoid flying altogether, not so much for the protection of the engines, as for the camera lens, as drops of water falling on the lens will render the shots and especially video, unusable.

8. I once flew over a huge area of terraced rice fields in China and landed with 1% battery! Apart from that it is absolutely not recommended, mainly due to the stress on the batteries that should never get so low. However, you must take into account that at 20% the drone will signal Return to Home (RTH) but once the battery charge drops below 10% the drone will begin to automatically descend wherever you are, still trying to land. Only by pushing the control of the engines can you can keep it at altitude, but this is very difficult to manage, especially if you are not used to performing the maneuver and the scenario is best avoided. Always set the altitude of the RTH depending on where you are. It’s best to stay high to avoid any risk of collision and I personally set my default at 100 meters.

9. Learn to fly your drone in full-manual mode, especially while handling the most demanding maneuvers. This is the only in this way to become fully skilled and to accomplish special effects. For example, rotations on static central subjects like the beautiful dolly zoom effect that, if managed manually, often makes the difference in mediocre versus great footage. To be “good” you should be able to manage 3 manual stick movements simultaneously. In order to achieve “phenomenal” status, you must get to 4!

10. Last but not least, always take at least two if not three drones with you to a shooting location, because conditions and flight events are always unpredictable. This is especially critical in remote locations. If you are working in the Mongolian taiga, for example, or filming above the reefs of Raja Ampat, immediate solutions will be difficult, if not impossible. Remember that every flight could be the last one. For this reason, I change the SD card and battery at the end of each mission. I also recommend that you download the streaming video data via your app, at least. By doing this you can ensure that even in a worst-case scenario, at least your video, even if it is low quality, will not be totally lost. With this, I wish you good fun and good flights! And above all, remember the first rule — respect for people and their safety must always come first.

About the author: In 32 years of photography and reportage, Italian photojournalist, explorer, and television producer Luca Bracali has traveled to 141 countries documenting the world’s most fragile ecosystems and threatened cultures. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Bracali specializes in arctic exploration and is a licensed drone pilot, a Fuji X-Photographer and lifetime Ambassador for “Save the Planet,” a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of environmental issues. The author of 13 books, Bracali is a frequent National Geographic contributor and has enjoyed more than 50 solo shows worldwide, including an exhibition at European Parliament highlighting the global impacts of climate change. You can find more of his work on his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

source https://petapixel.com/2019/02/05/10-pro-tips-for-taking-your-drone-photography-to-new-heights/